# Grow Animals vs Element

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Element at none against Grow Animals's 2. Element also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Grow Animals sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Element asks for nothing beyond the download.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Grow Animals | Element |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (45K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grow-animals/id1577130124/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **45K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 61.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 334 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lion Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/1362220666) | [Gaon Ahn](https://appshunter.io/developer/6782226733) |

## What reviewers say

### Grow Animals

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grow-animals/id1577130124)

Design and raise your dream pet by combining traits like cute, smart, strong, and lovable. Witness their evolution from a single cell to a fully grown creature, and even merge animals to discover new breeds. Decorate their habitat and care for them.

**Highlights:** Create dozens of unique animals, Experiment with trait combinations, Witness animal evolution, Decorate pet habitats, Pamper and play with pets, Merge animals to discover new breeds

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| All In One Bundle | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 Cute and fun animals
- 🤗 Relaxing and enjoyable gameplay
- 🤓 Educational animal facts
- 👍 Great for kids and adults

**What reviewers complain about**

- 😡 Too many ads and ad breaks
- 🤖 Lack of freedom to create own animals
- 🤯 Repetitive and limiting gameplay
- 🤔 Misleading advertising

**Reported bugs**

- Animals disappearing after merging
- Freezing and crashing issues
- Incorrect animal spawning
- Progress reset problems

**Requested features**

- Allow users to create their own unique animals
- Reduce the number of ads and ad breaks
- Add more content and gameplay variety
- Fix bugs and glitches


### Element

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/element-run/id6795315866)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Grow Animals free?

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

### Is Element free?

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

### Do Grow Animals or Element have ads?

Grow Animals shows ads; Element does not.

### Which is updated more often, Grow Animals or Element?

Grow Animals ships an update every 3 weeks, and Element every 3 weeks. Most recently, Grow Animals was updated on October 21, 2026 and Element on October 11, 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.*