Comparison

Canabalt vs Doug dug.

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

Head to head
About

Canabalt

Escape a collapsing city by running and jumping with a single button. This classic infinite runner offers new game modes, multiple characters, and a thrilling race for survival.

Highlights
  • One-button controls
  • Infinite runner gameplay
  • New game modes
  • Multiple characters
  • High score chasing
  • Two-player option
Features
Read full description

"Fantastic... Super-simple, pixel-perfect, great music and sound." - daringfireball.net "Canabalt is pure genius." -necessarygames.com Escape the destruction of your city with just one button! The game that popularized the infinite runner genre is back with new game modes and support for every dang phone and tablet thingy! ------------------------- "This "daring escape" platformer is simply beautiful and beautifully simple." -Kotaku "It's going to be quite some time before you find something so simple so thrilling again." -Offworld "Canabalt is actually much more intense than you'd assume of a game which requires a single finger to play." -GameSpy ------------------------- Play any of the 8 new game modes with one or two players, dash across rooftops with four different runners, or just chase that high score in the classic futile race for survival. ------------------------- "It's all very lovely and full of poignant subtext. And awesomeness. Canabalt is a prime example of a simple idea executed extremely well." -JayIsGames "I have never seen a concept so richly and successfully realized in such a simple yet stunningly complete form. Canabalt represents the power and potential of small independent games." -gameinmind.com "Music is another component that is just perfect - it enhances the strange and unsettling setting of the game and also gives a sense of speed with a hint of hope that quick feet might be the salvation to the horror." -bartsnews.net

About

Doug dug.

Embark on a deep underground adventure to collect shimmering jewels and precious gold. Dig farther and deeper than your friends while avoiding colossal cave-ins, creepy monsters, and bottomless pits. Compete for the highest score and discover buried treasure.

Highlights
  • Dig deep underground
  • Collect jewels and gold
  • Avoid cave-ins
  • Fight monsters
  • Compete with friends
  • Discover buried treasure
Features
Read full description

Doug is a Dwarf. Doug loves digging. Well, actually he doesn't: what he likes is to find buried treasure. Anyway, one day Doug decided to gather as much treasure from as deep under the earth as he could go. So Doug dug. And he dug. And he fought monsters and avoided massive avalanches of falling rock. And then he dug some more. And he picked up lots of bling. Now it's your turn. Help Doug dig deep down under the earth in the quest for shimmering jewels and precious gold. Go farther and deeper than any of your friends. Find more gold than anyone in the world. Oh but watch out for colossal cave-ins. No they're really colossal—you won't believe it. And creepy monsters. And bottomless pits. Ah, don't worry it's just a game. Do you like Spelunky? Dig Dug? Well c'mon you like Minecraft don't you? Well then you'll like this. Plus it's cheaper. And better. Plus your friends are playing it and you don't want to be left out, do you? Or maybe no one is playing it, in which case you'll be the one who introduces all your friends to "Doug dug." Then everyone will say, "Hey look there goes *your name here* who introduced us to 'Doug dug' and who is therefore cooler than the rest of us because he/she discovered it first." One of those two great options is bound to happen. So what are you waiting for? Doug dug. Will you? Visit http://youtu.be/GZazFfw_O7A to see how it plays.

Screenshots

Canabalt4 screens
Doug dug.1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Doug dug. at Free against Canabalt's $2.99. Doug dug. also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (80% vs 68%). Canabalt's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#115 vs unranked). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

Doug dug. is free to download; Canabalt costs $2.99 up front. Doug dug. sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Canabalt asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Doug dug. holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 84 and 193 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Canabalt's written reviews are positive against 80% of Doug dug.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Canabalt ships an update every 2 months, Doug dug. every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Canabalt versus Doug dug.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCanabaltDoug dug.
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (84 ratings)4.5 (193 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.9% of reviews80.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings84193 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#115 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.2 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB12 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperFinjiThe Electric Toy Company

Customer experience

Canabalt

All ratings82 ratings
Positive79.3%
Neutral9.8%
Negative11.0%
Written reviews365 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral12.1%
Negative20.0%

Doug dug.

All ratings193 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews207 reviews
Positive80.2%
Neutral5.8%
Negative14.0%

User reviews

Canabalt

From 84 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple yet addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Atmospheric music and sound effects
  • 🎨 Unique retro pixel art style
  • 💡 Randomized obstacles for replayability

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive for a simple game
  • 🔍 Lack of screen optimization for newer devices
  • 🔇 No option to disable music
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs

Doug dug.

From 193 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun and addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Great for casual play
  • 💎 Charming retro-style graphics
  • 🕹️ Simple but engaging controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🤑 Paywall at 500m depth
  • 🤔 Unclear mechanics (e.g. 'trust fall')
  • 🎮 Imprecise swipe controls

Bugs and requests

Canabalt

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on iOS 14
  • Sound effects not working on some devices
  • High scores not displaying correctly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to turn off music
  • More game modes and levels
  • Online leaderboards and achievements
  • Controller support

Doug dug.

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes after iOS updates
  • Stuck movement when digging left
  • Reward text blocking view

Requested features

4 requests
  • More power-ups and upgrades
  • Checkpoint system to avoid restarting
  • Ability to customize Doug's appearance
  • Multiplayer or co-op modes

In-app purchases

None

Canabalt

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Doug dug.

One-time1
  • Unlock Infinite Depths$0.99

Questions

Is Canabalt free?
Canabalt costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Doug dug. free?
Doug dug. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Canabalt or Doug dug.?
Doug dug. is rated higher. Canabalt averages 4.3 out of 5 from 84 ratings, while Doug dug. averages 4.5 from 193 ratings.
Do Canabalt or Doug dug. have ads?
Neither Canabalt nor Doug dug. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Canabalt or Doug dug.?
Canabalt ships an update every 2 months, and Doug dug. every 6 weeks. Most recently, Canabalt was updated on November 1, 2026 and Doug dug. on November 1, 2026.

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