# Alchemy Dungeon vs Vactics

The clearest difference is ads: Vactics at none against Alchemy Dungeon's shown. Vactics also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). Alchemy Dungeon's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 4.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Alchemy Dungeon sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Vactics sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Alchemy Dungeon holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 42 and 56 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Alchemy Dungeon's written reviews are positive against 71% of Vactics's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Alchemy Dungeon ships an update every 4 months, Vactics every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Alchemy Dungeon | Vactics |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (42 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alchemy-dungeon/id1551476344/reviews)** | [4.0 (56 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vactics/id1561887778/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 42 | **56** |
| Positive reviews | 68.8% of reviews | **70.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 84 MB | 309 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Ivan Khokhlenkov](https://appshunter.io/developer/1415532966) | [Gerard Delaney](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476170004) |

## What reviewers say

### Alchemy Dungeon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alchemy-dungeon/id1551476344)

Merge items to discover new recipes and explore procedurally generated dungeons. Battle monsters, collect treasures, and use your progress to unlock new characters and powers in this challenging roguelike puzzle game.

**Highlights:** Item merging and recipe discovery, Endless dungeon exploration, Monster slaying and treasure hunting, Unlockable characters, powers, and levels, Offline gameplay, One-hand operation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1000 gold | $1.99 | one-time |
| Turn off ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| 5000 gold | $7.99 | one-time |
| 15000 gold | $19.99 | one-time |


### Vactics

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vactics/id1561887778)

Engage in tactical, chess-like combat by building powerful mechs to battle robotic enemies. Face randomly generated challenges and fight for a better future in this strategic warfare game.

**Highlights:** Mech building, Tactical chess-like combat, Randomly generated challenges, Mech and tech upgrades, Extended campaign, Leaderboard competition

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscribe to Vactics Pro | $2.99 | per 3 months |
| Vactics Pro | $8.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Innovative gameplay mechanics
- 👍 Deep tactical gameplay
- 🎨 Gorgeous art style
- 🎶 Excellent synthwave score
- ✨ Well-balanced gameplay

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 High price for pro version
- 💸 Expensive subscription options
- 😩 Frustrating paywall
- ❓ Lacking tutorial explanations
- 🐌 Slow restart function

**Reported bugs**

- Combo attack bonus cancelled by heavy landing
- "Restore purchases" not working after update
- Cannot equip more than one ability
- Inconsistent combat: adjacent Vactic not hitting
- Cannot mount one tech in Chassis and one in Engine

**Requested features**

- Add more upgrades
- Add more game modes
- Add online co-op
- Add infinite wave competition
- Add diverging paths on map like FTL


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Alchemy Dungeon free?

Alchemy Dungeon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Vactics free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Alchemy Dungeon or Vactics?

Alchemy Dungeon is rated higher. Alchemy Dungeon averages 4.2 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while Vactics averages 4.0 from 56 ratings.

### Do Alchemy Dungeon or Vactics have ads?

Alchemy Dungeon shows ads; Vactics does not.

### Which is updated more often, Alchemy Dungeon or Vactics?

Alchemy Dungeon ships an update every 4 months, and Vactics every 3 weeks. Most recently, Alchemy Dungeon was updated on November 3, 2026 and Vactics on November 3, 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.*