Golly vs Earth Editor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Golly
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.
- 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
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Golly is an open source, cross-platform application for exploring Conway's Game of Life and many other types of cellular automata. Key features: Supports bounded and unbounded universes, with cells of up to 256 states. Supports multiple algorithms, including Bill Gosper's super fast hashlife algorithm. Many different types of CA are included: John von Neumann's 29-state CA, Wolfram's 1D rules, WireWorld, Generations, Langton's Loops, Larger than Life, etc. Reads RLE, macrocell, Life 1.05/1.06, dblife, and MCell files. Can extract patterns and rules from zip files. Can download patterns and rules from online archives. Includes a state-of-the-art pattern collection. Unlimited undo/redo. Extensive help, with an integrated Life Lexicon.
Earth Editor
Create your own world by placing various elements like sand, water, and lava on a gravity field. This simulation game allows for boundless creativity in designing unique planetary landscapes. Explore the possibilities of a sandbox environment where you are the architect of your own planet.
- World creation sandbox
- Gravity field simulation
- Place sand, water, seeds, lava
- Creative planetary design
- Element interaction
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This game is the 21st iOS game for the Web game site "DAN-BALL". A simulation game that creates the Earth using various dots on the field of gravity. There are various dots of sand, water, seeds, lava, and more. Be creative. It's up to you!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Golly at 4.8 against Earth Editor's 4.3. Golly also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (97% vs 79%). Earth Editor's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 32 months) and ratings volume (919 vs 47). On price 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Golly holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Earth Editor has 919 ratings behind it against 47, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 97% of Golly's written reviews are positive against 79% of Earth Editor's.
Golly ships an update every 32 months, Earth Editor every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.
| Parameter | Golly | Earth Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (47 ratings) — better | 4.3 (919 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 96.8% of reviews — better | 78.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 47 | 919 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 32 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andrew Trevorrow | DAN-BALL |
Customer experience
Golly
Earth Editor
Bugs and requests
Golly
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Earth Editor
Reported bugs
3 issues- Black holes causing glitches
- Ice not freezing water properly
- Cloned elements not behaving as expected
Requested features
8 requests- More elements and materials to experiment with
- Ability to save multiple worlds
- Zoom and camera controls
- Realistic physics and behaviors (e.g. sand sinking in water)
- Ability to create life, animals, or civilizations
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- Supernova and star effects
- Atmosphere and weather systems
- Ability to move immobile objects
In-app purchases
Golly
No in-app purchases
Earth Editor
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Golly free?
Is Earth Editor free?
Which has better reviews, Golly or Earth Editor?
Do Golly or Earth Editor have ads?
Which is updated more often, Golly or Earth Editor?
Other comparisons
