Comparison

Monster Train+ vs Balatro+

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

Head to head
About

Monster Train+

Defend the last burning pyre from Heaven's forces in this strategic deckbuilding roguelike. Build unique decks with over 250 cards across five distinct monster clans, each offering unique gameplay. Explore powerful locations and upgrade your champions to restore the Inferno.

Highlights
  • Unlock over 250 cards
  • Discover 5 distinct Monster Clans
  • Upgrade Champions multiple times
  • Explore powerful locations for benefits
  • Build and strategize unique decks
  • Includes Wild Mutations and Friends & Foes updates
  • Adds new clan, Pact Shards, and endboss with DLC
Features
Read full description

Hell has frozen over. Only you can protect the final burning pyre from the forces of Heaven and restore the Inferno. Monster Train brings a new strategic layer to Roguelite Deck Building, with three vertical playing fields to defend. Features: * Unlock over 250 cards * Discover 5 Monster Clans, each with their own distinct gameplay * Each clan has 10 levels to unlock, bringing new cards to your deck * Upgrade your powerful Champions multiple times * Includes the released updates Wild Mutations and Friends & Foes! Ultimate Replayability No playthrough is ever the same, it’s a fresh challenge every time. You’ll really never play the same deck twice! Perfect entertainment for your mobile device! Explore powerful locations To take back hell, you’ll need to power up. Choose your route carefully, different locations yield different benefits; upgrade your Champion, recruit powerful units, upgrade cards, gain passive bonuses or duplicate any card in your deck. Strategize to fit your playstyle With five clans to choose from, each has its own unique and surprising gameplay. Pick your primary and supporting clan to gain access to all cards from both. Build your deck and perfect your strategy to defeat your enemies! The Last Divinity DLC Epic new content expansion for Monster Train bringing new challenges, more replayability, and a new clan! * A new clan, the Wurmkin *Note: the Wurmkin clan unlocks upon completing Covenant level 1.* * Pact Shards; the new currency bringing benefits at a cost * New endboss: The Last Divinity

About

Balatro+

This is a hypnotic card game that blends Solitaire and Poker mechanics with unique rule-bending twists. Players aim to beat challenging Boss Blinds by forming strong poker hands and discovering powerful Joker cards to create exciting combos and boost scores.

Highlights
  • Twist rules in new ways
  • Beat Boss Blinds with poker hands
  • Discover over 150 Jokers with special powers
  • Create awesome combos
  • Multiple game modes (Campaign, Challenge)
  • Beautiful pixel art
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the official Balatro+ mobile game! Hypnotic and endlessly satisfying, Balatro is a magical mix of card games like Solitaire and Poker, that lets you twist the rules in ways never seen before! Your goal is to beat the Boss Blinds by making strong poker hands. Find new Jokers that change the game and create awesome and exciting combos! Win enough chips to beat tricky bosses, and find hidden bonus hands and decks as you play. You’ll need all the help you can get to beat the big boss, win the final challenge, and win the game. Features: * Remastered controls for touch screen devices. * Each run is different: every pick-up, discard and joker can dramatically alter the course of your run. * Multiple game items: discover over 150 Jokers, each with special powers. Use them with different decks,upgrade cards and vouchers to boost your scores. * Different Game modes: Campaign mode and challenge mode for you to play. * Beautiful Pixel Art: Immerse yourself in the CRT fuzz and enjoy detailed, hand-crafted pixel art.

Screenshots

Monster Train+4 screens
Balatro+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Balatro+ at 63K against Monster Train+'s 965. Balatro+ also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Monster Train+ against 4.9 for Balatro+. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro+ has 63K ratings behind it against 965, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Monster Train+'s written reviews are positive against 82% of Balatro+'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Monster Train+ ships an update every 2 months, Balatro+ every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Monster Train+ versus Balatro+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMonster Train+Balatro+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (965 ratings)4.9 (63K ratings)
Positive reviews79.1% of reviews82.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings96563K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better13.5
Further details — not scored
Size536 MB136 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperGood Shepherd EntertainmentPlaystack Ltd

Customer experience

Monster Train+

All ratings965 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews220 reviews
Positive79.1%
Neutral5.0%
Negative15.9%

Balatro+

All ratings63,066 ratings
Positive99.0%
Neutral0.5%
Negative0.5%
Written reviews1,974 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.8%
Negative11.8%

User reviews

Monster Train+

From 965 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Engaging and addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Variety of factions and strategies
  • 🎨 Cute and charming visuals
  • 🕹️ Challenging yet rewarding experience
  • 💰 Great value as part of Apple Arcade

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and performance issues
  • 🔋 Can drain device battery quickly
  • 🕹️ Difficulty can feel unbalanced at times
  • 🔁 Repetitive enemy and level designs

Balatro+

From 63K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Unique and creative spin on poker
  • 🎨 Excellent visual style and music
  • 💎 High replayability and depth
  • 🕹️ Smooth mobile controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Cloud save issues and data loss
  • 🔇 Disables other audio playback
  • 🔍 Small UI elements and text
  • 🔁 Repetitive blind tags

Bugs and requests

Monster Train+

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game crashes on certain devices
  • Saved progress being overwritten
  • Lag and performance problems on later levels

Requested features

4 requests
  • Longer and more varied gameplay runs
  • Cross-device save synchronization
  • Expanded faction and champion options
  • Customizable difficulty settings

Balatro+

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Freezing and crashing on some devices
  • Unlocks and progress not tracking properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Portrait mode option
  • Ability to quickly deselect cards
  • More accessibility options
  • Syncing progress across devices

In-app purchases

None

Monster Train+

No in-app purchases

None

Balatro+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Monster Train+ free?
Monster Train+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Balatro+ free?
Balatro+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Monster Train+ or Balatro+?
Monster Train+ and Balatro+ are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 965 and 63K ratings respectively.
Do Monster Train+ or Balatro+ have ads?
Neither Monster Train+ nor Balatro+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Monster Train+ or Balatro+?
Monster Train+ ships an update every 2 months, and Balatro+ every 2 weeks. Most recently, Monster Train+ was updated on September 19, 2026 and Balatro+ on September 24, 2026.

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