Balatro vs StackJack
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
StackJack
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Stack Jack is a fast card race. Flip, stack, and clear the pile before anyone else does. Rounds take a couple of minutes, and the difference between winning and losing is usually half a second. PLAY WITH FRIENDS Create a room, share the code or the link, and start. Up to a full table, no accounts, no setup. Anyone who taps your invitation lands straight in the room. PLAY ALONE Bots at every difficulty, including one that will genuinely beat you. Practice a shuffle, learn the timing, then take it back to the table. CLIMB THE LEADERBOARD Every round counts toward the season. Track your wins, your fastest clears, and where you land against everyone else. Seasons reset, so a bad week is only a bad week. UNLOCK CARD BACKS Keep playing and keep collecting. Cosmetic only, nothing that helps you win. LEARN IN A MINUTE A short tutorial walks you through your first round. After that it is all reflex.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: StackJack at Free against Balatro's $9.99. StackJack also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 8 days). Balatro's advantage is chart position (#3 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On 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
StackJack is free to download; Balatro costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Balatro ships an update every 8 days, StackJack every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Balatro | StackJack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (108K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 81.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 108K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #3 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Playstack Ltd | Corvus Consulting Inc. |
Bugs and 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
StackJack
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Balatro
No in-app purchases
StackJack
No in-app purchases









