Comparison

Memory vs Variance

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

Head to head
About

Memory

Sharpen your memory and concentration with this classic matching game. Suitable for all ages, it offers multiple difficulty levels and diverse card packs. Compete with others and track your progress while enjoying multilingual support.

Highlights
  • 25 levels of difficulty
  • 10 diverse card packs
  • Multilingual support
  • Apple Game Center competition
  • Progress tracking
  • Regular updates
Features
Read full description

Discover or rediscover the joy of playing Memory with "Memory • Classic", a captivating memory game for iPhone and iPad. Designed for players of all ages, "Memory • Classic" is the ideal iOS game to sharpen your memory, whether alone or with family. — 4.0.0 — • Time Attack The clock starts at 30 seconds and every pair adds a few more. Clear the board to earn 5 extra seconds before a bigger board is dealt, while your score keeps adding up. The run ends when time runs out. • 2 Players Take turns on the same device. Find a pair and you play again; miss and the turn passes. Points count as usual — the highest total wins. • 2 Players Online The same rules as 2 Players, live against another player through Game Center. • Educational Choose an activity to practice letters, words, numbers, memory or another language. A pair can join cards that look or sound different but mean the same thing — a picture and its word, lower- and uppercase letters, or two languages. Ready-made activities set up the cards for you; Custom lets you choose the image, text, voice and language on each side. • Choose your look — Original Wood • Stellar Odyssey • Coral Reef • Kraft Atelier You can change it any time in Settings. • Card backs — Colors • Decorations • Layouts • Enhanced animations Game Features: - 25 Levels of Difficulty: Suitable for everyone, from beginners to experts, with five degrees of difficulty, each comprising five levels. - 10 Card Packs: Stimulate your memory by matching cards featuring magnificent animals, sports, letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, common words, and much more. - Addictive Gameplay: With 25 levels and ten varied card packs, no two games are the same. - Enter the Competition: Like challenges? Compete with friends and family through Game Center, climb the global rankings to see where you stand, and track your progress.

About

Variance

Features
Read full description

Variance is a minimal solitaire game about probability and persistence. Draw a card. If it matches, the run ends. If it doesn’t, you continue. Clear the deck to win. One bad draw and the run is over. It’s a solitary game at its simplest. No levels. No upgrades. No downtime. Just you, the deck, and the odds. Play. Lose. Play again.

Screenshots

Memory4 screens
Variance4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Variance at none against Memory's 10. Variance also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 11 days). Memory's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Memory sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Variance asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Memory ships an update every 11 days, Variance every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Memory versus Variance: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMemoryVariance
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (10K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews89.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings10K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size213 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperClement MartyGUSTAV JESPER ZACHRISON

Bugs and requests

Memory

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Rapid screen orientation switching
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Inability to resume previous games

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow users to create custom card sets
  • Add more card themes and categories
  • Improve scoring system and provide better explanations
  • Optimize performance and fix orientation issues

Variance

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Memory

One-time10
  • Upper Case Letters - Card Pack$1.99
  • Lower Case Letters - Card Pack$1.99
  • Food Images - Card Pack$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Numbers - Card Pack$1.99
  • Words - Card Pack$1.99
  • Music Instruments - Card Pack$1.99
  • Sports Images - Card Pack$1.99
  • Faces - Card Pack$1.99
  • Emoji Card Pack$1.99
  • Memory All Card Packs$8.99
None

Variance

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Memory free?
Memory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Variance free?
Variance is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Memory or Variance have ads?
Both Memory and Variance show ads.
Which is updated more often, Memory or Variance?
Memory ships an update every 11 days, and Variance every 5 days. Most recently, Memory was updated on November 2, 2026 and Variance on October 28, 2026.

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