SW vs Balatro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SW
Access a comprehensive database of cards from a classic collectible card game. Search by title or use advanced natural language queries to find specific cards. This fan-made tool provides valuable resources for players and collectors.
- Full card database access
- Search by title
- Advanced natural language search
- Resources for players and collectors
- Fan-made companion tool
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Have access to every card in SW:CCG at your fingertips. Search the entire database of cards from Premiere to the latest Virtual Set by title, or use Advanced Search for natural language queries. More features coming soon! Note: This app is an unofficial companion tool made by fans for fans of Decipher's 1995 SW: Collectible Card Game, providing valuable resources for players and collectors alike.
Balatro
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.
- Poker and Solitaire hybrid gameplay
- Rule-bending mechanics
- Collect over 150 unique Joker cards
- Create powerful combos
- Campaign and challenge modes
- Pixel art visuals
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: SW at Free against Balatro's $9.99. SW also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 81%). Balatro's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 18 months) and ratings volume (108K vs 7). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
SW 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 — 5.0 for SW against 5.0 for Balatro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro has 108K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of SW's written reviews are positive against 81% of Balatro's.
SW ships an update every 18 months, Balatro every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SW | Balatro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | 5.0 (108K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 81.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 108K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 18 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #2 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Lee Edwards | Playstack Ltd |
Customer experience
SW
Balatro
Bugs and requests
SW
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Balatro
Reported bugs
3 issues- Unlocks and achievements not registering properly
- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
- Joker and card interactions not working as expected
Requested features
3 requests- Cloud save sync across devices
- Portrait mode option
- Customizable UI and accessibility settings
In-app purchases
SW
No in-app purchases
Balatro
No in-app purchases
