# Pinball Arcade vs Visual Pinball

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Visual Pinball at 79% against Pinball Arcade's 32%. Visual Pinball also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). Pinball Arcade's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 12 months) and ratings volume (807 vs 73). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pinball Arcade sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Visual Pinball asks for nothing beyond the download.

Visual Pinball holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pinball Arcade has 807 ratings behind it against 73, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of Pinball Arcade's written reviews are positive against 79% of Visual Pinball's.

Pinball Arcade ships an update every 3 weeks, Visual Pinball every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pinball Arcade | Visual Pinball |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.2 (807 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinball-arcade/id497189134/reviews) | **[4.3 (73 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **807** | 73 |
| Positive reviews | 31.5% of reviews | **78.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 12 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 138 MB | 120 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 26.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [FarSight Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/455826961) | [Jason Millard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527911552) |

## What reviewers say

### Pinball Arcade

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinball-arcade/id497189134)

Experience over 30 authentic digital pinball machines with stunningly accurate recreations of classic tables. Enjoy two free tables each month and explore meticulously emulated gameplay, sounds, and visuals for an immersive arcade experience.

**Highlights:** Over 30 authentic pinball machines, Exact recreations of classic tables, Meticulous emulation of gameplay, High-detail sound effects and visuals, Two free tables offered monthly, New tables added regularly

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tales of the Arabian Nights® Pinball Table | $0.99 | one-time |
| The Machine: Bride of Pin•bot™ + Medieval Madness™ | $4.99 | one-time |
| Fun House™ + Cirqus Voltaire™ | $4.99 | one-time |
| Monster Bash™ & Gorgar Pinball | $4.99 | one-time |
| Creature from the Black Lagoon | $4.99 | one-time |
| Elvira's Scared Stiff™ Pinball | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Addams Family® Pinball | $4.99 | one-time |
| Gottlieb Pack 1 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Four Pack of Launch Tables | $9.99 | one-time |
| Season 1 Pass | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Realistic pinball simulation
- 🎮 Faithful recreation of classic tables
- 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
- 💰 Good value for purchased tables

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 🔍 Difficult to see score/UI elements on newer devices
- 💰 Expensive table packs
- 🤖 Lack of updates and support for newer devices

**Reported bugs**

- Tables failing to download or load properly
- Unresponsive controls and flippers
- Scoreboard and UI elements being cut off
- Inconsistent or reversed flipper controls

**Requested features**

- Ability to purchase individual tables
- More classic and licensed pinball tables
- Improved UI and controls customization
- Cross-platform/device syncing of purchases


### Visual Pinball

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

Enjoy a realistic pinball simulation with hundreds of community-created tables. Experience immersive haptic feedback and customize your gameplay with intuitive settings and controller support. Advanced options are available for power users.

**Highlights:** Hundreds of community-developed tables, Haptic feedback for immersive gameplay, Customizable settings and POV adjustments, Game controller support, External DMD and AltColor/AltSound support, Touch overlay and instructions

**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 Arcade free?

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

### Is Visual Pinball free?

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

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

Visual Pinball is rated higher. Pinball Arcade averages 3.2 out of 5 from 807 ratings, while Visual Pinball averages 4.3 from 73 ratings.

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

Neither Pinball Arcade nor Visual Pinball shows ads.

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

Pinball Arcade ships an update every 3 weeks, and Visual Pinball every 12 months. Most recently, Pinball Arcade was updated on October 15, 2026 and Visual Pinball on October 18, 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.*