Comparison

The Marimo vs Roly

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Virtual pet care
  • Growth simulation
  • Environment maintenance
  • Customization options
  • Interactive controls
  • Social sharing
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Roly

A relaxing simulation game where you nurture and grow a collection of pill bugs. Simple care routines like feeding and watering lead to an increasing number of colorful pill bugs. Enjoy a calming experience by naming your pets, changing the music, and capturing photos to share.

Highlights
  • Raise and grow pill bugs
  • Collect various colors
  • Simple care routine
  • Name your pill bugs
  • Change BGM
  • Take and share photos
Features
Read full description

It is a very easy healing training game. You can grow a lot by taking care of the pill bug. ■ Game content ・ It is a game to grow pill bugs on your smartphone. ・ The number of pill bugs will increase steadily just by taking simple care. ・ Various colors of pill bugs will appear ・ Tap the pill bug to make it round ・ Let's grow a lot of pill bugs and heal them ■ The method of care is very easy! ・ Feeding once every 3 days -Cucumber is my favorite pill bug ・ Watering once a week -The pill bug becomes full of energy when it is moist. ■ Main functions ・ The pill bug grows and grows bigger and bigger. ・ BGM can be changed ・ You can give a name to the pill bug ・ You can take a picture of a pill bug and save it on your smartphone, or share it on Twitter / LINE / Facebook / email. ・ It is possible to notify the timing of feeding / watering. ■ It is a recommended game for such people ・ People who want to raise insects ・ People who like to see insects ・ People who want to keep pets ・ People who like training simulation games ・ People who are looking for a simple game that can kill time ・ People who like farm games ・ People who are not good at difficult games ・ Busy people who have no time to play games ・ People who want to be healed leisurely ・ Recommended for small children

Screenshots

The Marimo3 screens
Roly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Marimo at none against Roly's 10. Roly's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, review sentiment, 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

Both are free to download. Roly sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. The Marimo asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Roly holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roly has 268 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 Roly's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Marimo ships an update every 3 months, Roly every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
The Marimo versus Roly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe MarimoRoly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (16 ratings)4.7 (268 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.6% of reviews — better77.6% of reviews
Number of ratings16268 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB135 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKosuke OgawaNatsumi Morita

Customer experience

The Marimo

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive79.6%
Neutral10.8%
Negative9.7%

Roly

All ratings258 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews98 reviews
Positive77.6%
Neutral7.1%
Negative15.3%

In-app purchases

None

The Marimo

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Roly

One-time10
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:CAMOUFLAGE$0.99
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:SPLASH$0.99
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:ZEBRA$0.99
Show 7 more
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:GOLD$0.99
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:EMERALD$0.99
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:AMETHYST$0.99
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:PASTEL$0.99
  • PREMIUM Roly-Poly:STONE$2.99
  • Remove Ads 7 days$3.99
  • Remove Ads 30 days$7.99

Questions

Is The Marimo free?
The Marimo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Roly free?
Roly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Marimo or Roly?
Roly is rated higher. The Marimo averages 4.4 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Roly averages 4.7 from 268 ratings.
Do The Marimo or Roly have ads?
Both The Marimo and Roly show ads.
Which is updated more often, The Marimo or Roly?
The Marimo ships an update every 3 months, and Roly every 10 days. Most recently, The Marimo was updated on October 26, 2026 and Roly on October 27, 2026.

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