Cytus vs Arcaea
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cytus
Experience a unique rhythm game with a captivating story and diverse musical genres. Tap notes in time with the music, utilizing an intuitive active scan line system. Enjoy a vast library of songs and challenging difficulty levels.
- 200+ songs and 400+ variations
- Beautiful hand-drawn art style
- Active Scan Line system
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Diverse music genres
- Story-driven experience
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Welcome to the Musical World of Cytus LET’S EXPERIENCE MUSIC ’N ART, BEAT ’N REBOUND! Check the screenshots and you will see the most AWESOME mobile music game ever! Just PLAY and ENJOY! ------------------------------------------------------ FEATURES - 200 songs and 400 variations, including many from famous composers around the world - Beautiful hand-drawn art style (as illustrated in the screenshots) - Easy, intuitive Active Scan Line system and 3 types of notes - Different display modes allow player-friendly previewing of notes - Strong beat and rhythms provide satisfying feedback for taps - More than 9 difficulty levels for more fun and challenges - Various music genres: POP, JAZZ, TRANCE, HARDCORE, DRUM 'N BASS and many more - Connect to Facebook and show off your Cytus skills ------------------------------------------------------ HOW TO PLAY - Follow along the Active Scan Line - Tap each note as the line passes through - Time your taps as the line is at the center of the note for a higher score! ------------------------------------------------------ STORY In the distant future, the only sentient beings in the world are robots. They are the last remnant of the human spirit. However, mankind is not dead. Technology exists that is capable of transferring memories to these robots. But with limited space, new memories will gradually overwrite the old. To prevent the emotions in human memories from fading away, the robots resorted to converting the emotions to music, and storing them in a place called Cytus. The robots use these songs to experience human emotion and dream that souls exists in each of them... Cytus --------------------------------------------- Cytus Official Site: http://www.rayark.com/g/cytus Rayark Official Site: http://www.rayark.com Follow Cytus https://twitter.com/CytusRayark Like Cytus http://www.facebook.com/rayark.Cytus
Arcaea
Experience a unique rhythm game that blends challenging gameplay with an immersive story. Progress through a narrative driven by your performance, unlock new difficulties, and compete with others online. Enjoy a vast library of music, with more available through content packs.
- Novel gameplay mechanics
- Immersive sound and story
- High difficulty ceiling
- Over 350 songs
- 3 rhythm difficulty levels per song
- Real-time online multiplayer
- Rich Main Story and Side Stories
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New Dimension Rhythm Game - Experience sound and story unlike ever before. "A harmony of Light awaits you in a lost world of musical Conflict." In a world of white, and surrounded by “memory”, two girls awaken under glass-filled skies. Arcaea is a mobile rhythm game for both experienced and new rhythm game players alike, blending novel gameplay, immersive sound, and a powerful story of wonder and heartache. Experience gameplay that reflects the story’s emotions and events—and progress to unlock more of this unfurling narrative. Challenging trials can be discovered through play, higher difficulties can be unlocked, and a real-time online mode is available to face off against other players. Arcaea does not require an internet connection for play, and is fully playable both on smartphones and tablets. On install the game includes a large library of free playable songs, and more can be made available by acquiring additional songs and content packs. ==Features== - A high difficulty ceiling - experience personal growth as you develop skills in arcade-style progression - Over 350 songs from more than 200 artists famous across other games - 3 rhythm difficulty levels for every song - An expanding music library through regular content updates - Collaborations with other beloved rhythm games - Online friends and scoreboards - Real-time online multiplayer - A Course Mode that tests endurance through gauntlets of songs - A rich Main Story that features two protagonist’s perspectives across a powerful journey - Additional Side and Short Stories of varying styles and perspectives featuring the game’s characters that build upon the world of Arcaea - A vast array of original characters and guest characters from collaborations to accompany you, level up, and alter your play through many game-changing skills - Stunning, never-before-seen connections to storylines via gameplay, challenging the very paradigm of play ==Story== Two girls find themselves in a colorless world full of memory, and with no memory of themselves. Each alone, they set out into places often beautiful, and just as often dangerous. Arcaea’s story is interwoven throughout Main, Side, and Short stories which each focus on individual, playable characters. While separate, they all share the same space: the world of Arcaea. Their reactions to it, and its reactions to them, form an ever-shifting narrative of mystery, sorrow, and bliss. As they explore this heavenly place, follow their steps down paths of glass and grief. --- Follow Arcaea & News: Twitter: http://twitter.com/arcaea_en Facebook: http://facebook.com/arcaeagame
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Arcaea at Free against Cytus's $1.99. Arcaea also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (25K vs 1.8K). Cytus's advantage is review sentiment (92% vs 78%) and chart position (#18 vs #62). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Arcaea is free to download; Cytus costs $1.99 up front. Cytus sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Arcaea sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Cytus against 4.8 for Arcaea. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arcaea has 25K ratings behind it against 1.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 92% of Cytus's written reviews are positive against 78% of Arcaea's.
Cytus ships an update every 4 months, Arcaea every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cytus | Arcaea |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.8K ratings) — better | 4.8 (25K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.3% of reviews — better | 78.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.8K | 25K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #18 — better | #62 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 12.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.3 GB | 1.2 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Rayark International Limited | lowiro |
Customer experience
Cytus
Arcaea
User reviews
Cytus
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎶 Great music and soundtrack
- 🎨 Beautiful artwork and visuals
- 💯 Challenging and addictive gameplay
- 👍 Offline playability
- 🕹️ Unique and responsive controls
Room to improve
- 🤚 Thumb placement can obscure notes
- 🔢 Inconsistent difficulty ratings
- 💰 Some chapters locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔌 Compatibility issues on newer devices
Arcaea
From 25K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Unique gameplay mechanics
- 🎨 Beautiful visuals and art
- 🎶 Excellent music selection
- 👍 Smooth and responsive controls
- 💯 Challenging yet rewarding difficulty
Room to improve
- 💰 Excessive paywall for content
- 🔁 Repetitive grind in World Mode
- 🐛 Occasional note registration issues
- 🔊 Audio desync when multitasking
- 🤖 Lack of practice mode or tutorial
Bugs and requests
Cytus
Reported bugs
3 issues- Sound not working on certain devices
- Purchased content disappearing after updates
- Inability to restore previous progress
Requested features
5 requests- More diverse music genres
- Customizable note sizes and placements
- Improved difficulty balancing
- Restore purchase functionality
- Dedicated marathon/endless mode
Arcaea
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login issues and account sync problems
- Compatibility problems on certain devices
- Crashes and freezes during gameplay
Requested features
5 requests- Multiplayer mode to compete with friends
- Ability to earn premium currency through gameplay
- More free song options to explore the game
- Customizable note speed and offset settings
- Improved story mode and character development
In-app purchases
Cytus
- Chapter N$1.49
- Chapter 0$1.99
- Chapter R$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Chapter T$1.99
- Chapter D$1.99
- Chapter L$3.99
- Chapter 8$4.99
- Chapter S$4.99
- Chapter 10$4.99
- Chapter K$4.99
Arcaea
- 100 Memories$0.99
- 510 Memories$4.99
- 1020 Memories$9.99









