Comparison

Subway Surfers vs Gardenscapes

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

Head to head
About

Subway Surfers

Embark on an exhilarating endless running adventure, dodging trains and outsmarting a persistent guard. Utilize hoverboards, jetpacks, and acrobatic moves to achieve high scores and compete with friends in this visually vibrant game.

Highlights
  • Endless running gameplay
  • Dodge oncoming trains
  • Grind on trains
  • Hoverboard surfing
  • Paint-powered jetpack
  • Fast swipe acrobatics
  • Challenge friends
Features
Read full description

DASH as fast as you can! DODGE the oncoming trains! Help Jake, Tricky & Fresh escape from the grumpy Guard and his dog. - Grind trains with your cool crew! - Colorful and vivid HD graphics! - Hoverboard Surfing! - Paint powered jetpack! - Lightning fast swipe acrobatics! - Challenge and help your friends! Join the App Store's most daring chase! A Universal App with HD optimized graphics for retina resolution. Originally co-developed by SYBO and Kiloo.

About

Gardenscapes

Solve match-3 puzzles to restore and decorate a beautiful garden. Uncover an engaging storyline, meet charming characters, and explore unique garden areas. Enjoy over 16,000 levels with exciting events and challenges.

Highlights
  • Match-3 puzzle gameplay
  • Garden decoration and restoration
  • Engaging storyline
  • Over 16,000 levels
  • Exciting in-game events
  • Collectible pets
Read full description

Welcome to Gardenscapes, the first game from the Playrix Scapes™ series! Make match-3 combinations and bring coziness and beauty to every corner of your garden. Solve fun puzzles, restore and explore new areas of the garden, and meet new friends in every chapter of the exciting storyline. Austin the butler is ready to welcome you to a world of incredible adventures! Game Features: ● Gameplay loved by millions of players! Make match-3 combinations and decorate your garden while enjoying an entertaining story! ● Over 16,000 captivating levels with explosive power-ups, useful boosters, and cool elements. ● Exciting events! Embark on fascinating Expeditions, compete against other players in different challenges, and win awesome prizes! ● One-of-a-kind garden areas with unique layouts, from fountain ensembles to island landscapes. ● Loads of fun characters: meet Austin's friends and neighbors! ● Adorable pets that will become your faithful companions! Play with your Facebook and Game Center friends, or make new friends in the game community! Gardenscapes is free to play, but some in-game elements (including randomized items) can be purchased for real money. If you don't want to take advantage of this option, simply turn it off in your device's Restrictions menu. A Wi-Fi or internet connection is not required to play. *An internet connection is required to access competitions and additional features. Do you like Gardenscapes? Follow us! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gardenscapes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gardenscapes_mobile/ Need to report an issue or ask a question? Contact Player Support through the game by going to Settings > Help and Support. If you can't access the game, use the web chat by clicking the chat icon in the lower right corner of our website: https://playrix.helpshift.com/hc/en/5-gardenscapes/ Terms of Use: https://playrix.com/terms/index_en.html Privacy Policy: https://playrix.com/privacy/index_en.html

Screenshots

Subway Surfers4 screens
Gardenscapes4 screens

Verdict

The call

Subway Surfers and Gardenscapes both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of Subway Surfers's written reviews are positive against 34% of Gardenscapes's. Subway Surfers also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Gardenscapes's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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. Subway Surfers sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Gardenscapes sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Subway Surfers against 4.7 for Gardenscapes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.9M and 1.7M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Subway Surfers's written reviews are positive against 34% of Gardenscapes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Subway Surfers ships an update weekly, Gardenscapes every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Subway Surfers versus Gardenscapes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSubway SurfersGardenscapes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (3.9M ratings)4.7 (1.7M ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.6% of reviews — better33.9% of reviews
Number of ratings3.9M — better1.7M
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#7#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size395 MB285 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperSybo Games ApSPlayrix

Customer experience

Subway Surfers

All ratings3,875,082 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.5%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews10,922 reviews
Positive86.6%
Neutral4.9%
Negative8.5%

Gardenscapes

All ratings1,697,068 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews3,849 reviews
Positive33.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative55.1%

User reviews

Subway Surfers

From 3.9M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Addictive and fun gameplay
  • 📱 Works well offline
  • 🎨 Diverse characters and themes
  • 🎢 Challenging and fast-paced
  • 🎁 Rewarding progression system

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🕰️ Frequent updates can be disruptive
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🕹️ Difficulty controlling character at times
  • 🔍 Lack of save/sync across devices

Gardenscapes

From 1.7M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌳 Beautiful graphics and garden design
  • 🕹️ Enjoyable and relaxing gameplay
  • 🕰️ Calming background music
  • 🐶 Cute pet companion (dog)

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Frustratingly difficult levels
  • 💰 Game feels designed to push in-app purchases
  • ⏱️ Slow progress and high star requirements
  • 🤖 Racist portrayal of Asian character

Bugs and requests

Subway Surfers

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game crashes after updates
  • Disappearing high scores and progress
  • Unresponsive controls during gameplay
  • Ads that redirect to App Store unexpectedly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to save progress across devices
  • More customization options for characters
  • Difficulty settings or modes
  • Multiplayer/competitive features
  • Reduced ad frequency or ad-free option

Gardenscapes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game crashing and progress loss issues
  • Boosters not working as intended
  • Inconsistent difficulty across levels

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to skip challenging levels
  • More ways to earn coins and power-ups
  • Option to customize garden more freely
  • Faster energy/life regeneration

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Subway Surfers

One-time10
  • 7,500 Coins$0.99
  • 12 500 Coins$0.99
  • Starter Pack$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Coin Pack 1$0.99
  • 45,000 Coins$4.99
  • Double Coins$4.99
  • 65 000 Coins$4.99
  • 25 Keys$4.99
  • 40 Keys$4.99
  • Key Pack 1$4.99
9 purchases

Gardenscapes

One-time9
  • 1000 Coins$0.99
  • Garden Kit2 variants$1.99
  • 1000 Coins$1.99
Show 6 more
  • Hot Offer$1.99
  • Gold Reserve$2.99
  • Golden ticket$4.99
  • Botanist Kit$5.99
  • Season Pass$9.99
  • Florist Kit$9.99

Questions

Is Subway Surfers free?
Subway Surfers is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gardenscapes free?
Gardenscapes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Subway Surfers or Gardenscapes?
Gardenscapes is rated higher. Subway Surfers averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.9M ratings, while Gardenscapes averages 4.7 from 1.7M ratings.
Do Subway Surfers or Gardenscapes have ads?
Subway Surfers shows ads; Gardenscapes does not.
Which is updated more often, Subway Surfers or Gardenscapes?
Subway Surfers ships an update weekly, and Gardenscapes every 3 weeks. Most recently, Subway Surfers was updated on November 11, 2026 and Gardenscapes on November 11, 2026.
Which is more popular, Subway Surfers or Gardenscapes?
Subway Surfers currently peaks at #7 in the App Store charts, and Gardenscapes at #6. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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