# Idle Ants vs Ant Farm Simulator

The clearest difference is rating: Idle Ants at 4.7 against Ant Farm Simulator's 4.2. Idle Ants also leads on ratings volume (172K vs 58). Ant Farm Simulator's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 56%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Idle Ants sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Ant Farm Simulator sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Idle Ants holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Idle Ants has 172K ratings behind it against 58, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Idle Ants's written reviews are positive against 83% of Ant Farm Simulator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Idle Ants | Ant Farm Simulator |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (172K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-ants-simulator-game/id1529310183/reviews)** | [4.2 (58 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ant-farm-simulator/id6464483115/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **172K** | 58 |
| Positive reviews | 56.3% of reviews | **83.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 4 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 281 MB | 104 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [MADBOX](https://appshunter.io/developer/981448700) | [Dzmitry Smirnou](https://appshunter.io/developer/1706114054) |

## What reviewers say

### Idle Ants

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-ants-simulator-game/id1529310183)

Command a growing colony of ants to devour everything in sight, from bugs to airplanes. Earn money to upgrade your colony, supercharge your workers, unlock new ants, and defend your nest. Experience the organized world of ants and lead them to empire status.

**Highlights:** Command ant colony, Devour various items, Collect gems and resources, Upgrade colony and workers, Unlock fighter ants, Defend ant nest

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

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fast Ant | $0.99 | one-time |
| Mech Ant | $0.99 | one-time |
| Small Gems Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Mut-Ant | $2.99 | one-time |
| Gold-Ant | $2.99 | one-time |
| The Queen | $4.99 | one-time |
| Ali Ant | $4.99 | one-time |
| Medium Gems Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| No Ads pack! | $9.99 | one-time |
| Special Offer | $9.99 | one-time |
| Large Pack of Gems | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Satisfying gameplay
- 👍 Cute and fun ants
- 🚀 Smooth animations
- 👍 Relaxing experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Lack of content/levels
- 📢 Too many ads
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 💰 Expensive to remove ads

**Reported bugs**

- Money going backwards at higher levels
- Inability to progress to new worlds
- Game progress being lost after updates

**Requested features**

- More levels and worlds
- Offline earnings
- Ability to customize ants
- Less intrusive ads


### Ant Farm Simulator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ant-farm-simulator/id6464483115)

Experience the life cycle and behaviors of an ant colony with realistic AI. Manage your formicarium by feeding, hydrating, and cleaning to ensure your ants thrive. The colony develops even when you're offline, with ongoing updates adding new content.

**Highlights:** Realistic ant AI and life cycle, Colony management (feeding, hydration, cleaning), Offline colony development, Variety of ant types, New formicarium designs, Regular updates

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Energy 5000 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Permanently VIP PREMIUM status | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Realistic ant simulation
- 👍 Fun and engaging gameplay
- 👍 Good for ant enthusiasts
- 👍 Simple and nice music
- 👍 Game continues offline

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Low ant activity/AI issues
- 🐛 Forced ads
- 🐛 Game can be too simple/boring
- 🐛 Complicated currency system
- 🐛 Game feels outdated

**Reported bugs**

- Forced ads when clicking energy button
- Game stopped working
- Most ants don't do anything
- Game continues to run when app is closed

**Requested features**

- More content (designs, bugs, maps)
- Combine colonies into a "super colony"
- Add species names
- Add aphids and ladybugs
- Add honeypot ants


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Idle Ants free?

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

### Is Ant Farm Simulator free?

Ant Farm Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Idle Ants or Ant Farm Simulator?

Idle Ants is rated higher. Idle Ants averages 4.7 out of 5 from 172K ratings, while Ant Farm Simulator averages 4.2 from 58 ratings.

### Do Idle Ants or Ant Farm Simulator have ads?

Both Idle Ants and Ant Farm Simulator show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Idle Ants or Ant Farm Simulator?

Idle Ants ships an update every 4 weeks, and Ant Farm Simulator every 4 weeks. Most recently, Idle Ants was updated on November 1, 2026 and Ant Farm Simulator on October 23, 2026.

---

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