# Visual Pinball vs Carrera

The clearest difference is rating: Visual Pinball at 4.3 against Carrera's 4.1. Visual Pinball also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 69%) and ratings volume (75 vs 22). Carrera's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Visual Pinball holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 75 and 22 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Visual Pinball's written reviews are positive against 69% of Carrera's.

Visual Pinball ships an update fortnightly, Carrera every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Visual Pinball | Carrera |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.3 (75 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926/reviews)** | [4.1 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carrera-hybrid/id6737350547/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **75** | 22 |
| Positive reviews | **78.0% of reviews** | 68.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 134 MB | 225 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Jason Millard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527911552) | [Carrera Toys GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/922431920) |

## What reviewers say

### Visual Pinball

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926)

Experience the full virtual pinball simulator with realistic physics, lighting, and sound. This open-source app offers a redesigned interface, enhanced table management, and the complete desktop experience for mobile devices. Enjoy a vast library of tables without ads or in-app purchases.

**Highlights:** Realistic physics, lighting, and sound, Redesigned interface with Liquid Glass, Full in-game menu for graphics and controls, Support for various backglass and display types, Easy table import and management, Optimized memory usage

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Game Controller support, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome way to play virtual pinball on the go
- 👍 Super easy to set up with minimal file prep time
- 👍 Insane that I can play favorite pins on just my phone
- 👍 Fantastic portable implementation of VPX
- 👍 Fun and exciting to archive the history of pinball

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔧 More ability to adjust table settings needed
- 🔧 Struggling to manage camera angle
- 🔧 No fullscreen on iPad, plunger and outlanes cropped
- 🔧 Some tables don't work or have issues

**Reported bugs**

- Tables don't load for some users
- Certain complex/intensive tables error out or run at low FPS

**Requested features**

- List of most played tables
- Ability to reposition DMD
- Option to skip startup checks for some tables
- Ability to edit table scripts on the app
- Direct link to table depository


### Carrera

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carrera-hybrid/id6737350547)

Experience realistic racing with AI-controlled vehicles and authentic engine sounds. This app offers a unique combination of gaming and racing fun, allowing vehicles to race freely at full throttle with customizable settings and automatic track recognition.

**Highlights:** AI support and NPCs, Realistic driving experience, True-to-original vehicles with lights, Automatic track recognition, Individual settings, Authentic engine noise

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Visual Pinball free?

Visual Pinball is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Carrera free?

Carrera is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Visual Pinball or Carrera?

Visual Pinball is rated higher. Visual Pinball averages 4.3 out of 5 from 75 ratings, while Carrera averages 4.1 from 22 ratings.

### Do Visual Pinball or Carrera have ads?

Neither Visual Pinball nor Carrera shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Visual Pinball or Carrera?

Visual Pinball ships an update fortnightly, and Carrera every 8 days. Most recently, Visual Pinball was updated on November 5, 2026 and Carrera on November 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*