Comparison

Grove vs Hatch Dragons

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

Head to head
About

Grove

Explore the real world with augmented reality to plant and care for virtual trees. Collect diverse species, earn achievements, and learn about their environmental impact. This game combines fitness, education, and a virtual garden experience.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality tree planting
  • Collect diverse tree species
  • Earn achievements
  • Track daily steps
  • Learn about carbon sequestration
  • Virtual garden care
Read full description

Grove is an augmented-reality game where you plant virtual trees in the real world! Collect the various kinds of trees, learn about them, and earn achievements all while getting outdoors and enjoying your virtual garden. Grove is part game, part educational app, and part wellness app! In Grove you care for your trees and tend to your garden, and in turn, you stay fit and healthy. Each tree has a name and role to play. Collect different kinds of trees, earn achievements, and maximize your daily step count. Each tree comes with its own fun facts, which makes Grove a great app to teach kids about different tree species. Learn about climate change and how trees can help sequester atmospheric carbon. Your grove has a carbon score that monitors how much virtual carbon your trees have absorbed. More Information Free — Grove is a free-to-play game that requires no purchase to play, or to complete. The app offers in-app purchases as a way to unlock additional resources if you need them and gain access to special features like in-game avatars, and access to the behind-the-scenes Dev Diary. Grove is designed to avoid the scammy tactics of most free-to-play games. You won't be scammed or tricked into spending money. But if you do like the app, please consider supporting it if you can. Fun — Grove combines daily fitness with a cute concept and fun gameplay to make hitting your daily step goals more fun. Regardless of where you walk, you can always tend to your grove and feel good doing it. Educational — Grove not only teaches you about trees with super fun facts, it also helps you better understand how our real-world forests capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in their trunks. Carbon capture is an important part of the global effort to mitigate the effects of Climate Change, and Grove is here to make sure you have fun while you learn about this important technology. Indie — Grove is handcrafted in San Diego, CA by one person: me. There's no shady venture capital, no stock trading, no short-term strategy. I build Grove so that you can use it. If you like what you see, please consider buying some items or simply tipping in the app.

About

Hatch Dragons

Collect and nurture hundreds of unique dragons in a magical forest. Restore the land by lifting fog, summoning dragons, and decorating your environment. Uncover their origins and lore as they grow into bonded companions.

Highlights
  • Summon hundreds of unique dragons
  • Hatch, feed, and raise dragons
  • Uncover dragon lore and origins
  • Clear fog and restore the forest
  • Decorate the forest with magical items
  • Participate in missions and events
Features
Read full description

Discover Dragons like you’ve never seen before! Collect and care for hundreds of unique Dragons, uncovering their origins as they grow. From playful Cat Dragons to rare Bluebell Dragons, every new Dragon you hatch and raise brings this cozy, peaceful world to life. Long ago, Dragons filled this enchanted forest, thriving alongside nature. Each evolved into forms as diverse as the surrounding flora and fauna. Some shimmered with glittering scales, others were soft and furry, and some even bloomed with flowers or mushrooms. When nearby mining drove the Dragons away, fog crept in and the forest fell silent for years. Now, join Liv the Elf to lift the fog, summon the Dragons home, and help the forest sparkle with life once more. GAME HIGHLIGHTS * Summon Dragons: Help Liv mix elements, gems, and more to call Dragons of all shapes, forms, and rarities to your forest. * Raise Dragons: Hatch eggs, feed your Dragons, and help them grow into magical, bonded companions. * Collect Hundreds of Dragons: Discover a magical array of Dragons that evolved alongside nature. * Uncover Lore: Reveal charming legends and little-known facts about your Dragons. * Explore and Restore: Clear the fog and help the forest awaken with life, magic, and folkloric friends. * Decorate Your Forest: Adorn your forest with plants and decor that possess magical abilities to help you progress. * Missions and Events: Missions, updates, and limited-time events bring exciting new Dragons, décor, and rewards. There’s always something new to discover! If you love Dragons, cozy collection games, and relaxing adventures, you will be enchanted by Hatch Dragons. ***** Hatch Dragons is developed and published by Runaway. This game is free to play but does contain in-app purchases. If you run into any issues while playing or you have any suggestions, please reach out to us at support@runaway.zendesk.com

Screenshots

Grove4 screens
Hatch Dragons4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Grove at none against Hatch Dragons's shown. Hatch Dragons's advantage is ratings volume (24K vs 2) and chart position (#58 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Grove sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and Hatch Dragons sells 18 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Grove against 4.9 for Hatch Dragons. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hatch Dragons has 24K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grove ships an update every 11 days, Hatch Dragons every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Grove versus Hatch Dragons: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGroveHatch Dragons
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.9 (24K ratings)
Positive reviews—86.8% of reviews
Number of ratings224K — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#58 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB677 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperSkyRocket Software, LLCRunaway

Customer experience

Grove

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Hatch Dragons

All ratings24,435 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews2,535 reviews
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.7%
Negative7.5%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Grove

One-time8
  • Water Bulbs 15-Pack$0.99
  • Say Thanks$0.99
  • Custom Avatars$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Fertilizer 15-Pack$1.99
  • Buy me a Coffee$1.99
  • Bucket of Sunshine 15-Pack$2.99
  • Access the Dev Diary$2.99
  • Super Supporter$2.99
18 purchases

Hatch Dragons

One-time18
  • Dragon's Hoard$0.99
  • 50 Gems$1.99
  • Amazing Value Pack$1.99
Show 15 more
  • Starter Pack$2.99
  • 130 Gems$4.99
  • Event Pack 04$4.99
  • Event Pack 01$4.99
  • Fruitkeeper Special$4.99
  • Super Price Slasher$4.99
  • Discount Fruitmaster Fairy$4.99
  • 275 Gems$9.99
  • Mega Price Slasher$9.99
  • Dragon Haven$9.99
  • Fruitmaster Fairy$9.99
  • Event Pack 03$19.99
  • Event Pack 05$19.99
  • Fox Companion Decoration$24.99
  • 3750 Gems$99.99

Questions

Is Grove free?
Grove is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hatch Dragons free?
Hatch Dragons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Grove or Hatch Dragons?
Grove is rated higher. Grove averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Hatch Dragons averages 4.9 from 24K ratings.
Do Grove or Hatch Dragons have ads?
Hatch Dragons shows ads; Grove does not.
Which is updated more often, Grove or Hatch Dragons?
Grove ships an update every 11 days, and Hatch Dragons every 10 days. Most recently, Grove was updated on October 6, 2026 and Hatch Dragons on October 19, 2026.

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