Comparison

Solitaire vs Microsoft Solitaire Collection

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

Head to head
About

Solitaire

This classic card game involves strategically arranging a standard 52-card deck into four foundation piles, one for each suit. Players move cards between tableau piles and the discard pile, following specific rules to build sequences and complete the foundations.

Highlights
  • Standard 52-card deck gameplay
  • Tableau pile arrangement
  • Foundation pile building
  • Discard pile management
  • Sequence building
  • Card placement rules
Features
Read full description

The game is played with a standard pack of 52 cards. The cards come in 4 suits with two colors, spades (black), hearts (red), diamonds (red) and clubs (black). Within a suit, the ranks are, from low to high, ace, 2, 3,…,10, jack, queen and king. The player starts the game by shuffling and dealing the pack of cards over several piles on the tableau, or playing table. After the player has dealt, there are 7 piles on the tableau containing 28 cards. The first pile has 1 card, the second 2, the third 3, and so on up to the seventh pile. Initially, the top card of each pile is turned face up; all other cards are face down. The remaining cards that are not part of the tableau are placed in the deck-pile. Above the tableau there are five more piles that are initially empty, one discard-pile and four suit-piles, one for each suit of cards. The suit-piles (sometimes called foundations) are built up from aces to kings in one suit. They are constructed as the cards become available. The object of the game is to build all 52 cards into the suit piles through a number of allowed moves. The various moves the player can make are the following: 1) take the faced-down top card from the deck and place it face up on top of the discard pile 2) take the top card of the discard pile and place it on top of a tableau pile or suit pile 3) take the faced-up top card or a sequence of faced-up cards (called a build) from a tableau pile and place it (still in sequence) on top of another tableau-pile 4) take a faced-up top card of a tableau-pile and move it to a suit pile 5) turn over a faced-down top card of a tableau pile 6) when the deck-pile is empty, take the complete content of the discard pile, turn it over, and use it as a new deck-pile. Which cards can be taken and placed during each move is subject to some rules. A move can not be made when these rules are not satisfied. When the object of the game is reached or when no more moves can be made, the game is over. The rules for the placement of cards are the following. A card can be placed on a tableau-pile only on top of a faced-up card of next-higher rank and opposite color. A build can be placed only when its bottom card matches a faced-up top card in this way. Empty piles that arise during play can only accommodate kings. A card can be placed on a suit-pile only if it is of the same suit and next higher card or if the foundation is empty and the card is an ace.

About

Microsoft Solitaire Collection

Enjoy a collection of classic card games and popular puzzle titles. Challenge yourself with daily tasks, weekly rewards, and competitive events. Sign in to save progress and play across devices.

Highlights
  • 5 classic Solitaire modes
  • Daily Challenges
  • Weekly Rewards & Events
  • Multiple Difficulty levels
  • Additional puzzle games
  • Cross-device progress saving
Read full description

Join millions of players worldwide in the most played Solitaire game in history - now featuring MORE great games to play! Enjoy classic Solitaire game modes everyone loves - Klondike Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, FreeCell Solitaire, TriPeaks Solitaire & Pyramid Solitaire. Keep your mind sharp increasing Difficulty, completing Daily Challenges, playing Weekly Rewards, or climbing the leaderboard in Events. Celebrate WINS by leveling up with XP, collecting Trophies, Achievements & MORE! Plus, discover other great match-3, arcade and puzzle games ready to play anytime - Microsoft Bubble, Jewel, Gravity Blocks, Gem Drop & Mahjong 3D. Sign in with a Microsoft or Xbox Account to save your progress, collect awards and play across devices. With so much to play, Microsoft Solitaire Collection is the perfect app for anyone. Features: • 5 favorite Solitaire game modes • 5 NEW Challenges every day • Choose your Difficulty • Weekly Rewards, Events & Achievements • MORE great games ready to play inside Become a Premium Member • Play Ad-FREE • Collect XP (win or lose) • Daily Challenges: 2x points & access to past Challenges • Unlimited use of Solitaire Solver • Special boosts in Endless TriPeaks & Pyramid • Extra bonuses in other games • FREE Retro bundle & Xbox card backs Solitaire Premium is available for mobile only. Non-transferrable to other platforms. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account on confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews monthly or annually depending on the subscription type purchased. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. If auto-renewal is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period, you will not be charged for the next period. All cancellations will take effect at the end of the current period. For more information visit: https://aka.ms/microsoftsolitaire_support © Microsoft 2025. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Microsoft Casual Games, the product logos and Microsoft Solitaire Collection, and the Microsoft Solitaire Collection logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Acceptance of Microsoft Services Agreement and Privacy Statement are required to play. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement) Microsoft account registration required for cross-platform play. Game offers in-app purchases. Persistent internet connection required. Features, online services and system requirements may vary by country and are subject to change or retirement over time.

Screenshots

Solitaire1 screens
Microsoft Solitaire Collection4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Solitaire at none against Microsoft Solitaire Collection's 8. Solitaire also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (50% vs 36%). Microsoft Solitaire Collection's advantage is ratings volume (255K vs 418) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price 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. Microsoft Solitaire Collection sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Solitaire asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Microsoft Solitaire Collection holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Solitaire Collection has 255K ratings behind it against 418, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Solitaire's written reviews are positive against 36% of Microsoft Solitaire Collection's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Solitaire versus Microsoft Solitaire Collection: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolitaireMicrosoft Solitaire Collection
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (418 ratings)4.7 (255K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better36.3% of reviews
Number of ratings418255K — better
Update frequency—Every 6 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#167 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB170 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperxNeat.comMicrosoft Corporation

Customer experience

Solitaire

All ratings418 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral10.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Microsoft Solitaire Collection

All ratings255,369 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral3.5%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews1,754 reviews
Positive36.3%
Neutral13.9%
Negative49.8%

Bugs and requests

Solitaire

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Microsoft Solitaire Collection

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inability to sign in or sync progress
  • Game freezing or crashing after ads
  • Timer continuing to run when app is closed
  • Inconsistent behavior when internet connection is lost
  • Themes and content not saving properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Pause and resume option for challenges
  • Ability to replay completed games
  • More detailed statistics and progress tracking
  • Offline play mode
  • One-time purchase option instead of subscription

In-app purchases

None

Solitaire

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Microsoft Solitaire Collection

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Edition$1.991 Month
  • Premium Edition$9.991 Year
One-time6
  • Cow Card Back$0.99
  • Baby Fox Card Back$0.99
  • Retro Pattern 2 Card Back$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Retro Card Back Bundle$2.99
  • Puppies Card Back Bundle$2.99
  • Kittens Card Back Bundle$2.99

Questions

Is Solitaire free?
Solitaire is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Microsoft Solitaire Collection free?
Microsoft Solitaire Collection is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Solitaire or Microsoft Solitaire Collection?
Microsoft Solitaire Collection is rated higher. Solitaire averages 4.4 out of 5 from 418 ratings, while Microsoft Solitaire Collection averages 4.7 from 255K ratings.
Do Solitaire or Microsoft Solitaire Collection have ads?
Microsoft Solitaire Collection shows ads; Solitaire does not.

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