# Wildfrost vs Balatro

The clearest difference is price: Wildfrost at Free against Balatro's $9.99. Balatro's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Wildfrost is free to download; Balatro costs $9.99 up front. Wildfrost sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Balatro asks for nothing beyond the download.

Balatro holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro has 108K ratings behind it against 516, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Wildfrost's written reviews are positive against 81% of Balatro's.

Wildfrost ships an update monthly, Balatro every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Wildfrost | Balatro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $9.99 |
| Rating | [4.2 (516 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wildfrost/id6462882621/reviews) | **[5.0 (108K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balatro/id6502453075/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 516 | **108K** |
| Positive reviews | 66.1% of reviews | **81.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#2** |
| Size | 724 MB | 94 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Chucklefish Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1163786770) | [Playstack Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1133080356) |

## What reviewers say

### Wildfrost

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wildfrost/id6462882621)

Embark on a tactical roguelike deckbuilder adventure where you build a deck of card companions and elemental items to banish an eternal winter. Explore endless replayability with daily runs, challenges, and a dynamic counter system. Develop your hub town and unlock new content between runs.

**Highlights:** Build a deck with over 160 cards, Endless replayability with daily runs, Recruit card companions and elemental items, Master a dynamic counter system, Expand and develop the hub town, Unlock new cards and customization options

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wildfrost Full Game | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Endless replayability
- 👍 Unique and charming design
- 🎨 Gorgeous art and animations
- 🎶 Fitting and amazing music
- 🤯 Incredible depth and complexity

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and save data loss issues
- 👀 Tiny text and UI elements
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🤕 Overly punishing difficulty

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashing on launch
- Progress reset after device switch
- Tutorial stages not functioning properly

**Requested features**

- Cloud save sync across devices
- Option to increase font size
- More content and faction updates


### Balatro

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

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Paid · Card, #4 Top Paid · Strategy, #8 Top Paid · Games, #11 Top Paid, #108 Top Grossing · Card, #155 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 Wildfrost free?

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

### Is Balatro free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Wildfrost or Balatro?

Balatro is rated higher. Wildfrost averages 4.2 out of 5 from 516 ratings, while Balatro averages 5.0 from 108K ratings.

### Do Wildfrost or Balatro have ads?

Neither Wildfrost nor Balatro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Wildfrost or Balatro?

Wildfrost ships an update monthly, and Balatro every 8 days. Most recently, Wildfrost was updated on October 30, 2026 and Balatro on November 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.*