Pako Highway vs Populus Run
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pako Highway
Experience endless highway driving with thrilling near-miss overtakes to activate a powerful boost. Explore diverse environments, enjoy curated radio stations, and customize your vehicle collection. Level up to unlock new cars, upgrades, and stages.
- Endless highway driving
- Near-miss overtake boost
- Multiple driving environments
- In-game radio stations
- Car collection and upgrades
- Leveling system
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Drive through endless highways, dodge the obstacles and gather boost power by performing near-miss overtakes on traffic! - Cool boost mechanic that allows you to mow down thru the traffic when boost is full - Drive through megacity nights, sunny beach drives, mountain drives.. list goes on! - Radio channels with synthwave, electro and lofi house bangers! - Level up and buy more cars, upgrade your whips and unlock more stages. - Simple and mobile optimized gameplay
Populus Run
Control a crowd of people in this unique running game. Dodge obstacles, battle quirky bosses, and discover hidden characters. Enjoy the full experience with a one-time purchase.
- Control a crowd of people
- Dodge giant fast food
- Slide down pipes
- Battle rapper bosses
- Hardcore mode
- Collect secret characters
- Original soundtrack
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Play the opening levels for free with no ads. Unlock the full game forever with a single in-app purchase. Populus Run is the unconventional running game where you control a crowd of people. • Dodge giant fast food • Slide down pipes like at a waterpark • Battle rapper bosses, including Macaron, Donut, and Burger • Test yourself in Hardcore mode • Collect all the secret characters who are hidden in the levels • Show your respect for the upbeat original soundtrack with its choral singing Populus Run was originally released exclusively on Apple Arcade. Now it's available on the App Store. If you've played the game before, your progress and achievements will be carried over.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Populus Run at none against Pako Highway's shown. Populus Run also leads on device support (5 vs 3). Pako Highway's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 weeks) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Pako Highway sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Populus Run sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Populus Run holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 694 and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of Pako Highway's written reviews are positive against 70% of Populus Run's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Pako Highway ships an update weekly, Populus Run every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.
| Parameter | Pako Highway | Populus Run |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (694 ratings) | 4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.1% of reviews — better | 69.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 694 | 1.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 261 MB | 523 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Tree Men Games | FIFTYTWO |
Customer experience
Pako Highway
Populus Run
User reviews
Pako Highway
From 694 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fun and addictive gameplay
- 👍 Great graphics and retro vibe
- 💎 Satisfying boost and collision mechanics
- 🎮 Smooth and responsive controls
- 🕹️ Casual and easy to pick up
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent AI traffic behavior
- 🔁 Repetitive map design
- ⏱️ Short time limit per run
- 🚧 Obstacles and road hazards can be frustrating
- 💰 Excessive ads for a paid game
Populus Run
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Amazing game
- 👍 Great developers
- 👍 Fantastic music
- 👍 Relaxing and fun
- 👍 Colorful and visually appealing
Room to improve
- 💰 Paywall after first few levels
- 🐛 Occasional performance issues
- 🐛 Compatibility problems on some devices
Bugs and requests
Pako Highway
Reported bugs
3 issues- Diamonds not spawning on certain maps
- Crashes or freezes when starting a race
- Purchased car colors not applying correctly
Requested features
5 requests- Endless or sandbox mode without time limit
- More map variety and unique gimmicks
- Improved traffic AI to reduce frustrating pileups
- Customization options for cars and visual style
- Separate volume controls for music and sound effects
Populus Run
Reported bugs
3 issues- Freezing on login screen
- Graphical glitches on certain devices
- Saved data not restoring properly
Requested features
4 requests- Make the full game free to play
- Add more levels and worlds
- Improve level selection UI
- Allow customization of controls
In-app purchases
Pako Highway
- 30 000$0.99
- 150 000$3.99
- Remove ads$4.99
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- 350 000$7.99
- Unlimited coins$8.99
Populus Run
- Full Game$3.99
Questions
Is Pako Highway free?
Is Populus Run free?
Which has better reviews, Pako Highway or Populus Run?
Do Pako Highway or Populus Run have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pako Highway or Populus Run?
Other comparisons
