Comparison

Catan Classic vs Catanerator

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

Head to head
About

Catan Classic

Engage in a classic board game of trading, building, and settling. Compete with up to four players online or against AI opponents. Expand your gameplay with purchasable expansions offering new scenarios and mechanics.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer
  • AI opponents with unique strategies
  • Trading and resource management
  • Expandable gameplay with DLC
  • Original rule set
  • Game statistics
  • Comprehensive tutorial
Features
Read full description

"Catan", the legendary strategy game provides gaming fun anytime, anywhere. True to the original game, you can compete with up to four players for the most settlements, the longest roads and the largest army. You can trade with each other and claim the precious land with all its resources. The game allows you to challenge other Catan fans online via cross-platform multiplayer to prove your strategy skills or play against the AI: Various computer opponents, each with their own individual characteristics, will prove themselves worthy competitors: the pirate Jean, who knows no compromise, Vincent the merchant, who never allows himself to be cheated, Sean the knight, who takes what is rightfully his... The popular Catan expansions "Seafarers", "Cities and Knights" and two new special scenarios are available as In-App purchases. The complete Seafarers expansion includes more than 10 additional scenarios with an extensive campaign. Become Harbormaster, discover new islands and extra game elements like ships, gold fields, treasures and pirates. Ahoy! The Cities and Knights expansion introduces various new gameplay mechanics that add even more variety to Catan. Invest new trade goods in city improvements to build one of the three metropolises of Catan – but beware of the barbarians attracted by Catan’s new wealth! You’ll need your best knights to fend them off! C&K contains a short campaign and 7 challenging maps. Exciting adventures await you in the two new scenarios "Enchanted Land" and "The Great Canal". Vanquish dragons and bag their treasures or build a canal to help barren grain fields bloom once more. Features: - Available languages: English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese - Original "Settlers of Catan" rule set - Update 4.0+: Synchronous online multiplayer games - Smart computer opponents with individual strategies - Scrollable game board including zoom option - Freely combinable game settings - Game statistics - Comprehensive tutorial - Seafarers LITE: New scenario "The 4 Islands" and two additional game variants - Cities and Knights LITE: Test the new expansion in the scenario “The first Island” - 3 different graphic sets to choose from ***** Catan FAQ: Question: An expansion seems gone after an update or reinstallation of Catan or after restoring the device? Answer: Don’t worry! Your initial purchase is already saved in your iTunes account. You can restore your InApp purchases by selecting the restore-option in the Catan IAP menu. Question: I lost my campaign progress after reinstalling, updating or restoring my device. Is there any way to restore it? Answer: When saved games can’t be automatically restored, we’ve integrated a cheat code: In the campaign mode go to select player and enter „CatanWarp*“ (* = 1–15) as your player name and confirm. Exit the game via the home button and restart it. The campaign can now be continued from the specified level number (1–15). Levels up to the specified number will be unlocked in the custom game mode as well. Question: Are dice rolls really random? Answer: Of course! All dice rolls are 100% random and not modified in any way. We’re avid Catan players ourselves. We’ve played the iOS version hundreds of times while developing the program. There have been times when we won and lost a few games in a row because of the dice - just like when playing the board game! ***** Questions or suggestions for improvements: Mail to ios@usm.de We are looking forward to your feedback! For more information on news and updates: www.usmgames.com or visit us on www.facebook.com/UnitedSoftMedia and twitter.com/USM_News *****

About

Catanerator

Generate balanced and customizable game boards for Settlers of Catan. This tool helps create fair maps with various configuration options, ensuring no player has an unfair advantage. Enhance your gameplay with expansion pack support.

