# Santa's Workshop vs Desert Beasts

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Desert Beasts at 100% against Santa's Workshop's 60%. Desert Beasts also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Santa's Workshop's advantage is ratings volume (42 vs 9). 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.

Desert Beasts holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 42 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Santa's Workshop's written reviews are positive against 100% of Desert Beasts's.

Santa's Workshop ships an update every 3 weeks, Desert Beasts monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Santa's Workshop | Desert Beasts |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (42 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santas-workshop-idle-game/id6738013587/reviews) | **[5.0 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/desert-beasts/id6760325197/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **42** | 9 |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 147 MB | 83 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [aleros.io LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1552999210) | [James Rogers](https://appshunter.io/developer/1883889550) |

## What reviewers say

### Santa's Workshop

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santas-workshop-idle-game/id6738013587)

Help the elves craft toys and find Santa before it's too late in this holiday-themed idle game. Manage your workshop, care for reindeer, and complete missions to spread joy.

**Highlights:** Tap to build 25 unique toys, Offline toy crafting, Complete missions, Care for reindeer, Search for Santa, Collect achievements, Accessibility mode

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Desert Beasts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/desert-beasts/id6760325197)

Collect, trade, and battle with over 100 unique creatures in this collectible card game. Engage in a player-driven marketplace, earn daily rewards, and compete on global leaderboards. Enjoy a free-to-play experience with optional purchases to enhance progression.

**Highlights:** Collect 100+ unique beasts, Player-driven marketplace, Daily rewards and mini-games, Global leaderboards, Cloud sync, Multiple currencies

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Santa's Workshop free?

Santa's Workshop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Desert Beasts free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Santa's Workshop or Desert Beasts?

Desert Beasts is rated higher. Santa's Workshop averages 4.7 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while Desert Beasts averages 5.0 from 9 ratings.

### Do Santa's Workshop or Desert Beasts have ads?

Neither Santa's Workshop nor Desert Beasts shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Santa's Workshop or Desert Beasts?

Santa's Workshop ships an update every 3 weeks, and Desert Beasts monthly. Most recently, Santa's Workshop was updated on November 4, 2026 and Desert Beasts on November 5, 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.*