Comparison

Planetary Idle vs Mars Mining Simulator

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Planetary Idle

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
Read full description

Discover planets with a retro sci-fi idle theme with Planetary Idle! • Hire Scientists - Generate steady passive income and scale your operation. • Tap to Boost - Tap for extra cash when you’re active. • Research Expeditions - Spend money and brave scientists on one-way missions for discoveries and income bonuses! • Prestige - Reset, keep permanent upgrades, blast past your previous best. • QBits & Upgrades - Earn rare QBits and unlock powerful perks. • Play Your Pace - Short bursts or long idles; progress for 6 hours when offline. • Game Center - Many achievements to unlock!

About

Mars Mining Simulator

Pilot a mining rig on Mars to extract valuable minerals and discover ancient relics. Upgrade your equipment, utilize tactical consumables, and survive treacherous caverns to complete challenges and rescue a trapped miner.

Highlights
  • Mine 10 unique minerals
  • Discover 3 mega-rare Relics
  • Upgrade 6 ship Parts
  • Use 5 Tactical consumables
  • Visit 4 Surface shops
  • Complete 6 Challenges
  • Engage in 1 Epic Boss fight
Features
Read full description

Deep beneath the red dust of Mars lies a fortune in rare minerals—and a crew of miners who never made it back. Take control of a powerful mining rig, navigate treacherous underground caverns, and become the hero Mars needs. - Mine 10 unique minerals: Copper → Iron → Silver → Gold → Obsidian → Sapphire → Emerald → Ruby → Diamond → Bismuth - Discover 3 mega-rare Relics hidden in the deep: Ancient Tablet → Meteoric Metal → Fossilized Remains - 6 Upgradeable ship Parts, build the ultimate digging machine: Improve drill speed, extend your Cargo Bay, reinforce your Armor, optimize your Engine, expand your Gas Tank, upgrade your Radiator - 5 Tactical consumables, master your arsenal to survive the deep: Use TNT and Nukes to blast through solid rock. Deploy a Repair Bot when the damage gets critical. Pop a Portable Fuel Pod when you're low on gas. Try the Nexus Teleporter for an instant extraction to the surface! - 4 Surface shops to Buy/Sell/Upgrade/Repair - Service Station(Fuel), Mineral Shop, Upgrade Shop, Item Shop(Supplies) - 3 Unique Mining Rigs to play as - Basic Rig, Yellow Tiger Tank, Violet Vento - 6. Completable Challenges: 1. Mine all three rare relics 2. Mine five Bismuth minerals in a single haul 3. Fall 5,000 feet in a single drop 4. Sell over $500,000 to the Mineral Shop in a single transaction 5. Upgrade all of your mining rig components to elite 6. Defeat the final boss - 1 Full length quest: Rescue the trapped miner - 1 Epic Boss fight to beat the game Mars is waiting. Grab your gear, prep your explosives, and start your descent.

Screenshots

Planetary Idle4 screens
Mars Mining Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mars Mining Simulator at 100% against Planetary Idle's 50%. Mars Mining Simulator also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Planetary Idle's advantage is ratings volume (77 vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Planetary Idle sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Mars Mining Simulator sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mars Mining Simulator holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Planetary Idle has 77 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Planetary Idle's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mars Mining Simulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Planetary Idle ships an update weekly, Mars Mining Simulator daily. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Planetary Idle versus Mars Mining Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlanetary IdleMars Mining Simulator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (77 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings77 — better4
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS1715.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoberto Frias NerioMatthew Musto

Customer experience

Planetary Idle

All ratings77 ratings
Positive96.1%
Neutral1.3%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Mars Mining Simulator

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Planetary Idle

One-time3
  • Booster Pack$0.99
  • Research Pack$2.99
  • Quantum Pack$6.99
2 purchases

Mars Mining Simulator

One-time2
  • Violet Vento$0.99
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Planetary Idle free?
Planetary Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mars Mining Simulator free?
Mars Mining Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Planetary Idle or Mars Mining Simulator?
Mars Mining Simulator is rated higher. Planetary Idle averages 4.8 out of 5 from 77 ratings, while Mars Mining Simulator averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Planetary Idle or Mars Mining Simulator have ads?
Both Planetary Idle and Mars Mining Simulator show ads.
Which is updated more often, Planetary Idle or Mars Mining Simulator?
Planetary Idle ships an update weekly, and Mars Mining Simulator daily. Most recently, Planetary Idle was updated on September 12, 2026 and Mars Mining Simulator on September 16, 2026.

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