Highlights
  • Customizable board generation
  • Adjacent reds configuration
  • Max dots per intersection
  • Fair port distribution
  • Expansion pack support
  • Sea Farers support
Features
Read full description

The #1 competitive board generator for Settlers of Catan. With countless configurations, including adjacent reds, max dots per intersection, fair ports, and much more. Upgrade your app for the Expansion packs and Sea Farers. Settlers of Catan is an exciting, strategy, social board game which is played around a randomly generated board. Players collect resources, including wood, brick, sheep, wheat and ore, to trade or build new roads and settlements. First person to 10 points wins. Catanerator is a tool used to generate a board which distributes the odds in a fashion that allows a customizable balance. Now you can play Settlers of Catan with a board which does not give unfair advantages to certain players. Check it out and let us know what you think or what you'd like to see! NOTE: The difference between Catanerator Pro and this is that Pro comes with some of the in app purchases by default. Enjoy!

Screenshots

Catan Classic4 screens
Catanerator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Catanerator at Free against Catan Classic's $4.99. Catanerator also leads on review sentiment (55% vs 25%) and rating (4.0 vs 3.7). Catan Classic's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 236) and chart position (#11 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Catanerator is free to download; Catan Classic costs $4.99 up front. Catan Classic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Catanerator sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Catanerator holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Catan Classic has 11K ratings behind it against 236, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Catan Classic's written reviews are positive against 55% of Catanerator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Catan Classic ships an update every 5 months, Catanerator every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and August 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Catan Classic versus Catanerator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatan ClassicCatanerator
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.7 (11K ratings)4.0 (236 ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.8% of reviews55.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11K — better236
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size840 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUnited Soft Media Verlag GmbHElevated Pixels Software

Customer experience

Catan Classic

All ratings10,594 ratings
Positive67.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews811 reviews
Positive24.8%
Neutral17.4%
Negative57.8%

Catanerator

All ratings236 ratings
Positive74.2%
Neutral5.5%
Negative20.3%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive55.2%
Neutral8.6%
Negative36.2%

User reviews

Catan Classic

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast gameplay
  • 👍 Faithful to the board game
  • 🎮 Enjoyable AI opponents
  • 🕹️ Customizable settings

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🧠 Unfair AI behavior
  • 🎲 Questionable dice rolls
  • 💰 Expensive expansions
  • 🔍 Difficult to see the full board

Catanerator

From 236 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great map generator
  • 👍 Useful tool for game setup
  • 💡 Allows for different board configurations
  • 🚀 Saves time setting up the game

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes on some devices
  • 🔒 Paywall for advanced features
  • 👎 Difficult to navigate
  • 👎 Unclear color-resource mapping

Bugs and requests

Catan Classic

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to reconnect to online games
  • Freezing when placing the robber
  • Disappearing resources and progress
  • Inconsistent login and account management

Requested features

4 requests
  • Online multiplayer improvements
  • More game modes and scenarios
  • Better UI optimization for newer devices
  • Ability to save and resume games

Catanerator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on startup for some users
  • Allows adjacent high-value tiles despite setting
  • Resets board when switching between portrait and landscape
  • Difficulty distinguishing resource types due to color scheme

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for Seafarers and Cities & Knights expansions
  • Implement a dice roller for Knights and Barbarians
  • Allow custom tile placement and saving of custom boards
  • Improve board balancing and prevent adjacent high-value tiles

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Catan Classic

One-time5
  • The new scenarios$1.99
  • Catan - The Islands$1.99
  • The Seafarers$4.99
Show 2 more
  • Cities & Knights$4.99
  • All-expansions Bundle$9.99
4 purchases

Catanerator

One-time4
  • Standard$0.99
  • Expansion$1.99
  • Seafarers Small$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Seafarers Large$1.99

Questions

Is Catan Classic free?
Catan Classic costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Catanerator free?
Catanerator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Catan Classic or Catanerator?
Catanerator is rated higher. Catan Classic averages 3.7 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Catanerator averages 4.0 from 236 ratings.
Do Catan Classic or Catanerator have ads?
Neither Catan Classic nor Catanerator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Catan Classic or Catanerator?
Catan Classic ships an update every 5 months, and Catanerator every 2 months. Most recently, Catan Classic was updated on September 26, 2026 and Catanerator on August 9, 2026.

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