# Planetary Idle vs Santa's Workshop

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Santa's Workshop at none against Planetary Idle's 3. Santa's Workshop also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (60% vs 50%). Planetary Idle's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Planetary Idle sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Santa's Workshop asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Planetary Idle against 4.7 for Santa's Workshop. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 80 and 42 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Planetary Idle's written reviews are positive against 60% of Santa's Workshop's.

Planetary Idle ships an update weekly, Santa's Workshop every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Planetary Idle | Santa's Workshop |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (80 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planetary-idle/id6450142774/reviews)** | [4.7 (42 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santas-workshop-idle-game/id6738013587/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **80** | 42 |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **60.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 112 MB | 147 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Roberto Frias Nerio](https://appshunter.io/developer/1692039143) | [aleros.io LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1552999210) |

## What reviewers say

### Planetary Idle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planetary-idle/id6450142774)

Explore planets with a retro sci-fi idle theme. Hire scientists for passive income, tap for boosts, and research expeditions for discoveries. Prestige to reset with permanent upgrades and unlock perks with rare QBits.

**Highlights:** Hire Scientists for passive income, Tap to boost active income, Research expeditions for discoveries, Prestige system with permanent upgrades, Earn QBits for powerful perks, Offline progress for 6 hours

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Booster Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Research Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Quantum Pack | $6.99 | one-time |


### Santa's Workshop

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santas-workshop-idle-game/id6738013587)

Help the elves craft toys and find Santa before it's too late in this holiday-themed idle game. Manage your workshop, care for reindeer, and complete missions to spread joy.

**Highlights:** Tap to build 25 unique toys, Offline toy crafting, Complete missions, Care for reindeer, Search for Santa, Collect achievements, Accessibility mode

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Planetary Idle free?

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

### Is Santa's Workshop free?

Santa's Workshop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Planetary Idle or Santa's Workshop?

Planetary Idle is rated higher. Planetary Idle averages 4.8 out of 5 from 80 ratings, while Santa's Workshop averages 4.7 from 42 ratings.

### Do Planetary Idle or Santa's Workshop have ads?

Planetary Idle shows ads; Santa's Workshop does not.

### Which is updated more often, Planetary Idle or Santa's Workshop?

Planetary Idle ships an update weekly, and Santa's Workshop every 3 weeks. Most recently, Planetary Idle was updated on October 24, 2026 and Santa's Workshop on October 24, 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.*