Comparison

Idle Acorns vs Ethos Idle

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

Head to head
About

Idle Acorns

A classic idle clicker game with a charming narrative. Explore diverse environments, gather resources, craft items, and play mini-games. Enjoy a pure, ad-free experience with no in-app purchases or data mining.

Highlights
  • Resource gathering and upgrades
  • Crafting over 24 items
  • Fishing and cooking mini-game
  • Gardening and tree growing
  • Campfire for inviting characters
  • iCloud backup support
  • Game Center integration
Features
Read full description

Inspired by the classics, Idle Acorns is a fun mobile clicker game that features no advertisements, no in-app purchases, and no data-mining. Inspired by the clicker games of the old internet, Idle Acorns brings a fun narrative to the mobile clicker arena but without getting weighed down by advertisements, in-app purchases or data mining. Explore the forest and ocean with Benny the squirrel and enjoy everything from fishing, to gardening. Unlock the campfire to invite new characters, collect resources, and craft items. Featuring 4 mini-games, iCloud backup support, Game Center support, iMessage sticker pack, and more! Like classic Idle games, Idle Acorns respects time travel. Please note that time travel will disable Game Center features. Shake the tree to gather acorns. Purchase upgrades and enlist scavengers to collect acorns while you are away! Sell your acorns, and unlock new areas in the shop. Speak with Benny the squirrel to navigate your adventure. Cast your line, and catch fish in the ocean. Open the map to visit your acres of land, or upgrade your offline collection. Unlock the campfire and invite all new characters. Trade resources and buy recipes to craft over 24 new items. - Forge diamonds and buy upgrades - Go fishing and cook fish - Buy land and grow trees - Unlock the campfire and trade resources - Buy recipes and craft items - 4 Mini-Games - Share resources with friends - Lots of character dialogue - Seasonal events - iCloud backup support - Game Center leaderboards and achievements - iMessage sticker pack IMPORTANT: iPhone SE (2016 First Generation) and iPod touch are not supported.

About

Ethos Idle

Guide humanity's progress from its earliest discoveries to the distant future. Manage your tribe's choices, develop over 200 unique ideas, and explore the world. Advance your civilization, unlock bonuses, and enjoy a single-player, offline experience with optional ads.

Highlights
  • Develop over 200 historic ideas
  • Explore and exploit the world
  • Manage tribe choices
  • Unlock exploration bonuses and synergies
  • Prestige mechanic upgrades
  • Customizable challenge scenarios
  • Offline single-player experience
Features
Read full description

Chart the progess of Humanity through the ages, and guide their every discovery from the moment they kindle the first fire to the far future. Develop over 200 unique ideas across three different flavours of thought. Help your people to conquer or make peace with their enemies, explore and exploit the world, and develop projects to meet their needs. Manage your tribe's choices to squeeze out more strength, or sit back and idle as your clan develop on their own. Advance as far as you can take your people, and then collect bonuses to improve future runs. Select varied challenges that change the way the game plays, and combine these challenges to create your own unique scenarios with big rewards. Features: - Over 200 historic ideas to develop, across 3 flavours of thought - Dozens of exploration bonuses and synergies to unlock and exploit - Permanently power up your civilisation with prestige mechanic upgrades - Combine varied challenge conditions to create your own scenarios with powerful rewards - Optional, out-of-the-way ads won't interrupt your experience - A completely offline, single player experience - All game content is accessible for free

Screenshots

Idle Acorns4 screens
Ethos Idle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Ethos Idle at Free against Idle Acorns's $1.99. Ethos Idle also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 60%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Idle Acorns's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On rating and device support 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

Ethos Idle is free to download; Idle Acorns costs $1.99 up front. Ethos Idle sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Idle Acorns asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Idle Acorns against 4.8 for Ethos Idle. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Idle Acorns has 1.2K ratings behind it against 241, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Idle Acorns's written reviews are positive against 84% of Ethos Idle's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Idle Acorns ships an update every 6 weeks, Ethos Idle every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Idle Acorns versus Ethos Idle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIdle AcornsEthos Idle
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.2K ratings)4.8 (241 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews84.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.2K — better241
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#87 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size149 MB101 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeraleros.io LLCGraham Goldstein

Customer experience

Idle Acorns

All ratings1,216 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews108 reviews
Positive60.2%
Neutral10.2%
Negative29.6%

Ethos Idle

All ratings241 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.7%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive84.4%
Neutral9.4%
Negative6.3%

User reviews

Idle Acorns

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Charming and relaxing
  • 👍 No ads or in-app purchases
  • 🎨 Pleasant aesthetics
  • 🕹️ Satisfying gameplay loop
  • 💰 Good value for money

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Slow progression and pacing
  • 🔍 Unclear mechanics and lack of explanation
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔌 Limited offline progress
  • 🔢 Inconsistent upgrade costs

Ethos Idle

From 241 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast progression
  • 👍 Minimal ad interruption
  • 👍 Simple and enjoyable design
  • 👍 Great for relaxing and watching numbers go up
  • 👍 Excellent incremental game design

Room to improve

  • 🐢 Slower progression speed desired
  • 🛒 IAP for 2x production doesn't eliminate video ads

Bugs and requests

Idle Acorns

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Tree disappearing issue
  • Bat not recognizing feather purchases
  • Zoom and UI issues on certain devices
  • Negative acorn balance after time manipulation

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • More late-game content
  • Improved UI and navigation
  • Better explanation of game mechanics
  • Increased offline progress

Ethos Idle

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • RNG for challenges is unfair and unfun
  • Unlocking buffs for inaccessible technologies

Requested features

2 requests
  • Option to remove ads entirely
  • Clarification on prestige warp gain multipliers

In-app purchases

None

Idle Acorns

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Ethos Idle

One-time1
  • x2 Speed$6.99

Questions

Is Idle Acorns free?
Idle Acorns costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ethos Idle free?
Ethos Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Idle Acorns or Ethos Idle?
Ethos Idle is rated higher. Idle Acorns averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Ethos Idle averages 4.8 from 241 ratings.
Do Idle Acorns or Ethos Idle have ads?
Ethos Idle shows ads; Idle Acorns does not.
Which is updated more often, Idle Acorns or Ethos Idle?
Idle Acorns ships an update every 6 weeks, and Ethos Idle every 3 weeks. Most recently, Idle Acorns was updated on November 3, 2026 and Ethos Idle on October 30, 2026.

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