# Pinball Massacre vs Visual Pinball

The clearest difference is price: Visual Pinball at Free against Pinball Massacre's $0.99. Visual Pinball also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.2) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). Pinball Massacre's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.6). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Visual Pinball is free to download; Pinball Massacre costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Visual Pinball holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Visual Pinball has 74 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Pinball Massacre's written reviews are positive against 79% of Visual Pinball's.

Pinball Massacre ships an update every 6 months, Visual Pinball fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pinball Massacre | Visual Pinball |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.2 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinball-massacre/id434558994/reviews) | **[4.3 (74 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 9 | **74** |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | **78.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 31 MB | 134 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 26.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Nuclear Nova Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/289559290) | [Jason Millard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527911552) |

## What reviewers say

### Pinball Massacre

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinball-massacre/id434558994)

Experience arcade-style pinball with unique twists. Features a timed blitz mode and an RPG-like leveling system for each ball, increasing scores and gameplay. Explore a universe of unique art, humor, and 8-bit culture.

**Highlights:** Arcade-style pinball, Massacre Mode timed blitz, Level Ball RPG mechanics, Unique art and humor, 8-bit culture integration

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Visual Pinball

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926)

Experience the full virtual pinball simulator with realistic physics, lighting, and sound. This open-source app offers a redesigned interface, enhanced table management, and the complete desktop experience for mobile devices. Enjoy a vast library of tables without ads or in-app purchases.

**Highlights:** Realistic physics, lighting, and sound, Redesigned interface with Liquid Glass, Full in-game menu for graphics and controls, Support for various backglass and display types, Easy table import and management, Optimized memory usage

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Game Controller support, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome way to play virtual pinball on the go
- 👍 Super easy to set up with minimal file prep time
- 👍 Insane that I can play favorite pins on just my phone
- 👍 Fantastic portable implementation of VPX
- 👍 Fun and exciting to archive the history of pinball

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔧 More ability to adjust table settings needed
- 🔧 Struggling to manage camera angle
- 🔧 No fullscreen on iPad, plunger and outlanes cropped
- 🔧 Some tables don't work or have issues

**Reported bugs**

- Tables don't load for some users
- Certain complex/intensive tables error out or run at low FPS

**Requested features**

- List of most played tables
- Ability to reposition DMD
- Option to skip startup checks for some tables
- Ability to edit table scripts on the app
- Direct link to table depository


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pinball Massacre free?

Pinball Massacre costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Visual Pinball free?

Visual Pinball is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Pinball Massacre or Visual Pinball?

Visual Pinball is rated higher. Pinball Massacre averages 3.2 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Visual Pinball averages 4.3 from 74 ratings.

### Do Pinball Massacre or Visual Pinball have ads?

Neither Pinball Massacre nor Visual Pinball shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pinball Massacre or Visual Pinball?

Pinball Massacre ships an update every 6 months, and Visual Pinball fortnightly. Most recently, Pinball Massacre was updated on October 23, 2026 and Visual Pinball on October 30, 2026.

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