Comparison

Visual Pinball vs Pinball Architect

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Visual Pinball3 screens
Pinball Architect4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Visual Pinball versus Pinball Architect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisual PinballPinball Architect
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (73 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings73 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.618.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB49 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperJason MillardTarik Rahmatallah

Customer experience

Visual Pinball

All ratings73 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral6.8%
Negative12.3%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral12.5%
Negative8.9%

Pinball Architect

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
Show 1 more
  • iPad version with more screen space

Pinball Architect

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Visual Pinball

No in-app purchases

None

Pinball Architect

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Visual Pinball free?
Visual Pinball is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pinball Architect free?
Pinball Architect is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Visual Pinball or Pinball Architect?
Pinball Architect is rated higher. Visual Pinball averages 4.3 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while Pinball Architect averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Visual Pinball or Pinball Architect have ads?
Neither Visual Pinball nor Pinball Architect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Visual Pinball or Pinball Architect?
Visual Pinball ships an update every 12 months, and Pinball Architect every 3 weeks. Most recently, Visual Pinball was updated on October 18, 2026 and Pinball Architect on October 10, 2026.

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