# Idle Cooking School 3D vs Pathogen

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Idle Cooking School 3D | Pathogen |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (109 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-cooking-school-3d/id6754054039/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **109** | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 336 MB | 176 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Nanjing Ruiwei Information Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527534219) | [Sebastien Girod](https://appshunter.io/developer/1472154080) |

## What reviewers say

### Idle Cooking School 3D

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-cooking-school-3d/id6754054039)

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

**In-app purchases (18)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| COOKGPT | $9.99 | per month |
| A small Pile of Diamonds | $0.99 | one-time |
| Profit for 12min | $0.99 | one-time |
| Drinks | $1.99 | one-time |
| A Small Pack of Ad-Free Cards | $2.99 | one-time |
| Coconut Pass | $2.99 | one-time |
| Rookie pack | $3.99 | one-time |
| Game Pass | $3.99 | one-time |
| Cooking Oiran | $4.99 | one-time |
| New School Star Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| All Teachers | $5.99 | one-time |
| Resource Pack | $5.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack2 | $6.99 | one-time |
| French Cuisine Division Teachers | $9.99 | one-time |
| Advanced Management Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| A Large Pile of Diamonds | $9.99 | one-time |
| No Ads | $19.99 | one-time |
| Perfect Team Pack | $29.99 | one-time |


### Pathogen

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pathogen-outbreak-lab/id6819624335)

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

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parasite Family | $2.99 | one-time |
| Prion Family | $2.99 | one-time |
| Bio-synthetic Family | $2.99 | one-time |
| Worm Family | $2.99 | one-time |
| All Families | $7.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*