Comparison

Hold The Button vs Bix Challenge

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

Head to head
About

Hold The Button

Test your patience, willpower, and stamina by holding down a button for as long as possible. Compete with friends and players globally in this reactivated classic game.

Highlights
  • Hold a button challenge
  • Patience test
  • Willpower assessment
  • Stamina evaluation
  • Global leaderboards
  • Improved graphics and animations
Features
Read full description

Hold The Button has captivated more than 250,000 players from around the world. After a while, we have reactivated it! You can play again the game that you have missed all this time. Do you think you are patient? Do you think you have willpower? Do you think you have stamina? Put it to the ultimate test with Hold The Button. Compare yourself and compete with your friends and gamers from around the world. More graphics! More animations! More fun!

About

Bix Challenge

Draw lines to section off areas and trap bouncing balls. Master the rule where closing a line fills the side with fewer balls. Offers 100 levels with unique challenges and a hidden endless mode.

Highlights
  • 100 levels across 10 galaxies
  • Hidden endless climb mode
  • Collect stars, chests, and gold balls
  • Boosters for assistance
  • Glowing visuals
  • Original soundtrack
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

A new take on Bix Challenge, the line-drawing arcade classic in the spirit of Qix, Xonix and JezzBall. Draw lines to cut the field, fill it with light and trap the bouncing balls. One rule to master: when you close a line, the side with fewer balls fills up. Easy to learn, fiendishly hard to master. WHAT'S INSIDE • 100 levels across 10 galaxies, each with its own twist: ball traps, line limits, dark zones, time trials, giant balls, ice walls and hunters • The Rift: beat level 100 and a hidden climb opens. How high can you go? • Three stars to earn on every level, chests to open, gold balls to collect • Boosters when you need a hand: Slow start and Shield • Glowing visuals made for today's iPhone and iPad • The original soundtrack, now opening up as you fill the field • Your progress is saved in iCloud and follows you to your other devices • Plays offline THE ORIGINAL, STILL HERE Bix Challenge has been played by over a million people since 2008, reaching #2 in France, #3 in Germany and #4 in the UK. The classic version is still in the app, exactly as you remember it: turn on "Classic version" in Settings.

Screenshots

Hold The Button2 screens
Bix Challenge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hold The Button at none against Bix Challenge's 10. Hold The Button also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). Bix Challenge's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 41%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Bix Challenge sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Hold The Button asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hold The Button ships an update every 3 months, Bix Challenge every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hold The Button versus Bix Challenge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHold The ButtonBix Challenge
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (30 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews41.3% of reviews74.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings30 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlvaro BalbontinPadadaz

Customer experience

Hold The Button

All ratings29 ratings
Positive79.3%
Neutral10.3%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews150 reviews
Positive41.3%
Neutral16.0%
Negative42.7%

Bix Challenge

Written reviews307 reviews
Positive74.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative16.0%

User reviews

Hold The Button

From 30 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⏱️ Simple concept - easy to understand gameplay
  • 💰 Free to download
  • 🏆 Competitive leaderboard system
  • 📱 Good for killing time
  • 😄 Humorous novelty appeal

Room to improve

  • 📺 Intrusive fullscreen ads that interrupt gameplay
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 😴 Extremely boring and pointless gameplay
  • ⏸️ Ads cause progress loss and game over

Bix Challenge

From App Store reviews

What we love

  • 👍 Good time waster
  • 🤩 Addictive and fun
  • 😊 Wonderful game
  • 🎮 Retro game feel

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy controls
  • 🤬 Too many ads
  • 😞 Crashes and bugs
  • 🤯 Difficult to progress

Bugs and requests

Hold The Button

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes after 10 minutes of use
  • Crashes when timer hits certain intervals
  • High scores not saving properly
  • App fails to reopen after closing
  • Profile creation stuck on 'sending to server'
Show 5 more
  • High score list access causes crash to home screen
  • Screen lock causes app to freeze
  • Finger detection fails despite holding button
  • Major lag and performance issues
  • Assistive touch causes uncontrollable behavior

Requested features

7 requests
  • Remove or relocate ads from middle of screen
  • Add missions or challenges during gameplay
  • Implement lifelines feature
  • Add chat/messaging with other players
  • Reward system for top players
Show 2 more
  • Better device compatibility updates
  • Fix high score saving mechanism

Bix Challenge

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes after completing levels
  • Unresponsive controls
  • Inability to exit ads

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content
  • Save progress and resume
  • Landscape mode
  • Sound effects

In-app purchases

None

Hold The Button

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Bix Challenge

One-time10
  • Handful of Golden Balls$0.99
  • Pouch of coins$0.99
  • Starter offer$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Rescue pack$1.99
  • Disable Ads$2.99
  • Pile of Golden Balls$4.99
  • Bag of Golden Balls$9.99
  • Chest of coins$9.99
  • Chest of Golden Balls$19.99
  • Treasure of coins$49.99

Questions

Is Hold The Button free?
Hold The Button is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bix Challenge free?
Bix Challenge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hold The Button or Bix Challenge have ads?
Neither Hold The Button nor Bix Challenge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hold The Button or Bix Challenge?
Hold The Button ships an update every 3 months, and Bix Challenge every 10 days. Most recently, Hold The Button was updated on October 31, 2026 and Bix Challenge on November 8, 2026.

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