Comparison

Idle Cooking School 3D vs Pathogen

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

Head to head
About

Idle Cooking School 3D

Manage a culinary academy, train chefs, and research recipes in this idle simulation game. Expand your facilities, compete in cooking challenges, and build a global culinary empire with stunning graphics and engaging gameplay.

Highlights
  • Manage culinary academy
  • Train aspiring chefs
  • Research new recipes
  • Expand facilities
  • Participate in cooking competitions
  • Open new schools globally
Read full description

As the headmaster of this culinary academy, you will embark on an exciting culinary journey to create mouthwatering dishes and train aspiring chefs to become culinary geniuses! In this addictive idle game, you will manage your cooking school by hiring talented chefs, expanding your facilities, and researching new recipes. You will start by teaching basic cooking skills, such as boiling, frying, and grilling, and gradually unlock more advanced techniques to enhance your students' culinary mastery. We use Apple Standard EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula You will also have the opportunity to showcase your culinary expertise by participating in cooking competitions and earning prestigious awards and recognition. As you grow your culinary empire, you can even open new schools in different parts of the world and become a global culinary sensation! With stunning graphics, challenging gameplay, and endless opportunities for culinary creativity, Idle Cooking School is the perfect game for anyone who loves food, cooking, and adventure. Download now and start your culinary journey today!

About

Pathogen

Features
Read full description

Design a pathogen in your lab, release it on the world map and watch humanity fight back. YOUR LAB IS YOUR STRATEGY • 42 base pathogens in 7 families: viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions, bio-synthetic agents and worms. • Build your genome gene by gene, discover synergies and keep your best strains. • Every family plays differently: prions spread slowly but stay almost undetectable, fungi depend on the climate, parasites travel with their vectors, worms are very hard to cure. MUTATIONS YOU CHOOSE • Mid-run, pick 1 mutation out of 3: no lottery, real decisions. • Your strain's genes unlock active abilities on the map, such as dormancy or host jumps. A HUMANITY THAT REMEMBERS • Every strain you release leaves a mark: the world recognises the family and reacts faster next time. • Borders that close gradually, countries in panic, riots or collapse, news that reacts to your choices. The game always shows you why. FOR EVERY PLAYER • 3 difficulty levels, including a truly easy mode, and a step-by-step tutorial. • Runs of 3 to 6 minutes, playable offline. • Leaderboards per difficulty, a weekly leaderboard and Game Center achievements. • Optional cloud save and Sign in with Apple. A FAIR MODEL • Free, with no ads. • Viruses, bacteria and fungi are free: 25 pathogens, unlocked as your lab levels up. • The 4 other families are one-time purchases: 1 pathogen playable right away, the others unlock as your lab levels up. The “All families” pack makes 4 pathogens playable at once and includes future families. Available in English, French, Spanish, German and Brazilian Portuguese. Pathogen is a work of fiction and a strategy game. It provides no medical information.

Screenshots

Idle Cooking School 3D4 screens
Pathogen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pathogen at none against Idle Cooking School 3D's shown. Pathogen also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Idle Cooking School 3D sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Pathogen sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Idle Cooking School 3D ships an update monthly, Pathogen weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Idle Cooking School 3D versus Pathogen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIdle Cooking School 3DPathogen
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (109 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings109 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size336 MB176 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperNanjing Ruiwei Information Technology Co., Ltd.Sebastien Girod

In-app purchases

18 purchases

Idle Cooking School 3D

Subscriptions1
  • COOKGPT$9.991 Month
One-time17
  • A small Pile of Diamonds$0.99
  • Profit for 12min$0.99
  • Drinks$1.99
Show 14 more
  • A Small Pack of Ad-Free Cards$2.99
  • Coconut Pass$2.99
  • Rookie pack$3.99
  • Game Pass$3.99
  • Cooking Oiran$4.99
  • New School Star Pack$4.99
  • All Teachers$5.99
  • Resource Pack$5.99
  • Starter Pack2$6.99
  • French Cuisine Division Teachers$9.99
  • Advanced Management Pack$9.99
  • A Large Pile of Diamonds$9.99
  • No Ads$19.99
  • Perfect Team Pack$29.99
5 purchases

Pathogen

One-time5
  • Parasite Family$2.99
  • Prion Family$2.99
  • Bio-synthetic Family$2.99
Show 2 more
  • Worm Family$2.99
  • All Families$7.99

Questions

Is Idle Cooking School 3D free?
Idle Cooking School 3D is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pathogen free?
Pathogen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Idle Cooking School 3D or Pathogen have ads?
Idle Cooking School 3D shows ads; Pathogen does not.
Which is updated more often, Idle Cooking School 3D or Pathogen?
Idle Cooking School 3D ships an update monthly, and Pathogen weekly. Most recently, Idle Cooking School 3D was updated on October 30, 2026 and Pathogen on October 25, 2026.

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