Comparison

Nova Golf vs Golf Rival

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

Head to head
About

Nova Golf

Experience a realistic and immersive golf simulation with stunning 3D graphics and diverse courses. Customize your character, compete in career modes, and challenge friends in multiplayer. Earn virtual currency or use in-app purchases for custom clubs and balls.

Highlights
  • Realistic ball physics
  • Stunning 3D graphics
  • Unique global courses
  • Customizable characters
  • Career mode
  • Multiplayer challenges
  • In-app purchases for clubs/balls
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Welcome to Nova Golf, the finest golfing game on the Mac! A followup to the award winning game GL Golf, Nova Golf is sure to keep you entertained and immersed for countless hours. Redesigned from the ground up, Nova Golf has everything both casual/hardcore gamers and frequent/weekend golfers could want. • Realistic ball physics - Everyone will enjoy the simple realism while avid golfers will be able to shape every shot and watch the ball react to all surfaces and lies • Stunning 3D graphics - Nova Golf adapts to each computer for the best image quality while always maintaining a smooth framerate • Unique courses - Locations from around the world feature distinct styles of both play and appearance. You'll know if you're in the Pennsylvania forest, Arizona desert, or on the Scottish coastline • Customizable characters - Level up five playing statistics while managing each avatar's wardrobe and physical appearance • Career mode - Play as both an amateur and professional and progress by winning the required qualifiers and tournaments • Multiplayer - Challenge up to three of your friends and play at the same time • Purchase custom clubs and golf balls using both virtual currency earned in game and through In-App Purchase • High replay value - No hole is the same when varying the white/blue/green tees, five pin locations, and three environmental difficulty settings • Custom music made specifically for Nova Golf • Best rounds list for each course/difficulty setting System Requirements: iOS 7+ iPhone 4+ iPad 2+ iPad Mini+ iPod Touch 4th+ If you like Nova Golf, make sure to check out Nuclear Nova's other games, all available for the Mac/iPhone/iPad/iPod. • GL Golf, the predecessor to Nova Golf, is still actively developed and has over 35 unique courses! Thousands of golfers are posting scorecards online every day with this golf classic • Pinball Shuffle and Pinball Massacre are two unique comic book arcade style pinball tables • Barnyard Blaster is a unique shooter with plenty of weapons, animals, and environments • Rocket Golf gives golf a new twist with its unique 2D side scrolling gameplay • Liquid Defense, Hydrothermal, and Escape are our three classic puzzle/simulator games • Fractal 3D and ASCII Art are our first non-game apps

About

Golf Rival

Compete in real-time multiplayer golf battles, showcasing your skills on over 300 courses. Collect powerful clubs and balls to outwit opponents and climb leaderboards. Enjoy various game modes, from 1v1 duels to tournaments, and improve your golf game with every match.

Highlights
  • Real-time multiplayer PvP golf
  • Over 300 courses and 20+ themes
  • Collect golf clubs and balls
  • Tournament mode
  • Play with friends
  • Unlock new challenges and rewards
Read full description

