The Marimo vs Garden Eel Pet
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Marimo
Care for a virtual green ball creature that grows over time. Keep its environment clean and provide light to ensure its survival. Customize its appearance and interact with it through various gestures.
- Virtual pet care
- Growth simulation
- Environment maintenance
- Customization options
- Interactive controls
- Social sharing
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Thank you 1,130,000 download!! [About Marimo] Marimo means a plant like a green ball which grow in Hokkaido, Japan. You can raise a Marimo. A marimo will grow up little by little every day. When water become dirty, you need to refresh water. If you don't take care of a Marimo long time, Marimo will wither. [Other Features] - You can rename Marimo, and change background. - Drag to move Marimo. - Double tap to pick tap Marimo. - Rotate marimo with two finger. - Marimo moves by the direction of the device. - You can upload image of Marimo on Twitter/Facebook. - Photosynthesis occurs in a bright place.
Garden Eel Pet
Raise a virtual Garden Eel on your smartphone. This simple game allows you to feed and clean your pet, watch its cute movements, and even name it. It's a therapeutic and time-killing experience perfect for all ages.
- Raise a virtual Garden Eel
- Feed and clean your pet
- Watch cute pet movements
- Name your pet
- Take and share photos
- Receive feeding/cleaning reminders
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Over one million downloads worldwide! Introducing the 「Garden Eel」 to this already popular game! FREE DOWNLOAD! It's real easy to raise your own pet in this game!! ■Raise your own Garden Eel on your smartphone. ■Watch how cute your Garden Eel moves. It's so soothing and therapeutic. [Instructions] This is a virtual pet app where you can raise your very own Garden Eel on your smartphone. It`s so easy to raise. Just feed your pet once every four days and clean its home once a week. This game app is great for kids and people who find RPG's and puzzle games a bit tedious. Try this game out! It's therapeutic, and a great way to kill time! [Basic Functions] - It's simple to raise. Just remember to feed you Garden Eel and clean its home. - Like a real Garden Eel, it moves around in such an adorable way. - You can give your Garden Eel a name. You can give it a new name at anytime. - You can take a picture of your Garden Eel with your mobile device and share it with your friends over various social networking sites. - The app also can send you notifications to let you know when your pet needs feeding and cleaning. - All of these functions are free and do not require any microtransactions! [Recommended for:] - people who have always wanted a Garden Eel or already have one and want a virtual Garden Eel to spend time with everywhere and at anytime - people who love visiting the zoo and aquariums - people who love raising virtual pets - people who want a simple game to pass their free time with something fun
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Garden Eel Pet at 393 against The Marimo's 16. Garden Eel Pet also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). The Marimo's advantage is monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Garden Eel Pet holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garden Eel Pet has 393 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of The Marimo's written reviews are positive against 78% of Garden Eel Pet's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
The Marimo ships an update every 3 months, Garden Eel Pet every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.
| Parameter | The Marimo | Garden Eel Pet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (16 ratings) | 4.6 (393 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.6% of reviews — better | 77.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 393 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 123 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kosuke Ogawa | Hiroki Yamada |
Customer experience
The Marimo
Garden Eel Pet
Bugs and requests
The Marimo
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Garden Eel Pet
Reported bugs
7 issues- Pets dying unexpectedly after short absences
- Pets coughing/showing illness symptoms
- Pets hissing and fighting with newly added animals
- Snake pet not functioning properly
- Screen partially cut off by ads after updates
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- Pets dying despite proper care
- Game crashes or unresponsive behavior
Requested features
10 requests- Breeding/reproduction system
- More decorations and customization options
- Frog pet variant
- Additional activities and gameplay mechanics
- Faster currency earning methods
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- Multiple pets of same species without conflict
- More animals (amphibians, birds, reptiles)
- Pet naming system expansion
- Scheduled feeding/cleaning times
- Heart earning alternatives to ads
In-app purchases
The Marimo
No in-app purchases
Garden Eel Pet
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Marimo free?
Is Garden Eel Pet free?
Which has better reviews, The Marimo or Garden Eel Pet?
Do The Marimo or Garden Eel Pet have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Marimo or Garden Eel Pet?
Other comparisons
