# Samurai Sudoku vs Moonlight Apothecary

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Moonlight Apothecary at none against Samurai Sudoku's 10. Moonlight Apothecary also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Samurai Sudoku sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Moonlight Apothecary asks for nothing beyond the download.

Samurai Sudoku ships an update every 2 months, Moonlight Apothecary every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Samurai Sudoku | Moonlight Apothecary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (383 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/samurai-sudoku/id594421598/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **383** | — |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 24 MB | 87 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Stanley Lam](https://appshunter.io/developer/453164363) | [NAOTO MORI](https://appshunter.io/developer/6797218095) |

## What reviewers say

### Samurai Sudoku

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/samurai-sudoku/id594421598)

Experience a unique Sudoku challenge with five interconnected grids. Apply standard Sudoku rules to each 9x9 grid, filling numbers to ensure each row, column, and region has one of each digit. Offers multiple difficulty levels and puzzle variations.

**Highlights:** Five overlapping Sudoku grids, Five difficulty levels, Various Sudoku types (Gattai, Butterfly), Hint feature with conflict checking, Highlight same numbers, Autosave progress, Record best completion times

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Diagonal Samurai Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Beginner Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Median Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Advanced Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Expert Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Advanced Pack 2 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Basic Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Jigsaw Samurai Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Anti Diagonal Samurai Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Sudoku | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Excellent variety of puzzle types and game modes
- 🧠 Challenging and mentally stimulating gameplay
- 👍 User-friendly interface and intuitive controls
- 🎨 Well-designed graphics and visual presentation
- ⭐ Addictive and entertaining for extended play

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing issues
- 📱 Unresponsive touch controls requiring multiple taps
- 🎥 Video loading problems for weekly puzzles
- 💾 Loss of purchased content and progress after updates
- 📺 Excessive and intrusive advertising

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when watching required videos
- Weekly puzzle videos fail to load
- Game freezes mid-puzzle with no progress saved
- Purchased puzzles disappear after app updates or reinstalls
- Ad screens block gameplay with no visible close button

**Requested features**

- Auto-fill feature for candidate notes/pencil marks
- Pause button for games in progress
- Left-handed mode option
- Highlight vertical and horizontal lines for easier solving
- Ability to create and submit custom puzzles


### Moonlight Apothecary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/moonlight-apothecary/id6797395850)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Samurai Sudoku free?

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

### Is Moonlight Apothecary free?

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

### Do Samurai Sudoku or Moonlight Apothecary have ads?

Both Samurai Sudoku and Moonlight Apothecary show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Samurai Sudoku or Moonlight Apothecary?

Samurai Sudoku ships an update every 2 months, and Moonlight Apothecary every 10 days. Most recently, Samurai Sudoku was updated on November 10, 2026 and Moonlight Apothecary on November 6, 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.*