Comparison

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX vs Balatro

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

Head to head
About

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX

A multiplayer card game where players draw cards to avoid exploding kittens. Use strategic cards to defuse fatal felines or eliminate opponents. Features original art and is available exclusively for Netflix members.

Highlights
  • Draw cards to avoid exploding kittens
  • Defuse fatal felines with special cards
  • Multiplayer gameplay
  • Strategic card play
  • Original art by The Oatmeal
  • Exclusive to Netflix members
Read full description

Available exclusively for Netflix members. Bring the catnip. Draw as many cards as you can, and do your best to dodge — or defuse — fatal felines. Or else, boom goes the dynamite! In this multiplayer, kitty-powered game of chance, players draw cards — until someone draws an exploding kitten and blows up. Then that player is out unless they have a defuse card. Defuse cards allow players to neutralize furry foes with laser pointers, belly rubs, catnip sandwiches or other diversions. All of the other cards in the deck can be used strategically to move, mitigate or avoid. Featuring original art by The Oatmeal.

About

Balatro

This game blends poker and solitaire mechanics with unique rule-bending twists. Build powerful poker hands, discover game-changing Joker cards, and create exciting combos to defeat challenging Boss Blinds. Explore different decks and game modes for endless replayability.

Highlights
  • Poker and Solitaire hybrid gameplay
  • Rule-bending mechanics
  • Collect over 150 unique Joker cards
  • Create powerful combos
  • Campaign and challenge modes
  • Pixel art visuals
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the official Balatro mobile game! Hypnotic and endlessly satisfying, Balatro is a magical mix of card games like Solitaire and Poker, that lets you twist the rules in ways never seen before! Your goal is to beat the Boss Blinds by making strong poker hands. Find new Jokers that change the game and create awesome and exciting combos! Win enough chips to beat tricky bosses, and find hidden bonus hands and decks as you play. You’ll need all the help you can get to beat the big boss, win the final challenge, and win the game. Features: * Remastered controls for touch screen devices. * Each run is different: every pick-up, discard and joker can dramatically alter the course of your run. * Multiple game items: discover over 150 Jokers, each with special powers. Use them with different decks,upgrade cards and vouchers to boost your scores. * Different Game modes: Campaign mode and challenge mode for you to play. * Beautiful Pixel Art: Immerse yourself in the CRT fuzz and enjoy detailed, hand-crafted pixel art.

Screenshots

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX4 screens
Balatro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Balatro at 81% against Exploding Kittens NETFLIX's 21%. Balatro also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Exploding Kittens NETFLIX's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99). On ads 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

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX is free to download; Balatro costs $9.99 up front. Exploding Kittens NETFLIX sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per month. Balatro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Balatro holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro has 105K ratings behind it against 218, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Exploding Kittens NETFLIX's written reviews are positive against 81% of Balatro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX ships an update every 6 months, Balatro every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Exploding Kittens NETFLIX versus Balatro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExploding Kittens NETFLIXBalatro
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating3.1 (218 ratings)5.0 (105K ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.2% of reviews81.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings218105K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#3 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size516 MB93 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperNetflix, Inc.Playstack Ltd

Customer experience

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX

All ratings218 ratings
Positive42.7%
Neutral16.1%
Negative41.3%
Written reviews692 reviews
Positive21.2%
Neutral19.9%
Negative58.8%

Balatro

All ratings105,357 ratings
Positive99.2%
Neutral0.3%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews1,853 reviews
Positive81.0%
Neutral5.2%
Negative13.8%

User reviews

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX

From 218 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Accurate to the original card game
  • 💡 New cards and features
  • 🎉 Fun and addictive

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Automatic card plays
  • 🐛 Inconsistent behavior of certain cards
  • 🕰️ Lack of turn timer for players

Balatro

From 105K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Addictive gameplay
  • 💎 Unique and compelling mechanics
  • 👍 Easy to learn, hard to master
  • 🎨 Charming pixel art and music
  • 💰 Great value for money

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and save issues
  • 🔍 Small text and UI elements
  • 🔋 Battery draining
  • 🔇 No background music support

Bugs and requests

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game freezes when Armageddon card is played
  • Nope card not working as intended
  • Exploding kitten card not being placed back correctly
  • Wins not being tracked in single-player mode

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to kick inactive players
  • Save progress and unlock higher difficulty levels
  • More customization options
  • Ability to chat with other players

Balatro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unlocks and achievements not registering properly
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices
  • Joker and card interactions not working as expected

Requested features

3 requests
  • Cloud save sync across devices
  • Portrait mode option
  • Customizable UI and accessibility settings

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Exploding Kittens NETFLIX

Subscriptions1
  • Netflix Standard Plan$19.991 Month
None

Balatro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Exploding Kittens NETFLIX free?
Exploding Kittens NETFLIX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Balatro free?
Balatro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Exploding Kittens NETFLIX or Balatro?
Balatro is rated higher. Exploding Kittens NETFLIX averages 3.1 out of 5 from 218 ratings, while Balatro averages 5.0 from 105K ratings.
Do Exploding Kittens NETFLIX or Balatro have ads?
Neither Exploding Kittens NETFLIX nor Balatro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Exploding Kittens NETFLIX or Balatro?
Exploding Kittens NETFLIX ships an update every 6 months, and Balatro every 5 days. Most recently, Exploding Kittens NETFLIX was updated on October 13, 2026 and Balatro on October 14, 2026.

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