Subway Surfers vs True Surf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Subway Surfers
Embark on an exhilarating endless running adventure. Dash through vibrant environments, dodge obstacles, and outrun pursuers. Utilize power-ups like jetpacks and hoverboards to enhance your escape and achieve high scores.
- Endless running gameplay
- Dodge oncoming trains
- Grind trains
- Colorful HD graphics
- Hoverboard surfing
- Paint powered jetpack
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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.
True Surf
Experience the most authentic surfing simulation with realistic physics and live weather forecasts from Surfline. Master real-time controls, travel to world-famous breaks, and compete in WSL events. Evolve your surfer, build your gear, and chase the perfect wave.
- Realistic physics simulation
- Live Surfline weather forecasts
- World-famous surf breaks
- Real-time touch controls
- Character progression and customization
- Board quiver management
- Live WSL competitions
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Conquer legendary past swells by crushing feat-based missions across a quiver of boards, from the world’s leading shapers, and unlock 34 of the planet's most iconic surf spots. Experience mind blowing realistic wave graphics, driven by True Axis' cutting-edge, real-world physics simulation engine, featuring real-time surf conditions powered by Surfline! True Surf is the Official Game of World Surf League (WSL). REAL TIME CONTROLS Realistic touch based physics enable complete control of your surfer in real time. Use one finger, your thumb or mind surf with two fingers like the Pros. NEW GAMEPLAY: FIRST PERSON BARREL MODE Automatically switch to first person mode when in the barrel. NEW MISSION MODE: Smash feat-based missions across the world’s most iconic breaks to unlock new surf spots! Every victory earns you essential rewards to fuel your career, including Clams, Travel Tickets, and Perfect Storms to boost live conditions. IMPROVED REPLAY GRAPHICS Edit and share POV drainers, pig dog shots in the barrel, and spine-twisting laybacks in the pocket! THE WORLD'S BEST WAVES A huge part of surfing is about chasing the perfect wave and True Surf comes jam-packed with the world's best. Travel the world chasing classic reef breaks with hollow barrels at Pipe in Hawaii, Cloudbreak, Fiji to rolling 'power-curve' breaks at Bells Beach, Australia. Or try to beat the sections at some of the world's fastest point breaks like Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. If BIG waves are your thing then head to Nazare, Portugal and Jaws (Pe-ahi), Hawaii. True Surf has it all including Surf Ranch, the epic man made wave located between farm fields in California’s Central Valley. REAL-TIME CONDITIONS POWERED BY SURFLINE True Surf is powered by real time surf forecasting data from Surfline (experts in marine weather forecasting). Data is updated throughout the day and includes Swell Height, Swell Direction, Wind, Tide and Water Temperature. PERFECT STORM Play god of thunder and boost LIVE swells. WILDLIFE Surf with dolphins, look out for the sharks! COMPETE IN WSL CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR EVENTS Are you ready for the CT? Test your skills in WSL Events and compete against other players from around the world to see if you have what it takes to become a CT champ! CHARACTER & QUIVER Experience apparel and boards from legendary brands including Billabong, Catch Surf, Firewire Surfboards, Pyzel Surfboards, Quiksilver, Roxy, Rusty, Shane, SharpEye Surfboards, Simon Anderson Surfboards, Slater Designs, Stretch Boards, and Vissla. Note: An internet connection is required to access some features. Frequent Flyer (monthly) is a monthly subscription service that enables you unlimited travel to all surf spots in True Surf. Frequent Flyer Monthly cost 2.99 USD/month (or local equivalent) and will be charged on your iTunes Account after purchase and when the subscription renews monthly. Perfect Storm (monthly) is a monthly subscription service that enables you unlimited activations of Perfect Storms at all surf spots in True Surf. Perfect Storms provide a boost to live surf conditions and each activation lasts for 5 minutes. Perfect Storm Monthly cost 2.99 USD/month (or local equivalent) and will be charged on your iTunes Account after purchase and when the subscription renews monthly. Subscriptions will renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to users iTunes account settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Terms of service can be found at https://trueaxis.com/tsfua.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Subway Surfers at 4.6 against True Surf's 3.9. Subway Surfers also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 61%) and ratings volume (3.9M vs 3.5K). True Surf's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Subway Surfers sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and True Surf sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Subway Surfers holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Subway Surfers has 3.9M ratings behind it against 3.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Subway Surfers's written reviews are positive against 61% of True Surf's.
Subway Surfers ships an update weekly, True Surf fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Subway Surfers | True Surf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (3.9M ratings) — better | 3.9 (3.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.5% of reviews — better | 60.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.9M — better | 3.5K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #4 — better | #82 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 392 MB | 211 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sybo Games ApS | True Axis |
Customer experience
Subway Surfers
True Surf
User reviews
Subway Surfers
From 3.9M App Store ratingsWhat 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
True Surf
From 3.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌊 Realistic wave physics and graphics
- 🤙 Fun and addictive gameplay
- 🔥 Best surfing game on mobile
- 👍 Intuitive controls once learned
- 🌍 Variety of real-world surf spots
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for boards and upgrades
- 🐢 Extremely slow progression and leveling up
- 🤯 Inconsistent and unreliable scoring system
- 🌊 Lack of consistently good waves at many locations
- 🔋 Battery draining issues
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
True Surf
Reported bugs
3 issues- Waves not generating properly at Surf Ranch
- Progression resets and lost progress
- Inability to travel to desired surf spots
Requested features
5 requests- First-person camera mode
- Customizable boards and characters
- Competitive multiplayer mode
- Career mode with challenges and sponsorships
- Ability to create and share custom surf spots
In-app purchases
Subway Surfers
- 7,500 Coins$0.99
- 12 500 Coins$0.99
- Starter Pack$0.99
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- 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
True Surf
- Perfect Storm (monthly)$2.991 Month
- Frequent Flyer (monthly)$2.991 Month
- Handful of Clams$0.99
- Bag of Clams$7.99
- Chest of Clams$28.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Boatload of Clams$49.99
- Sea of Clams$99.99









