# Shattered Pixel Dungeon vs Loop Hero

The clearest difference is price: Loop Hero at Free against Shattered Pixel Dungeon's $4.99. Shattered Pixel Dungeon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (93% vs 75%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Loop Hero is free to download; Shattered Pixel Dungeon costs $4.99 up front. Loop Hero sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shattered Pixel Dungeon asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Shattered Pixel Dungeon against 4.9 for Loop Hero. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.2K and 3.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Shattered Pixel Dungeon's written reviews are positive against 75% of Loop Hero's.

Shattered Pixel Dungeon ships an update fortnightly, Loop Hero every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shattered Pixel Dungeon | Loop Hero |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.9 (4.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shattered-pixel-dungeon/id1563121109/reviews)** | [4.9 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/loop-hero/id6464048549/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.2K** | 3.9K |
| Positive reviews | **93.0% of reviews** | 74.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#9** | — |
| Size | 134 MB | 213 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Evan Debenham](https://appshunter.io/developer/1562920988) | [Playdigious](https://appshunter.io/developer/1041387229) |

## What reviewers say

### Shattered Pixel Dungeon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shattered-pixel-dungeon/id1563121109)

**Currently charting:** #9 Top Paid · Role Playing, #15 Top Paid · Adventure, #95 Top Paid · Games, #162 Top Paid (US App Store)

Embark on a challenging roguelike dungeon crawl with six unique heroes. Explore procedurally generated levels, collect hundreds of items, and battle diverse enemies and bosses. Master unique hero mechanics and unlock powerful abilities to survive the depths.

**Highlights:** Six unique heroes with distinct playstyles, Procedurally generated dungeons and randomized enemies, Hundreds of items to collect, upgrade, and craft, Talent trees and subclass progression for heroes, Challenging bosses and optional achievements, Regular content updates

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Endless replayability
- 👍 Polished and well-designed
- 🎨 Excellent pixel art and aesthetics
- 💡 Innovative mechanics and depth
- 🕹️ Challenging yet rewarding gameplay

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤯 Extremely challenging and punishing
- 🕰️ Runs can feel too long
- 🤖 Overpowered enemy mechanics (e.g. evasion)

**Reported bugs**

- Sound effects not working on iOS
- Occasional crashes or freezes

**Requested features**

- Permadeath optional mode
- Ability to continue progress across devices
- More character classes and customization options


### Loop Hero

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/loop-hero/id6464048549)

Embark on a roguelike RPG adventure where you strategically place cards to create enemy encounters, buildings, and terrain. Equip your hero with powerful loot, expand your camp, and unlock new classes and cards to break an endless cycle of despair and save a forgotten world.

**Highlights:** Randomly generated expedition loops, Strategic card placement for trials, Loot collection for hero progression, Camp expansion and reconstruction, Unlockable classes and cards, Retro pixel art dark fantasy story

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Full Game | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent mechanics
- 👍 Great replayability
- 👍 Charming graphics
- 👍 Unique and enjoyable experience
- 👍 Smooth gameplay

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sound doesn't work
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Unresponsive after certain actions
- 🐛 Difficulty reading small text
- 🐛 Accidental card placement

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes after defeating first boss
- Unplayable after initial progress
- Inability to progress past trial version

**Requested features**

- Portrait mode
- More classes/build diversity
- Improved UI/overlay customization
- Chinese language support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shattered Pixel Dungeon free?

Shattered Pixel Dungeon costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Loop Hero free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Shattered Pixel Dungeon or Loop Hero?

Shattered Pixel Dungeon is rated higher. Shattered Pixel Dungeon averages 4.9 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Loop Hero averages 4.9 from 3.9K ratings.

### Do Shattered Pixel Dungeon or Loop Hero have ads?

Neither Shattered Pixel Dungeon nor Loop Hero shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shattered Pixel Dungeon or Loop Hero?

Shattered Pixel Dungeon ships an update fortnightly, and Loop Hero every 10 days. Most recently, Shattered Pixel Dungeon was updated on October 16, 2026 and Loop Hero on October 16, 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.*