# Victorian Idle City Builder vs Idle Forge

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Idle Forge at none against Victorian Idle City Builder's 4. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Victorian Idle City Builder sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Idle Forge asks for nothing beyond the download.

Victorian Idle City Builder ships an update weekly, Idle Forge every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Victorian Idle City Builder | Idle Forge |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (211 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/victorian-idle-city-builder/id6740037833/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **211** | — |
| Positive reviews | 82.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 127 MB | 78 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Alexandre Dubois](https://appshunter.io/developer/1719468240) | [Erik Tobias Rinde Tharaldsen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1793625254) |

## What reviewers say

### Victorian Idle City Builder

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/victorian-idle-city-builder/id6740037833)

Build and manage a thriving Victorian-era city. Expand your empire by constructing diverse buildings, managing your population's needs, and optimizing intricate supply chains. Engage in strategic resource management and handle city incidents to create a prosperous civilization.

**Highlights:** Build a Victorian city empire, Manage population needs and happiness, Strategic resource and supply chain management, Construct diverse buildings and industries, Handle city incidents and social order, Manage multiple cities simultaneously

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 50 gems | $0.49 | one-time |
| Ads free | $3.49 | one-time |
| 500 gems | $3.49 | one-time |
| 1000 gems | $5.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great resource management idle game
- 💡 Innovative ad system (player choice)
- 👍 Respectful of player time
- 👍 Engaging gameplay loop
- 👍 Well-designed production chains

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Laggy performance on some devices
- 🐛 Overheating phone
- 🐛 Offline progress issues
- 🐛 Unclear interface for colonies
- 🐛 Lack of information on building stats

**Reported bugs**

- Lost all progress after offline play
- Game freezes on startup
- Game crashes after a while or during mini-games
- Music loop stops and game freezes
- Phone overheating and lagging

**Requested features**

- Battery saving feature
- Automatic RAM optimization
- Automatic trading/buying/selling
- More new houses (e.g., Horse farm, Military barracks)
- More cultural, industrial, agricultural houses from different regions


### Idle Forge

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-forge/id6801607211)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Victorian Idle City Builder free?

Victorian Idle City Builder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Idle Forge free?

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

### Do Victorian Idle City Builder or Idle Forge have ads?

Both Victorian Idle City Builder and Idle Forge show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Victorian Idle City Builder or Idle Forge?

Victorian Idle City Builder ships an update weekly, and Idle Forge every 6 days. Most recently, Victorian Idle City Builder was updated on November 4, 2026 and Idle Forge on October 29, 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.*