# Recursive vs Dark Math

The clearest difference is price: Dark Math at Free against Recursive's $2.99. Dark Math also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). Recursive's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (28 vs 8). On rating, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Dark Math is free to download; Recursive costs $2.99 up front. Recursive sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Dark Math asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Recursive against 4.8 for Dark Math. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28 and 8 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Recursive's written reviews are positive against 100% of Dark Math's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Recursive | Dark Math |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.9 (28 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/recursive-programming-puzzles/id1550504475/reviews)** | [4.8 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dark-math-math-puzzle-game/id6738501626/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **28** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 4 days |
| Monetization | Paid | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 4 MB | 175 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Kidori](https://appshunter.io/developer/1550451304) | [Redev Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1658921539) |

## What reviewers say

### Recursive

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/recursive-programming-puzzles/id1550504475)

A challenging puzzle game where you guide robots to collect gems by creating simple programs. Master recursion and logic with a minimalistic, easy-to-learn language and diverse level elements.

**Highlights:** Learn a simple programming language, Solve puzzles with robots and gems, Master recursion concepts, Explore diverse level elements, Challenging, hard puzzles

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 10 hint credits | $0.99 | one-time |
| 20 hint credits | $1.99 | one-time |
| 40 hint credits | $2.99 | one-time |


### Dark Math

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dark-math-math-puzzle-game/id6738501626)

A challenging math puzzle game designed to sharpen your logic and reasoning skills. Place number cards to solve equations, from simple to highly complex, with difficulty that scales to push your limits.

**Highlights:** Logic and reasoning training, Diverse difficulty levels, Equation solving puzzles, Number card placement gameplay, Suitable for all ages

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Recursive free?

Recursive costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Dark Math free?

Dark Math is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Recursive or Dark Math?

Recursive is rated higher. Recursive averages 4.9 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Dark Math averages 4.8 from 8 ratings.

### Do Recursive or Dark Math have ads?

Dark Math shows ads; Recursive does not.

### Which is updated more often, Recursive or Dark Math?

Recursive ships an update every 4 days, and Dark Math every 4 days. Most recently, Recursive was updated on October 24, 2026 and Dark Math on October 25, 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.*