Comparison

Sand Loop vs Photile

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

Head to head
About

Sand Loop

Guide buckets of colored sand along a conveyor to sort them into matching containers. Experience realistic sand physics and ASMR-style sounds as you deconstruct beautiful sand artworks, level by level. This relaxing puzzle game offers a satisfying blend of brain-teasing challenges and stress relief.

Highlights
  • Realistic sand physics simulation
  • Hundreds of unique levels
  • ASMR-style sound effects
  • No countdown timers
  • Dynamic obstacles and twists
  • New content with updates
Features
Read full description

Sand Loop is a relaxing sand sort puzzle: a finished sand artwork is sitting in front of you, and your job is to collect every grain of it. Guide the buckets along the conveyor, pour each color into the one that matches, and let real sand physics do the rest. Take the whole picture apart, color by color, until the board is clear. Relax and unwind after a long day, or take one level at a time on the go. How to play: - Tap to release a bucket and send it down the conveyor - Each color of sand gets poured into the bucket that matches - Work through the artwork until every grain is collected - Place your buckets strategically to solve the puzzle - Clear the board and enjoy the payoff Easy to pick up, genuinely tricky by level 100! Why you'll love it: The sweet spot between a brain teaser and a stress-relief game. Simple taps, beautiful results, steady progress, sand physics and ASMR-style sounds that make every level worth watching. Game features: - A sand sort puzzle built on a loop: timing matters, not just matching - Real sand physics: every grain pours, piles and settles - Hundreds of handcrafted levels, with more in every update - Fresh obstacles and twists that keep changing how you solve - A different sand artwork to take apart in every level - Soft ASMR-style sand sounds and a calm, colorful art style - Free to play, with no countdown timer on any level - Limited-time events to take part in when you feel competitive It never settles into one trick. Just as you get comfortable, a level changes the rules on you - a new obstacle, a new way the sand behaves, a new reason the order you pour in suddenly matters. There is a fresh twist every couple of weeks, so the game you are playing in a month is not the one you downloaded. Hundreds of levels in, it is still finding ways to surprise you. Take a moment for yourself. Let the sand flow. Download Sand Loop for free and start sorting.

About

Photile

Features
Read full description

Photile turns photos into beautiful sliding puzzles. Swipe the tiles, rebuild the picture and watch it come to life. Play with 600 stunning built-in photos — or unlock Photile Pro and puzzle your own world: your photo library, or a picture you take on the spot with the in-app camera. A NEW PUZZLE EVERY DAY Everyone in the world gets the same daily puzzle — same photo, same scramble. Solve it every day to build your streak, and see how long you can keep it alive. Then take on the world on Game Center: a fresh fewest-moves leaderboard every day, and an all-time table for the longest streak. MAKE IT YOURS • Square grids from an easy 3×3 to a formidable 8×8 — or switch to a hexagon board for a real challenge • NEW: true hexagon tiles that slide in SIX directions, in three sizes • Open up 1, 2 or 3 tiles to tune the challenge • Square, rounded or circular tiles on square boards • Four tile materials — Clean, Wood, Steel and Glass — each with its own feel and sound • Light and dark themes, four accent colours, and colours that adapt to every photo BUILT TO KEEP YOU PUZZLING • 45 achievements to hunt down, from your first solve to a 100-day streak — including a set just for hexagon boards (a few are secret…) • Game Center leaderboards for the daily puzzle — today's fewest moves and the longest streak • Best-score tables for every grid size • Gentle helpers when you want them: tile numbers, gap hints, and a peek at the full photo • Your puzzle saves automatically — quit anytime and pick up exactly where you left off YOUR PHOTOS STAY YOURS Photile collects no data. Nothing is tracked, nothing is uploaded, and photos never leave your device — pictures taken with the in-app camera are used for your puzzle and never saved. No ads, no subscriptions, no accounts. Ever. Photile is free to play with the full built-in photo collection and the daily puzzle. A small one-time purchase unlocks puzzles from your own photos and camera — yours forever. Ready? The picture's in pieces.

Screenshots

Sand Loop4 screens
Photile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Photile at none against Sand Loop's shown. Sand Loop's advantage is chart position (#95 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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. Sand Loop sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Photile sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Sand Loop versus Photile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSand LoopPhotile
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (22K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews17.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings22K — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#95 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size388 MB147 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVoodooTony Turner

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Sand Loop

One-time10
  • Coin Pack 1$1.99
  • Happy Hour$3.99
  • Special Offer$4.99
Show 7 more
  • Small Pack$5.99
  • Sand Loop Offer$5.99
  • Coin Pack 2$7.99
  • Sand Loop Offer$9.99
  • Sandy Essentials$9.99
  • Coin Pack 3$14.99
  • Sandy Gift$19.99
1 purchases

Photile

One-time1
  • Photile Pro$1.99

Questions

Is Sand Loop free?
Sand Loop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photile free?
Photile is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sand Loop or Photile have ads?
Sand Loop shows ads; Photile does not.
Which is updated more often, Sand Loop or Photile?
Sand Loop ships an update weekly, and Photile weekly. Most recently, Sand Loop was updated on November 9, 2026 and Photile on November 5, 2026.

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