# Pinball Defense Force vs Visual Pinball

The clearest difference is ads: Visual Pinball at none against Pinball Defense Force's shown. Visual Pinball also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and ratings volume (74 vs 13). Pinball Defense Force's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (100% vs 79%). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Pinball Defense Force holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Visual Pinball has 74 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Pinball Defense Force's written reviews are positive against 79% of Visual Pinball's.

Pinball Defense Force ships an update every 10 days, Visual Pinball fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pinball Defense Force | Visual Pinball |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (13 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinball-defense-force/id1606264904/reviews)** | [4.3 (74 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 13 | **74** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 78.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Size | 84 MB | 134 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Mitchell Smith](https://appshunter.io/developer/1479220326) | [Jason Millard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527911552) |

## What reviewers say

### Pinball Defense Force

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinball-defense-force/id1606264904)

Defend space in this classic 2D pinball game inspired by arcade classics. Face endless waves of randomized enemies, defeat bosses, and utilize power-ups to achieve high scores. Enjoy offline single-player gameplay with realistic physics and an arcade aesthetic.

**Highlights:** Endless randomized enemy formations, Boss waves, Power-ups, Realistic physics, Score multipliers, Offline single player

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Visual Pinball

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926)

Experience the full virtual pinball simulator with realistic physics, lighting, and sound. This open-source app offers a redesigned interface, enhanced table management, and the complete desktop experience for mobile devices. Enjoy a vast library of tables without ads or in-app purchases.

**Highlights:** Realistic physics, lighting, and sound, Redesigned interface with Liquid Glass, Full in-game menu for graphics and controls, Support for various backglass and display types, Easy table import and management, Optimized memory usage

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome way to play virtual pinball on the go
- 👍 Super easy to set up with minimal file prep time
- 👍 Insane that I can play favorite pins on just my phone
- 👍 Fantastic portable implementation of VPX
- 👍 Fun and exciting to archive the history of pinball

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔧 More ability to adjust table settings needed
- 🔧 Struggling to manage camera angle
- 🔧 No fullscreen on iPad, plunger and outlanes cropped
- 🔧 Some tables don't work or have issues

**Reported bugs**

- Tables don't load for some users
- Certain complex/intensive tables error out or run at low FPS

**Requested features**

- List of most played tables
- Ability to reposition DMD
- Option to skip startup checks for some tables
- Ability to edit table scripts on the app
- Direct link to table depository


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pinball Defense Force free?

Pinball Defense Force is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Visual Pinball free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Pinball Defense Force or Visual Pinball?

Pinball Defense Force is rated higher. Pinball Defense Force averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Visual Pinball averages 4.3 from 74 ratings.

### Do Pinball Defense Force or Visual Pinball have ads?

Pinball Defense Force shows ads; Visual Pinball does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pinball Defense Force or Visual Pinball?

Pinball Defense Force ships an update every 10 days, and Visual Pinball fortnightly. Most recently, Pinball Defense Force was updated on October 24, 2026 and Visual Pinball on October 30, 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.*