Comparison

Vertical Solitaire vs Balatro

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Vertical Solitaire

Experience solitaire designed for single-handed play. This game offers a unique twist on the classic card game, making it accessible and convenient for on-the-go enjoyment.

Highlights
  • Single-hand gameplay
  • Unique solitaire variation
  • Accessible design
  • Classic card game
Features
Read full description

A clean, focused Klondike Solitaire game with no ads and no distractions. Just cards. An optional tip jar is available to support development — the game is 100% free with nothing locked behind a paywall. Classic Klondike Solitaire with traditional rules - build foundations from Ace to King by suit, arrange tableau columns in alternating colors. 6 Visual Themes Choose from Twilight, Classic, Midnight, Coral, Ocean, and Forest. Each theme features unique card face colors, card back patterns, and a matching app icon that changes automatically. Play Your Way Switch between Draw 1 and Draw 3 modes. Choose left-handed or right-handed layouts - the entire interface mirrors to keep controls under your thumb. Track Your Progress Built-in game timer starts on your first move. Track games played, games won, win rate, best time, average time, and win streaks. Smart Features Auto-complete detects when all cards are face-up and finishes the game for you Unlimited undo with animated card movement Game state saves automatically - close the app and pick up right where you left off Auto-flip reveals face-down cards when you move the card above them Haptics & Sound Feel subtle taps when you pick up and place cards. Hear synthesized card sounds - lift, drop, shuffle, and a celebration when you win. Both can be toggled independently. Designed for iPhone Portrait-optimized layout that fits naturally in one hand. No landscape mode, no tablet compromises - just a focused card game for your phone. No ads. No tracking. No internet required. Optional tip jar — nothing is locked. Just solitaire.

About

Balatro

This game blends poker and solitaire mechanics with unique rule-bending twists. Build powerful poker hands, discover game-changing Joker cards, and create exciting combos to defeat challenging Boss Blinds. Explore different decks and game modes for endless replayability.

Highlights
  • Poker and Solitaire hybrid gameplay
  • Rule-bending mechanics
  • Collect over 150 unique Joker cards
  • Create powerful combos
  • Campaign and challenge modes
  • Pixel art visuals
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the official Balatro mobile game! Hypnotic and endlessly satisfying, Balatro is a magical mix of card games like Solitaire and Poker, that lets you twist the rules in ways never seen before! Your goal is to beat the Boss Blinds by making strong poker hands. Find new Jokers that change the game and create awesome and exciting combos! Win enough chips to beat tricky bosses, and find hidden bonus hands and decks as you play. You’ll need all the help you can get to beat the big boss, win the final challenge, and win the game. Features: * Remastered controls for touch screen devices. * Each run is different: every pick-up, discard and joker can dramatically alter the course of your run. * Multiple game items: discover over 150 Jokers, each with special powers. Use them with different decks,upgrade cards and vouchers to boost your scores. * Different Game modes: Campaign mode and challenge mode for you to play. * Beautiful Pixel Art: Immerse yourself in the CRT fuzz and enjoy detailed, hand-crafted pixel art.

Screenshots

Vertical Solitaire4 screens
Balatro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Vertical Solitaire at Free against Balatro's $9.99. Vertical Solitaire also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 81%). Balatro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 months). On rating, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Vertical Solitaire is free to download; Balatro costs $9.99 up front. Vertical Solitaire sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Balatro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Vertical Solitaire against 5.0 for Balatro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro has 105K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Vertical Solitaire's written reviews are positive against 81% of Balatro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vertical Solitaire ships an update every 4 months, Balatro every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Vertical Solitaire versus Balatro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVertical SolitaireBalatro
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.9 (9 ratings)5.0 (105K ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better81.0% of reviews
Number of ratings9105K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#2 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better13.5
Further details — not scored
Size58 MB93 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCameron GreenPlaystack Ltd

Customer experience

Vertical Solitaire

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Balatro

All ratings105,357 ratings
Positive99.2%
Neutral0.3%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews1,854 reviews
Positive81.0%
Neutral5.2%
Negative13.8%

Bugs and requests

Vertical Solitaire

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Balatro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unlocks and achievements not registering properly
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices
  • Joker and card interactions not working as expected

Requested features

3 requests
  • Cloud save sync across devices
  • Portrait mode option
  • Customizable UI and accessibility settings

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Vertical Solitaire

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Nice Tip$2.99
  • Generous Tip$4.99
None

Balatro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Vertical Solitaire free?
Vertical Solitaire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Balatro free?
Balatro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Vertical Solitaire or Balatro?
Balatro is rated higher. Vertical Solitaire averages 4.9 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Balatro averages 5.0 from 105K ratings.
Do Vertical Solitaire or Balatro have ads?
Neither Vertical Solitaire nor Balatro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vertical Solitaire or Balatro?
Vertical Solitaire ships an update every 4 months, and Balatro every 5 days. Most recently, Vertical Solitaire was updated on October 15, 2026 and Balatro on October 18, 2026.

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