Comparison

SimplePhysics vs Pocket Galaxy

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

Head to head
About

SimplePhysics

Design and simulate complex structures using a realistic physics engine. Test your creations by applying stress, using a finger to push and pull, or even creating explosions. Analyze strain distribution to identify weak points and refine your designs for strength and cost-effectiveness.

Highlights
  • Realistic physics simulation
  • Blueprint editor
  • Stress display
  • Finger Test with explosions
  • Ragdoll physics
  • Slow motion mode
Features
Read full description

SimplePhysics lets you design complex structures for everything from tree houses to ferris wheels and then simulates your design with a sophisticated physics engine. A wise person once said: "An engineer is someone who can do for a dime what any fool can do for a dollar." In SimplePhysics, your design must not only be strong enough, it must be cheap enough to win. Create your design in seconds with the blueprints editor. If you make a mistake, simply tap the Undo button. Zoom in and out by pinching the screen and pan the view using a two finger drag. While testing, you can see how the strain is distributed across your design. Areas that are under immense strain are colored bright red, while other areas are colored green. This allows you to find and fix problem areas in your design. The finger test lets you use your finger to push and pull on your design. You can use this with pinpoint accuracy, or you can just smash your design to smithereens. The finger test has an explosive new twist. You can now create explosions by tapping the screen for ultimate annihilation. The newly added Bomb Shack level includes a dummy with full support for ragdoll physics. Throw him around, blow him up, and smash him against your design. The slow motion feature lets you slow things down so you can see how your design is failing, and it is also incredibly fun to watch explosions destroying your design in slow motion. Features * Realistic physics simulation * Ragdoll physics * Slow motion mode * Stress display shows problem areas in your design * Wide variety of levels! * Finger Test - smash your design to pieces, or blow it up with realistic explosions! * Save/Load designs * E-mail your blueprints to your friends * Universal support for the iPad

About

Pocket Galaxy

Design and simulate your own solar systems and galaxies with realistic physics. Customize planets, stars, and orbits, then share your creations. Features smooth 3D graphics and a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • 3D galaxy sandbox
  • Realistic physics simulation
  • Planet and star customization
  • Smooth 3D graphics
  • User-friendly interface
  • Shareable creations
Features
Read full description

Drop a planet into empty space and watch gravity take hold of it. Pocket Galaxy is a 3D gravity sandbox where you place planets, stars and moons and then watch them orbit under real, physics-based simulation. Arrange a solar system exactly how you like it, then take it apart: heat worlds until they glow, freeze them solid, hurl asteroids, fire solar rays and set off chain reactions. There are no levels and no timers. The sandbox is the whole game, and the only clock is the one gravity keeps. What you can do • Sculpt entire solar systems from a near-infinite variety of worlds • Tune each world's gravity, size and orbit, even flip gravity to repulsive • Reach for cosmic tools: asteroid storms, solar rays, ice rays and explosions • Unlock new world and star types as you experiment • Discover procedural worlds, gas giants and glowing stars • Track your creations, and how life develops, in the Planet Journal • Save, load and screenshot your universe to share Relaxing and powerful at once, Pocket Galaxy turns real orbital mechanics into a toy box. Build a calm, life-bearing system, or smash it to particles; there is no wrong way to play it. This is the full paid version. No ads, no in-app purchases, no interruptions. Pay once and own the whole universe.

Screenshots

SimplePhysics4 screens
Pocket Galaxy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pocket Galaxy at none against SimplePhysics's 2. Pocket Galaxy also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (10K vs 242). SimplePhysics's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and price ($0.99 vs $3.99). On 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

SimplePhysics costs $0.99 and Pocket Galaxy $3.99 up front. SimplePhysics sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Pocket Galaxy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pocket Galaxy holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Galaxy has 10K ratings behind it against 242, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of SimplePhysics's written reviews are positive against 95% of Pocket Galaxy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SimplePhysics ships an update every 3 weeks, Pocket Galaxy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
SimplePhysics versus Pocket Galaxy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplePhysicsPocket Galaxy
Price$0.99 — better$3.99
Rating4.5 (242 ratings)4.8 (10K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews95.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24210K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#131 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB125 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperJundroo, LLCPocket Labs UK

Customer experience

SimplePhysics

All ratings242 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral2.9%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews585 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.3%
Negative9.7%

Pocket Galaxy

All ratings9,965 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews1,228 reviews
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.5%

User reviews

SimplePhysics

From 242 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Challenging and fun
  • 💡 Engaging and educational
  • 👍 Great for all ages
  • 👍 Realistic physics simulation
  • 👍 Addictive gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent physics behavior
  • 🐛 Difficulty placing/removing beams
  • 🐛 Crashes and compatibility issues
  • 🔍 Limited number of levels

Pocket Galaxy

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Good game
  • 👍 Fun and relaxing
  • ⭐ Great for space enthusiasts
  • 💎 Awesome for creating solar systems
  • 🌟 Incredible graphics and physics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy orbits and collisions
  • 🐛 Planets disappearing or resetting
  • 🐛 Laggy performance with many objects
  • 🔧 Difficult to control planet orbits
  • 🔧 Limited customization options

Bugs and requests

SimplePhysics

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Structures behaving unexpectedly
  • Leaderboard scores not accurate

Requested features

5 requests
  • More levels and level packs
  • Improved user interface
  • Ability to create custom structures
  • Leaderboards and social features
  • Tutorials and explanations of physics concepts

Pocket Galaxy

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Planets not staying in orbit
  • Satellites and black holes causing UI issues
  • Textures disappearing in planet selection
  • Saved universes not loading correctly
  • Inconsistent planet/star coloring after reloading

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more celestial bodies (neutron stars, pulsars, etc.)
  • Improve life simulation and terraforming mechanics
  • Allow custom planet/star creation and editing
  • Implement surface view and spaceship exploration
  • Add more advanced simulation features (galaxy formation, etc.)

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SimplePhysics

One-time2
  • View Solution$0.99
  • Thank the Developer$0.99
None

Pocket Galaxy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SimplePhysics free?
SimplePhysics costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Pocket Galaxy free?
Pocket Galaxy costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SimplePhysics or Pocket Galaxy?
Pocket Galaxy is rated higher. SimplePhysics averages 4.5 out of 5 from 242 ratings, while Pocket Galaxy averages 4.8 from 10K ratings.
Do SimplePhysics or Pocket Galaxy have ads?
Neither SimplePhysics nor Pocket Galaxy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SimplePhysics or Pocket Galaxy?
SimplePhysics ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pocket Galaxy every 2 months. Most recently, SimplePhysics was updated on October 18, 2026 and Pocket Galaxy on October 17, 2026.

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