# Idle Skilling vs Exponential Idle

The clearest difference is rating: Exponential Idle at 4.9 against Idle Skilling's 3.5. Exponential Idle also leads on review sentiment (92% vs 51%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Idle Skilling's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Idle Skilling sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Exponential Idle sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Exponential Idle holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exponential Idle has 4.1K ratings behind it against 712, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of Idle Skilling's written reviews are positive against 92% of Exponential Idle's.

Idle Skilling ships an update every 2 months, Exponential Idle every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Idle Skilling | Exponential Idle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.5 (712 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-skilling/id1479807294/reviews) | **[4.9 (4.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exponential-idle/id1538487382/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 712 | **4.1K** |
| Positive reviews | 50.8% of reviews | **91.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 162 MB | 95 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12 | **8.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lavaflamestudios LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1479807293) | [Gilles-Philippe Paille](https://appshunter.io/developer/1538487384) |

## What reviewers say

### Idle Skilling

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-skilling/id1479807294)

This game offers a vast amount of content with over 21 different skills to level up. Engage in a wide variety of activities like mining, crafting, farming, and battling to progress. It's a complex and engaging idle game experience with multiple prestige mechanics.

**Highlights:** 21+ skills to level up, Mining, fishing, crafting, Pet breeding and battling, Farming and potion making, Treasure hunting and construction, Boss battles and prestige mechanics

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pile of Gems | $1.99 | one-time |
| Sack of Gems | $4.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Chest of Gems | $9.99 | one-time |
| Pet Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Mastery Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Mountain of Gems | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great game
- 🚀 Lots of content
- 💡 Unique mechanics
- 👍 No ads or pay-to-win
- 👍 Responsive developer

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Save data loss issues
- 🐛 Certain features not working (cards, realms)
- 🐛 Progression issues (crafting, leveling)

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes when accessing cards menu
- Realm and afterlife features not working
- Crafting and leveling progress getting stuck
- Save data randomly getting wiped

**Requested features**

- Cloud save/sync across devices
- More stable performance and bug fixes
- Improved tutorial and onboarding
- Realm and afterlife updates for iOS


### Exponential Idle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exponential-idle/id1538487382)

Engage in a math-inspired incremental game where you strategically stack virtual money through exponential growth. Advance through time, make variable changes, and purchase upgrades to accelerate your earnings and unlock achievements.

**Highlights:** Exponential growth mechanics, Time progression, Change of variables, Buy upgrades, Earn virtual money, Unlock achievements

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Donate | $0.99 | one-time |
| Permanent Ad Reward | $1.99 | one-time |
| Donate | $1.99 | one-time |
| Donate | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great and addicting game
- 👍 Interesting story and educational
- 👍 Numbers go big
- 👍 User-friendly with good descriptions
- 👍 Highly automated progression

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- ⏱️ Slow progression after initial stages
- 🕹️ Difficult mini-games
- 🔒 Harsh time-change penalty
- 🔋 Potential performance issues on some devices

**Reported bugs**

- Puzzle mini-games not loading correctly
- Offline progress issues after updates
- Occasional app crashes

**Requested features**

- More mini-games and challenges
- Better explanations for advanced mechanics
- Adjustable color schemes and visual customization
- Improved offline progress tracking
- Smoother performance and optimization


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Idle Skilling free?

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

### Is Exponential Idle free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Idle Skilling or Exponential Idle?

Exponential Idle is rated higher. Idle Skilling averages 3.5 out of 5 from 712 ratings, while Exponential Idle averages 4.9 from 4.1K ratings.

### Do Idle Skilling or Exponential Idle have ads?

Exponential Idle shows ads; Idle Skilling does not.

### Which is updated more often, Idle Skilling or Exponential Idle?

Idle Skilling ships an update every 2 months, and Exponential Idle every 3 weeks. Most recently, Idle Skilling was updated on October 22, 2026 and Exponential Idle on October 27, 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.*