Visual Pinball vs Pinball Architect
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Visual Pinball
Enjoy a realistic pinball simulation with hundreds of community-created tables. Experience immersive haptic feedback and customize your gameplay with intuitive settings and controller support. Advanced options are available for power users.
- Hundreds of community-developed tables
- Haptic feedback for immersive gameplay
- Customizable settings and POV adjustments
- Game controller support
- External DMD and AltColor/AltSound support
- Touch overlay and instructions
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The official Visual Pinball app. Built by volunteers since 2000 and open source since 2010, Visual Pinball is the simulator the virtual pinball community has been playing for over two decades. More than 70 people have contributed to it, and this app runs the same engine as the desktop version, so every table plays with the physics, lighting and sound its creator intended. No ads. No in-app purchases. No tracking. Made by volunteers. Two years of work from the Visual Pinball volunteers, in one update. Thank you for your patience, and for playing! A FRESH NEW LOOK • Redesigned for iOS 26 with Liquid Glass • Favorites and recently played tables at the top of your list • Search, sorting and three tile sizes • Light, Dark or System appearance • New loading screen that shows progress THE FULL DESKTOP EXPERIENCE • The complete Visual Pinball in-game menu for graphics, sound, controls and table options • Remap every button on keyboards and game controllers • Save settings for every table, or just the one you're playing MORE TABLES, LOOKING BETTER • Show the backglass and score display (DMD, alphanumeric or reels) on screen, right where you want them • Support for PUP packs, FlexDMD, B2S backglasses, video playback and VNI colorizations • All the latest physics and rendering improvements from the desktop version • Much lower memory use: textures are compressed on first load, then cached EASIER TABLE MANAGEMENT • Import .zip files, along with .vpx and .vpxz • Share any table as a single .vpxz file • The web file manager can now upload whole folders, extract archives, edit scripts and settings, and show the log live AND MORE • Many stability and memory fixes This version requires iOS 26.6 or later.
Pinball Architect
Design and play custom pinball tables in a vibrant community. Build your dream machine with intuitive tools and realistic physics, or explore endless unique tables created by others. Enjoy offline play and a variety of themes.
- Play endless community-made tables
- DIY editor for custom machine design
- Realistic custom physics simulation
- Instant access to a library of designs
- Deep and easy-to-learn creation tools
- Offline play and design
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Experience the ultimate pinball playground! Pinball Architect: Play and Build is more than just a simulator, it’s a growing community where you can play endless unique tables or become a designer yourself. Whether you're here for high-score arcade action or to draft your own gravity-defying masterpiece, there’s always something new to explore. PLAY ENDLESS TABLES Jump into action with community-made boards. From classic retro layouts to experimental designs, master the flippers and compete for the top score on a wide variety of unique themes like Neon or Crayon. BECOME THE ARCHITECT Use the DIY editor to build the pinball machine of your dreams. Place bumpers, flippers, ramps, and targets with a simple tap. Recreate your favorite designs or invent something entirely new. CUSTOM PHYSICS SIMULATION Experience high-fidelity ball physics that feel authentic. Take your designs to the next level by tweaking gravity, friction, and bounciness to create a truly one-of-a-kind gameplay experience. KEY FEATURES: Instant Play: Access a library of community designs right from the start. Deep Editor Tools: A robust creation suite that’s easy to learn. Multiple Themes: Customize the visual style of your board instantly. Realistic Physics: A high-performance engine designed for smooth arcade gameplay. Completely Offline: Play and design wherever you are, no internet required. Are you ready to build or play? Download Pinball Architect today!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pinball Architect at 5.0 against Visual Pinball's 4.3. Pinball Architect also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 12 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 79%). Visual Pinball's advantage is ratings volume (73 vs 5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pinball Architect holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Visual Pinball has 73 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Visual Pinball's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pinball Architect's.
Visual Pinball ships an update every 12 months, Pinball Architect every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Visual Pinball | Pinball Architect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (73 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 73 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.6 | 18.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 120 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jason Millard | Tarik Rahmatallah |
Customer experience
Visual Pinball
Pinball Architect
Bugs and requests
Visual Pinball
Reported bugs
2 issues- Tables don't load for some users
- Certain complex/intensive tables error out or run at low FPS
Requested features
6 requests- 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
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- iPad version with more screen space
Pinball Architect
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Visual Pinball
No in-app purchases
Pinball Architect
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Visual Pinball free?
Is Pinball Architect free?
Which has better reviews, Visual Pinball or Pinball Architect?
Do Visual Pinball or Pinball Architect have ads?
Which is updated more often, Visual Pinball or Pinball Architect?
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