# Golly vs Exponential Idle

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Golly at none against Exponential Idle's 4. Golly also leads on ads (none vs shown). Exponential Idle's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 39 months) and ratings volume (4.1K vs 45). On price, rating and review sentiment there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Exponential Idle sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Golly asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Golly against 4.9 for Exponential Idle. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exponential Idle has 4.1K ratings behind it against 45, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 97% of Golly's written reviews are positive against 92% of Exponential Idle's.

Golly ships an update every 39 months, Exponential Idle every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Golly | Exponential Idle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (45 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/golly/id553184760/reviews) | **[4.9 (4.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exponential-idle/id1538487382/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 45 | **4.1K** |
| Positive reviews | **96.6% of reviews** | 91.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 39 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 14 MB | 95 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **8.0** |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Andrew Trevorrow](https://appshunter.io/developer/553184763) | [Gilles-Philippe Paille](https://appshunter.io/developer/1538487384) |

## What reviewers say

### Golly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/golly/id553184760)

Explore Conway's Game of Life and various cellular automata with this open-source application. It supports diverse universe types, multiple algorithms, and a wide array of cellular automata rules. Users can import patterns, download from online archives, and utilize unlimited undo/redo functionality.

**Highlights:** Supports bounded and unbounded universes, Multiple algorithms including hashlife, Variety of cellular automata types included, Reads multiple file formats (RLE, macrocell, etc.), Extracts patterns and rules from zip files, Downloads patterns and rules from online archives, Unlimited undo/redo

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Exponential Idle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exponential-idle/id1538487382)

Engage in a math-inspired incremental game where you strategically stack virtual money through exponential growth. Advance through time, make variable changes, and purchase upgrades to accelerate your earnings and unlock achievements.

**Highlights:** Exponential growth mechanics, Time progression, Change of variables, Buy upgrades, Earn virtual money, Unlock achievements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Donate | $0.99 | one-time |
| Permanent Ad Reward | $1.99 | one-time |
| Donate | $1.99 | one-time |
| Donate | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great and addicting game
- 👍 Interesting story and educational
- 👍 Numbers go big
- 👍 User-friendly with good descriptions
- 👍 Highly automated progression

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- ⏱️ Slow progression after initial stages
- 🕹️ Difficult mini-games
- 🔒 Harsh time-change penalty
- 🔋 Potential performance issues on some devices

**Reported bugs**

- Puzzle mini-games not loading correctly
- Offline progress issues after updates
- Occasional app crashes

**Requested features**

- More mini-games and challenges
- Better explanations for advanced mechanics
- Adjustable color schemes and visual customization
- Improved offline progress tracking
- Smoother performance and optimization


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Golly free?

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

### Is Exponential Idle free?

Exponential Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Golly or Exponential Idle?

Exponential Idle is rated higher. Golly averages 4.8 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while Exponential Idle averages 4.9 from 4.1K ratings.

### Do Golly or Exponential Idle have ads?

Exponential Idle shows ads; Golly does not.

### Which is updated more often, Golly or Exponential Idle?

Golly ships an update every 39 months, and Exponential Idle every 3 weeks. Most recently, Golly was updated on September 16, 2026 and Exponential Idle on September 22, 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.*