# Planet simulation vs Life

The clearest difference is ads: Life at none against Planet simulation's shown. Life also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 74%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months). Planet simulation's advantage is ratings volume (165 vs 3) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for Planet simulation against 4.0 for Life. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Planet simulation has 165 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of Planet simulation's written reviews are positive against 100% of Life's.

Planet simulation ships an update every 8 months, Life every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Planet simulation | Life |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.9 (165 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planet-simulation/id356146219/reviews) | **[4.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life-the-game/id1617641490/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **165** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 74.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Size | 15 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [DAN-BALL](https://appshunter.io/developer/348592290) | [Jan P. Barnholt](https://appshunter.io/developer/470499844) |

## What reviewers say

### Planet simulation

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planet-simulation/id356146219)

Design and build your own solar system with various stars. Explore the fascinating world of gravity and recreate celestial bodies. A relaxing game for your spare time.

**Highlights:** Create your own solar system, Simulate gravity, Design with various stars, Reproduce celestial bodies, Relaxing gameplay

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Realistic gravity simulation
- 👍 Fun to mess around with
- 🎨 Visually appealing
- 🤖 Good for learning about planetary motion

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Planets often crash into the sun
- 🔍 Limited features and customization options
- 📢 Distracting ads
- 🤯 Confusing controls and UI

**Reported bugs**

- Planets sometimes disappear or behave erratically
- App crashes or freezes occasionally
- Scaling and scrolling issues

**Requested features**

- Add more celestial objects (black holes, supernovas, etc.)
- Allow for more complex orbits and binary systems
- Implement a save/load feature for solar systems
- Add a tutorial or help section
- Integrate with educational resources on astronomy


### Life

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life-the-game/id1617641490)

Explore Conway's Game of Life, a cellular automaton where simple patterns evolve into complex structures or disappear. Discover over 90 included patterns, analyze their evolution with built-in statistics, and rewind to observe changes. Export your creations as images or RLE files.

**Highlights:** Conway's Game of Life simulation, Catalog of 90+ patterns, Cycle detection and statistics, Rewind feature for evolution, Image and RLE export, Pattern exploration and combination

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Planet simulation free?

Planet simulation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Life free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Planet simulation or Life?

Life is rated higher. Planet simulation averages 3.9 out of 5 from 165 ratings, while Life averages 4.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Planet simulation or Life have ads?

Planet simulation shows ads; Life does not.

### Which is updated more often, Planet simulation or Life?

Planet simulation ships an update every 8 months, and Life every 2 months. Most recently, Planet simulation was updated on November 1, 2026 and Life on November 3, 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.*