Comparison

Monster Dash vs Spartan Runner.

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

Head to head
About

Monster Dash

Embark on an action-packed adventure running and gunning through monster hordes. Master simple controls to blast enemies with powerful weapons across diverse worlds. Discover hidden awards and enjoy uninterrupted gameplay.

Highlights
  • Run and gun gameplay
  • Powerful weapons
  • Diverse worlds
  • Unique enemies
  • Hidden awards
  • Simple controls
Read full description

Sprint, Jump and Blast your way through Monster Dash, an action-packed game by the creators of Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja. Experience the classic game resurrected from the dead! With simple controls, just two buttons, making it easy-to-learn but hard to master. Join Barry Steakfries and his iconic Machine Gun Jetpack in a world full of menacing monster mayhem, as you run and gun your way through hordes of zombies, vampires and more with the most explosive and powerful weapons you can find! UNIQUE FEATURES: • Clear your path with punchy and powerful Weapons! • Uninterrupted gameplay without ads or in-app purchases • 5 different exotic worlds to survive • Unique enemies to defeat in each world • 62 Hidden Awards and Accolades to discover Download Monster Dash now and embark on an action-packed, monster-slaying, adventure… with a dash of nostalgia. Do the dash, do the Monster Dash! WHAT'S HALFBRICK+ Halfbrick+ is a mobile games subscription service featuring: ● Exclusive access to the highest-rated games ● No ads or in app purchases ● Brought to you by the makers of Award-winning mobile games ● Regular updates and new games ● Curated by hand - for gamers by gamers! Kick off your Guest Access with 60 minutes of gameplay! If you like what you see, start your One Month free trial and play all our games without ads, in app purchases, and fully unlocked games! Your subscription will auto-renew after 30 days, or save money with an annual membership! If you have any questions, please contact our support team https://support.halfbrick.com **************************************** View our privacy policy at https://halfbrick.com/hbpprivacy View our terms of service at https://www.halfbrick.com/terms-of-service

About

Spartan Runner.

Embark on an action-packed 2D adventure where you equip a Spartan with a shotgun to battle an alien invasion. Explore over 40 missions, customize your character, and upgrade weapons. Compete with friends on the global leaderboard.

Highlights
  • Old-school 2D graphics
  • Over 40 missions
  • Spartan customization
  • Weapon upgrades
  • Rewards and achievements
  • Weekly challenges
  • Global leaderboard
Features
Read full description

Here comes a new fun action running game that will keep you entertained for weeks! Equip your Spartan with his shotgun to go on a wild ride in his endless quest to stop the Alien invasion. FEATURES: * Discover old-school 2D graphics * Over 40 missions to complete * Customise your Spartan with emblematic Helmets * Splatter everything on your way with awesome vehicles * Upgrade your favourite weapons to make them devastating * Earn rewards and achievements from each game * New challenges every week * Test your reflexes with easy-to-learn controls * Battle against your friends in the world leaderboard Download Spartan Runner now for a new action packed adventure!

Screenshots

Monster Dash4 screens
Spartan Runner.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Spartan Runner. at free with in-app purchases against Monster Dash's subscription. Spartan Runner. also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (89% vs 62%). Monster Dash's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Monster Dash sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Spartan Runner. sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spartan Runner. holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.1K and 1.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Monster Dash's written reviews are positive against 89% of Spartan Runner.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Monster Dash ships an update every 3 weeks, Spartan Runner. every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Monster Dash versus Spartan Runner.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMonster DashSpartan Runner.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (2.1K ratings)4.8 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.8% of reviews89.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K — better1.3K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB62 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperHalfbrickWilliam Bourdon

Customer experience

Monster Dash

All ratings2,120 ratings
Positive85.5%
Neutral4.0%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews709 reviews
Positive61.8%
Neutral10.3%
Negative27.9%

Spartan Runner.

All ratings1,296 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews235 reviews
Positive89.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative6.8%

User reviews

Monster Dash

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun and addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Classic arcade-style visuals
  • 💡 Ghostbusters event mashup

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 Overheating issues on older devices
  • 💰 Excessive microtransactions and paywalls

Spartan Runner.

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👌 Perfecto
  • 🎮 New game idea
  • 🕹️ Halo in a nutshell
  • 👍 Good before bed game
  • 🏃‍♂️ Spartan runner

Room to improve

  • 🙅‍♂️ Bad app support
  • 🙅‍♂️ Worst game ever
  • 💰 Good if you don't care about ads
  • 🐛 Fix level 16
  • 🙅‍♂️ Can't X out of ads

Bugs and requests

Monster Dash

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Progress and purchases disappearing after updates
  • Game Center integration not working properly
  • Spawning enemies too close to the player

Requested features

3 requests
  • Bring back the original pixel art style
  • Add more unlockable weapons and gadgets
  • Implement a classic mode without energy/stamina system

Spartan Runner.

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Level 16 the add always freezes up and I have restarted the level 3 times
  • Mission 21 is impossible to get all 12 marines
  • The banshee levels could be fixed and the automatic weapons should kill elites in two or three shots, not one. The automatic weapons could be given more ammo to counter this. Also brutes, hunters and elites should deal more damage than jackals and there should be energy sword elites and maybe gravity hammer brutes later in the run that can kill you in one hit
  • All of the characters in the game are copyrighted so kiss money goodbye, fake halo game
  • The enemy sprites need to be added instead of just blobs cause the blobs just get in the way of the experience of the game it's supposed to feel like halo yes well the enemy's you can't tell what they are you can't tell if it's forerunners or Covinet or Prometheus you can't tell

Requested features

6 requests
  • Make a RTS halo game!
  • Put this spartan into super Mario bros?
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Playable Eleates (Elites) where you can customize their armor and stuff and get like different suits with an alien weapon
Show 1 more
  • More customization options and select which part to be colored

In-app purchases

17 purchases

Monster Dash

Subscriptions6
  • Halfbrick+$2.991 Month
  • Halfbrick+ (Trial)1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Halfbrick+ (Early Adopter)6 Months trial$2.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Halfbrick+ (Yearly discount)$2.991 Month
  • Halfbrick+3 variants$29.991 Year
  • Halfbrick+1 Year trial$29.991 Year
One-time11
  • The Mega Magnet$0.99
  • Special Ammo Gadget$0.99
  • Small Gem Pack$1.99
Show 8 more
  • Fruit Ninja Blade$1.99
  • Weapon Bundle 1$1.99
  • Weapon Bundle 2$1.99
  • Apocalypse Starter Pack$2.99
  • Medium Gem Pack$3.99
  • Incredibubble$3.99
  • Large Gem Pack$8.99
  • Halfbrick+$99.99
6 purchases

Spartan Runner.

One-time6
  • Credits pack 1$1.99
  • Credits pack 2$2.99
  • Ads removal$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Credits pack 3$4.99
  • Credits pack 4$8.99
  • Credits pack 5$49.99

Questions

Is Monster Dash free?
Monster Dash is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Spartan Runner. free?
Spartan Runner. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Monster Dash or Spartan Runner.?
Spartan Runner. is rated higher. Monster Dash averages 4.4 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Spartan Runner. averages 4.8 from 1.3K ratings.
Do Monster Dash or Spartan Runner. have ads?
Neither Monster Dash nor Spartan Runner. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Monster Dash or Spartan Runner.?
Monster Dash ships an update every 3 weeks, and Spartan Runner. every 6 weeks. Most recently, Monster Dash was updated on October 12, 2026 and Spartan Runner. on October 1, 2026.

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