Comparison

Balatro vs Riftwyrm

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Poker and Solitaire hybrid gameplay
  • Rule-bending mechanics
  • Collect over 150 unique Joker cards
  • Create powerful combos
  • Campaign and challenge modes
  • Pixel art visuals
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.

About

Riftwyrm

Features
Read full description

Riftwyrm is a solo strategy card game about hunting dragons. Each game, you set out with a small hand of cards and fight your way across four lands toward a dragon's lair. Each turn you will create a spell using a combination of your cards to both travel the lands of The Torn Kingdom as well as to vanquish your foes. Each trial can lead to experience used to level up your cards. If you prepare well enough, you will grow strong. If you do not think ahead, you will be punished in your final battle. • Four dragons to hunt: Cindermaw, Thrallis, Glaciarch and Vesperath. Each requiring a different strategy. • Six difficulties. • Learn to Play: short guided lessons teach the game step by step. • Achievements to unlock, and a record of every game you play. • Plays offline. No ads. • Controller support. Quick to learn and hard to master: every game is shuffled differently, and every choice counts.

Screenshots

Balatro4 screens
Riftwyrm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Riftwyrm at Free against Balatro's $9.99. Riftwyrm also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 8 days). Balatro's advantage is chart position (#2 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Riftwyrm is free to download; Balatro costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Balatro ships an update every 8 days, Riftwyrm every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Balatro versus Riftwyrm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBalatroRiftwyrm
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (109K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings109K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB70 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPlaystack LtdVictor Valentine

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

Riftwyrm

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Balatro

No in-app purchases

None

Riftwyrm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Balatro free?
Balatro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Riftwyrm free?
Riftwyrm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Balatro or Riftwyrm have ads?
Neither Balatro nor Riftwyrm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Balatro or Riftwyrm?
Balatro ships an update every 8 days, and Riftwyrm every 3 days. Most recently, Balatro was updated on November 13, 2026 and Riftwyrm on November 10, 2026.

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