# Poker Brawl vs Balatro

The clearest difference is price: Poker Brawl at Free against Balatro's $9.99. Balatro's advantage is ratings volume (109K vs 35) and chart position (#2 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Poker Brawl is free to download; Balatro costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Poker Brawl against 5.0 for Balatro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro has 109K ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Poker Brawl's written reviews are positive against 81% of Balatro's.

Poker Brawl ships an update weekly, Balatro every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Poker Brawl | Balatro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $9.99 |
| Rating | [4.9 (35 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poker-brawl/id6455990928/reviews) | **[5.0 (109K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balatro/id6502453075/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 35 | **109K** |
| Positive reviews | **86.7% of reviews** | 81.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 8 days |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#2** |
| Size | 54 MB | 94 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Poker Brawl, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1700249564) | [Playstack Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1133080356) |

## What reviewers say

### Poker Brawl

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poker-brawl/id6455990928)

Engage in competitive, turn-based poker matches against other players. Improve your rating with each win and climb the leaderboards. This game focuses on skill and strategy, not real money betting.

**Highlights:** Head-to-head poker matches, Turn-based gameplay, Rating-based competition, Leaderboard rankings, Free-to-play

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Balatro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balatro/id6502453075)

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Paid · Card, #3 Top Paid · Strategy, #7 Top Paid · Games, #13 Top Paid, #103 Top Grossing · Card, #145 Top Grossing · Strategy (US App Store)

This game blends poker and solitaire mechanics with unique rule-bending twists. Build powerful poker hands, discover game-changing Joker cards, and create exciting combos to defeat challenging Boss Blinds. Explore different decks and game modes for endless replayability.

**Highlights:** Poker and Solitaire hybrid gameplay, Rule-bending mechanics, Collect over 150 unique Joker cards, Create powerful combos, Campaign and challenge modes, Pixel art visuals

**Features:** Game Controller support, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Addictive gameplay
- 💎 Unique and compelling mechanics
- 👍 Easy to learn, hard to master
- 🎨 Charming pixel art and music
- 💰 Great value for money

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and save issues
- 🔍 Small text and UI elements
- 🔋 Battery draining
- 🔇 No background music support

**Reported bugs**

- Unlocks and achievements not registering properly
- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
- Joker and card interactions not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Cloud save sync across devices
- Portrait mode option
- Customizable UI and accessibility settings


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Poker Brawl free?

Poker Brawl is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Balatro free?

Balatro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Poker Brawl or Balatro?

Balatro is rated higher. Poker Brawl averages 4.9 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Balatro averages 5.0 from 109K ratings.

### Do Poker Brawl or Balatro have ads?

Neither Poker Brawl nor Balatro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Poker Brawl or Balatro?

Poker Brawl ships an update weekly, and Balatro every 8 days. Most recently, Poker Brawl was updated on November 3, 2026 and Balatro on November 10, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*