# Pico Islands vs Orbitfall

The clearest difference is ads: Orbitfall at none against Pico Islands's shown. Orbitfall also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). Pico Islands's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pico Islands sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Orbitfall sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Pico Islands ships an update every 5 weeks, Orbitfall weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pico Islands | Orbitfall |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (131 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pico-islands/id1476541055/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **131** | — |
| Positive reviews | 71.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 102 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [BitSpree GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476541054) | [Sean MacDiarmid](https://appshunter.io/developer/1848793120) |

## What reviewers say

### Pico Islands

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pico-islands/id1476541055)

Lead settlers to build a thriving medieval city, manage resources, and expand your empire across islands. Engage in trade, conquest, and technological discovery to achieve global domination or enjoy a peaceful simulation.

**Highlights:** Build and expand your city, Manage resources and production, Trade with neighbors, Conquer new islands, Research new technologies, Optimize building placement and transportation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Buy 20 Gems | $0.99 | one-time |
| Buy 110 Gems | $4.99 | one-time |
| Remove ads | $13.99 | one-time |
| Buy 500 Gems | $19.99 | one-time |
| Buy 1500 Gems | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Promising game
- 👍 Fun and addictive
- 👍 Charming game
- 👍 Interesting game
- 👍 Good game

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Steep learning curve
- 🔋 High battery drain
- 🐛 Purchase records lost
- 🐛 Crashes when changing islands
- 🐛 Unintuitive UI

**Reported bugs**

- Forester lookups result in 404 errors
- Inability to undo 10 map limit
- Crashes when redeploying roads
- Inconsistent cookie consent management

**Requested features**

- Add map selection/replay
- Improve tutorial and documentation
- Implement graphics settings
- Add more content and progression
- Introduce multiplayer/competitive modes


### Orbitfall

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orbitfall/id6794782395)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ember Campaign | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pico Islands free?

Pico Islands is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Orbitfall free?

Orbitfall is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Pico Islands or Orbitfall have ads?

Pico Islands shows ads; Orbitfall does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pico Islands or Orbitfall?

Pico Islands ships an update every 5 weeks, and Orbitfall weekly. Most recently, Pico Islands was updated on October 19, 2026 and Orbitfall on October 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*