The golf course is calling! Tee-off and become the ultimate golf champion in Golf Rival! Golf Rival is a free-to-play real time PVP golf game where real golf skills need infinite creativity. Show off your golf genius like never before! Collect powerful golf clubs and balls and play across 600+ courses in more than 21+ themes! Satisfy your golf dreams of hitting incredible shots, dueling your rivals, climbing the leaderboards and becoming a true golf master. Let's go for the perfect swing, a hole-in-one and prove you're a golf pro! We’re adding a new layer of depth in Golf Rival! With focus on golf clubs players already love, and a new fun world to prove them in! With Course Conditions in play, every hole feels unique. Wind zones and gravity shifts force you to read the course fresh, every single time. And Club Mods help in countering whatever the golf course throws at you. Players dust off clubs they already own, slot in new mod upgrades, and tune their golf clubs to personalized strategies. This exciting free golf game has many modes to play and master. From 1v1 golf shootout duels, to golf championship Tournaments against a global community of golfers, to playing golf with rivals and friends. In Golf Rival, scoring a birdie is only the start of the competitive fun! Outwit rivals with powerful golf balls and clubs, because no two online golf matches are ever the same. Grab your clubs, and enjoy the golfing fun, whether you're a golfing newbie or an ultimate sports game expert! PLAY EXCITING GOLF GAMES -Unlock incredible golf challenges and conquer them by winning real time golf clashes and shootouts -Master your golf swing with precision and creativity and watch your skills grow -Compete in both 9-hole and 18-hole golf championship Tournaments every exciting season -Multiplayer golf mode and daily challenges await - play golf now every single day! -Beautiful 3D golf courses across different themes and difficulties always deliver an ultimate golf challenge GROW YOUR GOLF SKILLS -Golf Rival is unlike any free golf game you've tried - a true golfing simulator with creative and fantastical clubs and balls -Win real golf duels to unlock amazing rewards for your golf bag and take your golf pro skills to the next level -With every real time golf clash, you'll sharpen your genius swing and pull off incredible golf shots! INFINITE GOLF FUN -Every Golf Rival season is fun and fresh, with new courses, golf balls and rewards all the time! -Skill games like Kingdom, Ace Open and Brink events put a unique spin on classic golf - putting, chipping and more -Add your friends and see who has the golf genius to become the #1 golfer! -Connect with players from the Golf Rival community on Facebook and join the conversation Join golf fans around the world and download Golf Rival now to start your journey to becoming an ultimate golf champion! Golf Rival is available in 13 languages. Join the Golf Rival community on Facebook! Golf Rival is FREE to download and includes optional in-game purchases (including random items). If you wish to disable in-game purchases, please turn off the in-app purchases in your phone or tablet’s Settings. Terms of service: https://www.take2games.com/legal/en-US/

Screenshots

Nova Golf4 screens
Golf Rival4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Golf Rival at Free against Nova Golf's $1.99. Golf Rival also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.6) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months). Nova Golf's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Golf Rival is free to download; Nova Golf costs $1.99 up front. Nova Golf sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Golf Rival sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Golf Rival holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Golf Rival has 155K ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Nova Golf's written reviews are positive against 38% of Golf Rival's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nova Golf ships an update every 3 months, Golf Rival every 9 days. Both last shipped on September 26, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Nova Golf versus Golf Rival: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNova GolfGolf Rival
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.6 (31 ratings)4.5 (155K ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.7% of reviews — better37.8% of reviews
Number of ratings31155K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#178#9 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size287 MB363 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNuclear Nova SoftwareZynga Inc.

Customer experience

Nova Golf

All ratings31 ratings
Positive67.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative29.0%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive45.7%
Neutral5.4%
Negative48.9%

Golf Rival

All ratings154,583 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews2,415 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral12.3%
Negative49.9%

Bugs and requests

Nova Golf

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Golf Rival

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent disconnections and sync issues
  • Glitches with shot trajectories
  • Disappearing in-app purchases

Requested features

5 requests
  • More diverse course selection
  • Fairer matchmaking system
  • Ability to replay unlocked levels
  • Improved club upgrade system
  • More challenging putting

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Nova Golf

One-time10
  • Extra Mulligans$0.99
  • Dozen of all Balls$1.99
  • 1,000 Experience$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Course Pack 1$1.99
  • Driver$1.99
  • Course Pack 2$1.99
  • Level Overdrive$1.99
  • Character Pack$1.99
  • Course Pack 3$1.99
  • Course Pack 4$1.99
10 purchases

Golf Rival

One-time10
  • PIGGY_BANK$2.99
  • Save Streak$2.99
  • BIG PILE OF DIAMONDS$4.99
Show 7 more
  • Arena Big Deal$4.99
  • CHALLENGE PASS$4.99
  • FULL BAG OF DIAMONDS$9.99
  • Arena Super Deal$9.99
  • CLUB OFFER 1$9.99
  • FULL CHEST OF DIAMONDS$19.99
  • Arena Amazing Deal$19.99

Questions

Is Nova Golf free?
Nova Golf costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Golf Rival free?
Golf Rival is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nova Golf or Golf Rival?
Golf Rival is rated higher. Nova Golf averages 3.6 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Golf Rival averages 4.5 from 155K ratings.
Do Nova Golf or Golf Rival have ads?
Golf Rival shows ads; Nova Golf does not.
Which is updated more often, Nova Golf or Golf Rival?
Nova Golf ships an update every 3 months, and Golf Rival every 9 days. Most recently, Nova Golf was updated on September 26, 2026 and Golf Rival on September 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Nova Golf or Golf Rival?
Nova Golf currently peaks at #178 in the App Store charts, and Golf Rival at #9. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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