Comparison

DREDGE vs ARK

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

Head to head
About

DREDGE

Captain a fishing trawler to explore remote islands and their depths, selling catches and completing quests to uncover secrets. Upgrade your boat and research equipment to reach new areas, but beware of the dangers lurking in the dark.

Highlights
  • Explore remote islands and depths
  • Catch and sell over 125 sea creatures
  • Complete quests and uncover secrets
  • Upgrade boat with researchable equipment
  • Navigate treacherous waters
  • Survive encounters in the dark
Features
Read full description

*TRY BEFORE YOU BUY* Play the first area for free. One-time purchase unlocks the base game. DLC expansions available as additional in-app purchases. Captain your fishing trawler to explore a collection of remote isles, and their surrounding depths, to see what lies below. Sell your catch to the locals and complete quests to learn more about each area’s troubled past. Outfit your boat with better equipment to trawl deep-sea trenches and navigate to far-off lands, but keep an eye on the time. You might not like what finds you in the dark... Explore the Islands & Discover their Secrets Starting from your new home in the remote archipelago, ‘The Marrows’, take to the water and scour the depths for curious collectables and over 125 deep sea denizens. Explore each area while completing quests and visiting neighboring island regions – each with their own unique opportunities, inhabitants, and secrets. Dredge the Depths Someone wants you to dig up the past, but can you trust them and will it ever be enough? Beware the Fog Danger is everywhere, so watch for sharp rocks and shallow reefs, though the biggest threats of all lurk within the fog that cloaks the night-time seas... Game Features: - Unravel a Mystery: Captain your fishing trawler across a collection of remote islands, each with its own inhabitants to meet, wildlife to discover, and stories to unearth. - Dredge the Depths: Scour the sea for hidden treasures and complete quests to gain access to strange new abilities - Study Your Craft: Research special equipment and upgrade your boat’s capabilities to gain access to rare fish and valuable deep-sea curios. - Fish to Survive: Sell your discoveries to the locals to learn more about each area, and upgrade your boat to reach even more secluded locations. - Fight the Unfathomable: Strengthen your mind and use your abilities to survive trips out on the water after dark.

About

ARK

Explore a vast prehistoric world, tame and ride dinosaurs, and battle other players. This massive mobile edition includes all expansion packs for thousands of hours of gameplay across diverse environments.

Highlights
  • Tame and ride primeval creatures
  • Explore savage lands and diverse environments
  • Compete in epic tribal battles
  • Access all five expansion packs
  • Discover hundreds of unique species
  • Complete explorer notes and dossiers
Features
Read full description

***This game requires additional data to play. You will be prompted to download an additional 2GB of data after launching the game.*** Experience everything that the ARK franchise has to offer in this massive mobile edition! Tame and ride primeval creatures as you explore savage lands, team up with other players to compete in epic tribal battles, and travel together on the greatest Dinosaur-filled adventure of all time. ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition includes the original Island map alongside access to five huge Expansion Packs - Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and Genesis Parts 1 & 2 - adding up to thousands of hours of gameplay! From primordial island jungles to the futuristic gardens of an interstellar starship, every sprawling environment is here for you to conquer! Discover the hundreds of unique species roaming these lands, from the prehistoric to the fantastical, and learn how to befriend these creatures, or to defeat them. Complete your collection of notes and dossiers left by past explorers to learn the surprising history of the ARKs. Test your tribe and your beasts in battle with every boss challenge from the franchise! Do you and your friends have what it takes to survive the ultimate ARK experience? Mobile version developed by Grove Street Games.

Screenshots

DREDGE4 screens
ARK4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: DREDGE at none against ARK's shown. DREDGE also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 46%) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). ARK's advantage is ratings volume (15K vs 1.1K) and chart position (#114 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. DREDGE sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and ARK sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for DREDGE against 4.4 for ARK. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ARK has 15K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of DREDGE's written reviews are positive against 46% of ARK's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DREDGE ships an update every 3 weeks, ARK monthly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
DREDGE versus ARK: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDREDGEARK
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (1.1K ratings)4.4 (15K ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.9% of reviews — better45.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K15K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#114 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size768 MB3.6 GB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperBlack Salt GamesStudio Wildcard

Customer experience

DREDGE

All ratings1,100 ratings
Positive82.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative14.2%
Written reviews1,148 reviews
Positive59.9%
Neutral10.2%
Negative29.9%

ARK

All ratings14,535 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews3,703 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral13.6%
Negative40.8%

User reviews

DREDGE

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🚀 Excellent port to mobile
  • 🎮 Supports controllers
  • 🎨 Stunning graphics
  • 🕹️ Intuitive controls

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive for a mobile game
  • 🔍 Misleading 'free' description
  • 📱 Text/UI too small on phones
  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues
  • 🎮 Controller support needs improvement

ARK

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Impressive graphics and animations
  • 🌐 All maps and content included
  • 👍 Smooth gameplay and controls
  • 🕹️ Faithful to the PC/console experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🤖 Hackers and cheaters in multiplayer
  • 💰 Paid features and content locked behind paywall

Bugs and requests

DREDGE

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Controller issues
  • Inventory/menu navigation problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Larger text and UI options
  • Cross-save between devices
  • More content and DLC
  • Minimap or navigation aids
  • Ability to walk around boat/town

ARK

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Saving and progress loss issues
  • Inventory and taming bugs
  • Rendering and collision detection problems
  • Unstable server connections

Requested features

4 requests
  • Customizable UI and controls
  • Offline/local multiplayer mode
  • More graphics and performance options
  • Ability to adjust difficulty settings in singleplayer

In-app purchases

8 purchases

DREDGE

One-time8
  • Blackstone Key$0.49
  • Blackstone Key$0.99
  • The Pale Reach$2.39
Show 5 more
  • The Iron Rig$4.79
  • The Pale Reach$5.99
  • Base Game Unlock$9.99
  • The Iron Rig$11.99
  • Base Game Unlock$24.99
10 purchases

ARK

Subscriptions1
  • ARK Pass - Monthly$4.991 Month
One-time9
  • 100 Keys$0.99
  • Ragnarok$2.99
  • 500 Keys$3.99
Show 6 more
  • Scorched Earth$5.99
  • Aberration$5.99
  • Extinction$5.99
  • 1500 Keys$9.99
  • God Console$17.99
  • 5000 Keys$29.99

Questions

Is DREDGE free?
DREDGE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ARK free?
ARK is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DREDGE or ARK?
ARK is rated higher. DREDGE averages 4.3 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while ARK averages 4.4 from 15K ratings.
Do DREDGE or ARK have ads?
ARK shows ads; DREDGE does not.
Which is updated more often, DREDGE or ARK?
DREDGE ships an update every 3 weeks, and ARK monthly. Most recently, DREDGE was updated on November 6, 2026 and ARK on November 6, 2026.

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