# Sudoku vs 3D Elemental Mahjong

The clearest difference is price: Sudoku at Free against 3D Elemental Mahjong's $1.99. Sudoku also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months). 3D Elemental Mahjong's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Sudoku is free to download; 3D Elemental Mahjong costs $1.99 up front. Sudoku sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. 3D Elemental Mahjong asks for nothing beyond the download.

Sudoku ships an update monthly, 3D Elemental Mahjong every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sudoku | 3D Elemental Mahjong |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | **[4.7 (59K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku/id398990729/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **59K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 9 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 147 MB | 34 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Maple Media Apps, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1289801633) | [Martin Edmaier](https://appshunter.io/developer/1799800534) |

## What reviewers say

### Sudoku

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku/id398990729)

Engage your mind with this classic Japanese logic puzzle. Offers multiple difficulty levels, customizable backgrounds, and unique emoji number options. Track progress and compete with others.

**Highlights:** Four difficulty settings, Customizable background colors, Emoji number option, Duplicate highlighting, Unlimited Undo/Redo, Autosave functionality, Leaderboards and achievements, Note-taking feature

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

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Premium Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Sudoku Apps Bundle | $7.99 | per month |
| Premium Annual | $8.99 | per year |
| Sudoku Membership | $14.99 | per year |
| Sudoku Bundle | $14.99 | per month |
| Premium Annual | $14.99 | per year |
| Sudoku Apps Bundle | $64.99 | per year |
| Sudoku Apps Bundle | $99.99 | per year |
| Sudoku Bundle | $129.99 | per year |
| Disable Ads | $24.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great game
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 📊 Tracks stats and times
- 💡 Useful features like pencil mode
- 🧠 Challenges the brain

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Intrusive ads
- 💰 Expensive ad-free version
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Battery draining
- 🔇 Disrupts audio playback

**Reported bugs**

- Numbers getting stuck/grayed out
- Inconsistent difficulty levels
- Display issues on newer devices
- Crashes after updates

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Customizable color themes
- Option to disable number highlighting
- Reset button that fully clears the board
- More granular difficulty levels


### 3D Elemental Mahjong

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/3d-elemental-mahjong/id6743568969)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sudoku free?

Sudoku is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is 3D Elemental Mahjong free?

3D Elemental Mahjong costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Sudoku or 3D Elemental Mahjong have ads?

Sudoku shows ads; 3D Elemental Mahjong does not.

### Which is updated more often, Sudoku or 3D Elemental Mahjong?

Sudoku ships an update monthly, and 3D Elemental Mahjong every 9 months. Most recently, Sudoku was updated on October 27, 2026 and 3D Elemental Mahjong on October 16, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*