# Mahjong Challenges vs Mahjong Essential

The clearest difference is ads: Mahjong Challenges at none against Mahjong Essential's shown. Mahjong Challenges also leads on iOS requirement (13 vs 18.6). Mahjong Essential's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 34 months). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Mahjong Challenges sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Mahjong Essential sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Mahjong Challenges ships an update every 34 months, Mahjong Essential every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mahjong Challenges | Mahjong Essential |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-challenges/id636879476/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4** | — |
| Positive reviews | 29.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 34 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 38 MB | 64 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Jose Varela](https://appshunter.io/developer/336500035) | [Tommaso Tamantini](https://appshunter.io/developer/6794208760) |

## What reviewers say

### Mahjong Challenges

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-challenges/id636879476)

Experience the classic Mahjong solitaire game with a timed challenge. Remove all tiles by matching pairs, utilizing unlimited undo, hints, and shuffles. Compete for high scores on 300 unique board layouts.

**Highlights:** 300 board layouts, Infinite Undo, Hints, Shuffle, Adjustable tile illumination, HD graphics, Guaranteed solvable puzzles, Score based on time, High score tracking

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 3 extra lives | $1.99 | one-time |
| Undo button | $1.99 | one-time |
| Hint | $1.99 | one-time |
| Double  time | $1.99 | one-time |
| Shuffle | $1.99 | one-time |
| Set of 5 lives | $2.99 | one-time |


### Mahjong Essential

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-essential/id6799641195)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| No-Ads | $2.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mahjong Challenges free?

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

### Is Mahjong Essential free?

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

### Do Mahjong Challenges or Mahjong Essential have ads?

Mahjong Essential shows ads; Mahjong Challenges does not.

### Which is updated more often, Mahjong Challenges or Mahjong Essential?

Mahjong Challenges ships an update every 34 months, and Mahjong Essential every 3 days. Most recently, Mahjong Challenges was updated on October 23, 2026 and Mahjong Essential on October 2, 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.*