# Golly vs IdleSpiral

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Golly at 97% against IdleSpiral's 54%. Golly also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). IdleSpiral's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 32 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

Golly holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 79 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 97% of Golly's written reviews are positive against 54% of IdleSpiral's.

Golly ships an update every 32 months, IdleSpiral every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Golly | IdleSpiral |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (47 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/golly/id553184760/reviews)** | [4.2 (79 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idlespiral/id6476647541/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 47 | **79** |
| Positive reviews | **96.8% of reviews** | 54.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 32 months | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 15 MB | 235 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Andrew Trevorrow](https://appshunter.io/developer/553184763) | [Idle System, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1727483319) |

## 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, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### IdleSpiral

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idlespiral/id6476647541)

An idle, incremental game where players aim to grow a spiral. It combines simple gameplay with mathematical beauty for long-term engagement.

**Highlights:** Idle gameplay, Incremental progression, Spiral mathematics, Long-term engagement, Simple mechanics

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Spiral Point 500 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Bubble Spiral | $4.99 | one-time |
| Arrow Spiral | $4.99 | one-time |
| Space Spiral | $9.99 | one-time |
| Bonfire  Spiral | $9.99 | one-time |
| Permanent Bonus | $9.99 | one-time |
| Pixel Spiral | $9.99 | one-time |
| Railway Spiral | $9.99 | one-time |
| Spiral Point 3000 | $12.99 | one-time |
| Spiral Point 10000 | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great game overall
- 💡 Interesting idle/incremental mechanics
- 🔢 Generates big numbers
- ✨ Satisfying progression
- 🎨 Can make cool patterns

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Game glitches and bugs
- 🔋 Drains battery quickly
- 📱 Phone gets very hot
- 📉 Progress halts without active play
- 💸 Premium currency hard to accumulate

**Reported bugs**

- Game is unresponsive
- Ads don't work or give rewards
- Patterns are random
- Bar at the bottom center not growable
- Phone gets super hot and drains battery

**Requested features**

- Fix bugs and glitches
- Improve ad rewards and length
- Make the game truly idle again
- Fix offline gains and progress
- Improve translation and text display


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Golly free?

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

### Is IdleSpiral free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Golly or IdleSpiral?

Golly is rated higher. Golly averages 4.8 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while IdleSpiral averages 4.2 from 79 ratings.

### Do Golly or IdleSpiral have ads?

IdleSpiral shows ads; Golly does not.

### Which is updated more often, Golly or IdleSpiral?

Golly ships an update every 32 months, and IdleSpiral every 2 days. Most recently, Golly was updated on November 1, 2026 and IdleSpiral on October 30, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*