Comparison

Lightning Round! vs Trivia Surge

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

Head to head
About

Lightning Round!

Engage in exciting trivia duels by speaking your answers aloud. Explore over 7500 questions across 60 diverse categories, from general knowledge to pop culture. Utilize the Study mode to create your own vocal flashcards for effective memorization.

Highlights
  • Voice-activated trivia gameplay
  • Over 7500 questions
  • 60+ diverse categories
  • Customizable Study mode
  • Vocal flashcard creation
  • Family-friendly content
Features
Read full description

With over 8000 questions in 63 categories (and counting), Lightning Round! is the go-to app for trivia duels. Unlike most trivia games where you tap multiple choice buttons, in Lightning Round! you have to come up with the right answer and say it out loud. The whole family can play, with categories ranging from animals to world history, Harry Potter to Taylor Swift. Lightning Round! also features a Study mode, which allows you to create your own trivia. Think of it as vocal flashcards. It’s a great way to study for a test or memorize anything you want to learn. Compete in categories such as:
 Fast Food Animals By Photo College/Pro Sports Logos Memorable TV Sets App Icons U.S. Capitals Countries of the World Idioms Movie Titles 80s Music U.S. Landmarks The Office Harry Potter Auto Makers and Models World History U.S. History Space F•R•I•E•N•D•S Video Games Taylor Swift International Foods Album Covers Superheroes Movie Quotes Plants Times Tables Classic Books Prominent Authors The Periodic Table … and many more! ----- Subscription/Purchase Information: The app comes with 25 free credits to play the game as desired. When the credits run out, a Game Pass is offered at $3.99/month or credits can be purchased individually. In Study mode, users can create 3 custom categories and 30 custom questions for free. With a $2.99/month Learning Pass users can create unlimited categories and questions. An all-access pass is offered at $5.99/month which grants the user all benefits of both the Game Pass and the Learning Pass. Privacy Policy https://studio7creative.co/apps/lightning-round/privacy.html Terms of Use https://studio7creative.co/apps/lightning-round/eula.html

About

Trivia Surge

Experience classic trivia gameplay with a vast library of questions across multiple categories. Play with friends in teams or challenge yourself in solo mode. Optional premium content is available for purchase.

Highlights
  • 450+ questions in 7 categories
  • Team play for up to 5 teams
  • Solo mode for self-quizzing
  • 12 expansion packs available
  • Offline play supported
  • Flip-card answers
  • Question timer control
Features
Read full description

Trivia Surge is classic trivia, without the crack. No ads, no gimmicks, no engagement tricks — just great questions and a proper game. It's the board-and-cards trivia experience you grew up with, minus the box to carry around. Gather your people, split into teams, and play the way trivia was meant to be played: pick a category, read the question aloud, flip the card for the answer, and argue the point. Teams advance round by round, and the first to sweep every category wins. Trailing teams always get their fair chance to answer, and true ties go to overtime. • 2,800+ questions across seven classic categories: Science & Nature, Arts & Literature, Geography, History, Entertainment, Sports & Leisure, and Bible Trivia • Team Play for up to 5 teams — pick your categories, set your rounds, first to sweep them all wins • A fair endgame: sudden-death chances for trailing teams, overtime for ties • A question timer you control — for house rules, not pressure • Flip-card answers, played-question tracking, shuffle, and favorites • Solo mode: quiz yourself through the whole library at your own pace • 20 expansion packs: Pop Culture, Movies & TV, Music, Video Games, Fan Favorites, General Knowledge, Brain Teasers, Kids, Animals, Religion & Faith and more • No ads. No account. No internet required to play. Premium (optional) unlocks the full question library as a monthly or annual auto-renewing subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends; manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://triviasurge.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://triviasurge.com/privacy

Screenshots

Lightning Round!4 screens
Trivia Surge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Trivia Surge at 5.0 against Lightning Round!'s 4.4. Trivia Surge also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 65%). Lightning Round!'s advantage is ratings volume (49 vs 5). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Lightning Round! sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Trivia Surge sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Trivia Surge holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lightning Round! has 49 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Lightning Round!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Trivia Surge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lightning Round! ships an update every 5 months, Trivia Surge weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Lightning Round! versus Trivia Surge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightning Round!Trivia Surge
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (49 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings49 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB25 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperStudio 7 CreativeLevi Romans

Customer experience

Lightning Round!

All ratings47 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative12.8%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive65.2%
Neutral8.7%
Negative26.1%

Trivia Surge

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Lightning Round!

Subscriptions3
  • Learning Pass$2.991 Month
  • Game Pass$3.991 Month
  • All-Access Pass$5.991 Month
One-time4
  • 20 Credits$0.99
  • 50 Credits$1.99
  • 100 Credits$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Perpetual Pass$29.99
10 purchases

Trivia Surge

One-time10
  • Movies & TV Trivia$1.99
  • Funny & Weird Trivia$1.99
  • Grab Bag Trivia$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Kids Trivia$1.99
  • Olympics Trivia$1.99
  • Valentine's Day Trivia$1.99
  • St. Patrick's Day Trivia$1.99
  • Christmas Trivia$1.99
  • Thanksgiving Trivia$1.99
  • Premium Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Lightning Round! free?
Lightning Round! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Trivia Surge free?
Trivia Surge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lightning Round! or Trivia Surge?
Trivia Surge is rated higher. Lightning Round! averages 4.4 out of 5 from 49 ratings, while Trivia Surge averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Lightning Round! or Trivia Surge have ads?
Lightning Round! shows ads; Trivia Surge does not.
Which is updated more often, Lightning Round! or Trivia Surge?
Lightning Round! ships an update every 5 months, and Trivia Surge weekly. Most recently, Lightning Round! was updated on October 27, 2026 and Trivia Surge on October 11, 2026.

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