Comparison

Elemental Sands vs Up in a Cup

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

Head to head
About

Elemental Sands

Build and automate a magical business empire in a fantasy world. Harness elemental powers to boost production and profits, collect rare items, and expand your reach to become a legendary CEO. This idle clicker game blends strategy with enchanting visuals.

Highlights
  • Build and automate business empire
  • Harness elemental power for production
  • Collect magical items and abilities
  • Increase company valuation and profits
  • Explore a fantasy world
  • Strategic management gameplay
Read full description

ELEMENTAL SANDS: WHERE MAGIC MEETS INDUSTRY Welcome to Elemental Sands, the ultimate idle clicker game where you build your business empire in a vibrant, magical world! Powered by ancient elemental magic, you’ll rise from a humble entrepreneur to a legendary CEO. With colorful fantasy themes and strategic corporate gameplay, this medieval futuristic idle game offers endless opportunities to expand, automate, and dominate. BUILD AND AUTOMATE YOUR BUSINESS EMPIRE In Elemental Sands, the power of elemental sand fuels your growth. As you build and automate the production of rare items, watch your profits soar. The stronger your operations, the more powerful you become. Unlock upgrades, improve your factories, and let the profits roll in—even when you're not playing! HARNESS ELEMENTAL MAGIC Collect and control the elements to produce rare magical items. These enchanted resources will boost your productivity, earning you faster profits and increasing your empire’s reach. With each new element, you can unlock new upgrades and special abilities ;) EXPLORE A COLORFUL FANTASY WORLD Step into a beautifully designed world where fantasy and industry collide. With medieval, industrial, and powerful corporate themes, your business empire will rise and thrive amidst the magical regions you encounter. Experience the unique blend of corporate strategy and magical elements in this one-of-a-kind idle clicker game. GROW YOUR EMPIRE AND BECOME MORE THAN A CEO You’re not just managing a company—you’re leading an empire. As your business grows, you’ll unlock new magical items, expand your reach and control, and increase your profits exponentially. This is a game of strategy, management, and magic. Can you rise to become the most powerful CEO in the land? KEY FEATURES - Build and automate your business empire in a magical world. - Become rich and Increase your company's valuation - Harness elemental power to boost production and profits. - Collect magical items and harness special abilities to grow faster. - Enjoy stunning visuals with a mix of fantasy and futuristic industrial themes. - Perfect for fans of idle games, fantasy settings, and strategic management. Start your journey as a magical business tycoon now. Download Elemental Sands today and experience the perfect blend of magic, industry, and automation! And become a titan of industry.

About

Up in a Cup

Launch a disk through challenging obstacles to reach a cup and score points. Navigate through 100 unique levels, each with five distinct phases that increase in difficulty. Enjoy pure, uninterrupted arcade gameplay.

Highlights
  • Arcade-style gameplay
  • Launch disk through obstacles
  • Score points by reaching cups
  • 100 challenging levels
  • Five distinct level phases
  • Increasing difficulty
Features
Read full description

Develop your skill in this arcade-style game by launching a disk through a field of obstacles upward and into a cup to gain points. Every level is filled with challenges. There are 100 levels of fun and frustration, each with 5 different phases: the unadorned “prime” level, followed by clouds, wind, hail, and the curiously named "Cupside Down". Once all levels have been completed, the cycle begins again, but with a twist. No ads or in-app purchases. Just fun!

Screenshots

Elemental Sands4 screens
Up in a Cup4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Up in a Cup at 100% against Elemental Sands's 44%. Up in a Cup also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 32). Elemental Sands's advantage is price (Free vs $0.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months). On device support and iOS requirement 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

Elemental Sands is free to download; Up in a Cup costs $0.99 up front. Elemental Sands sells 31 one-off in-app purchases. Up in a Cup asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Up in a Cup holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elemental Sands has 70 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Elemental Sands's written reviews are positive against 100% of Up in a Cup's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elemental Sands ships an update every 3 weeks, Up in a Cup every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Elemental Sands versus Up in a Cup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElemental SandsUp in a Cup
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.3 (70 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings70 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 9 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size222 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTapTide InteractiveClay Pot Apps

Customer experience

Elemental Sands

All ratings69 ratings
Positive79.7%
Neutral4.3%
Negative15.9%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive44.1%
Neutral17.6%
Negative38.2%

Up in a Cup

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Elemental Sands

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Progress lost twice due to account issues
  • App fails to load (tuning transmission frequencies)
  • Updates bricked progress
  • New patch reset sand capacity and spawn rate
  • Game is locked with question marks on start
Show 5 more
  • Tutorial buttons not working
  • Game broken, buttons not pressable after tutorial
  • Error code: Exception: Failed to get server time
  • Constant crashing, especially during export
  • Losing progress due to crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Convert excess sand to vials offline
  • Increase level cap
  • More content and end goals
  • Formal suggestion channel (Discord)
  • More mechanics in future updates

Up in a Cup

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

31 purchases

Elemental Sands

One-time31
  • 24 Gold$0.99
  • Study Bundle$2.99
  • Enduring Study Bundle$2.99
Show 28 more
  • Volatile Study Bundle$2.99
  • Scorching Study Bundle$2.99
  • The Water Pack$4.99
  • High Tide Event Pass$4.99
  • Energy Surge Event Pass2 variants$4.99
  • The Vitality Pack$4.99
  • Lifeblood Event Pass$4.99
  • Auto Buy$4.99
  • The Strength Pack$4.99
  • Heavy Hitters Event Pass$4.99
  • The Nature Pack$4.99
  • Wild Growth Event Pass$4.99
  • The Electric Pack$4.99
  • No Ads Boost$4.99
  • 135 Gold$4.99
  • 310 Gold$9.99
  • Research Bundle$12.99
  • Volatile Research Bundle$12.99
  • Enduring Research Bundle$14.99
  • Scorching Research Bundle$14.99
  • Volatile Proficiency Bundle$24.99
  • 740 Gold$24.99
  • Enduring Proficiency Bundle$29.99
  • Scorching Proficiency Bundle$29.99
  • Mastery Bundle$49.99
  • Scorching Mastery Bundle$49.99
  • Volatile Mastery Bundle$49.99
  • 5200 Gold$99.99
None

Up in a Cup

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Elemental Sands free?
Elemental Sands is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Up in a Cup free?
Up in a Cup costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Elemental Sands or Up in a Cup?
Up in a Cup is rated higher. Elemental Sands averages 4.3 out of 5 from 70 ratings, while Up in a Cup averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Elemental Sands or Up in a Cup have ads?
Elemental Sands shows ads; Up in a Cup does not.
Which is updated more often, Elemental Sands or Up in a Cup?
Elemental Sands ships an update every 3 weeks, and Up in a Cup every 9 months. Most recently, Elemental Sands was updated on October 30, 2026 and Up in a Cup on October 22, 2026.

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