Comparison

Dropbound vs Chain

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

Head to head
About

Dropbound

Features
Read full description

Set the switches. Tap to drop. Rescue every critter. Dropbound is a ball drop puzzle played in glass pipes. A ball rides the rail across the top. The pipes below twist over and under each other, and each one ends at a trapped critter, at the gold cup, or nowhere. Trace the route, flip the switches, then drop the ball in. One ball frees one critter. Free them all before your balls run out. HOW TO PLAY - Tap a switch to choose where the pipe sends the ball - Tap anywhere else to drop - Land the gold cup and you keep the ball - Miss the pipes, or ride into a corked one, and the ball is spent NO LUCK Nothing on the board is random. A route you have traced is a route you can trust. The puzzle is reading the tangle. The skill is timing the drop. 300 BOARDS One switch on board 1. Three ways in and seven ways out later on. From board 11, blocked pipes: two routes to the same critter, and a cork in one of them. From board 31, teleports: down a hole and out of a pipe the rail can't reach. THREE STARS Every board has three to earn: clear it, clear it on the first try, and waste no ball. DAILY BOARD One new board a day, the same for every player. One try. Keep your streak and share your result. CRITTERS, MISSIONS AND BALLS Six species to rescue and collect, and golden ones from board 6. Three missions at a time: finish the set to level up and earn a new ball. NO LIVES Out of balls? Try again straight away. Coins are earned by clearing boards and buy an extra ball when you want one. No accounts. Plays offline. Anonymous analytics you can switch off. Download Dropbound and rescue your first critter today.

About

Chain

Features
Read full description

Chain Balls is a fast, satisfying chain-reaction puzzle. Tap once to drop a white starter ball. Watch it expand, collide with the bouncing coloured balls, and set off a chain that ripples across the screen. Time it right and every ball explodes, time it wrong and you'll leave too many behind. SIMPLE TO LEARN One tap. No tutorial required. The physics do the rest. TWENTY HANDCRAFTED LEVELS Normal mode eases you in at 33% and ramps up to 80% of balls required. Twenty levels: each one a new puzzle in how many balls you need to catch. HARD MODE - UNLOCKABLE Beat all 20 Normal levels to unlock Hard Mode: tighter targets (50% โ†’ 94%), double the score multiplier, and the same satisfying chain reactions at a whole new level of difficulty. GAME CENTER Compete on the global leaderboard with your total score across the full run. Collect seven achievements - from your first chain to half a million points. LOOKS AND FEELS GREAT Smooth 60fps physics, animated gradient backdrop, satisfying haptic feedback on every chain, and seven distinct pop sounds that play in the order of your chain depth. SETTINGS THAT RESPECT YOU Toggle sound, haptics, and a Reduce Motion mode that freezes all decorative animations without touching gameplay.

Screenshots

Dropbound4 screens
Chain2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chain at weekly against Dropbound's every 2 months. Dropbound's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dropbound ships an update every 2 months, Chain weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Dropbound versus Chain: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDropboundChain
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly โ€” better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better18.6
Further details โ€” not scored
Size75 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDevCraftSimon Steinhage

In-app purchases

None

Dropbound

No in-app purchases

None

Chain

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dropbound free?
Dropbound is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chain free?
Chain is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dropbound or Chain have ads?
Both Dropbound and Chain show ads.
Which is updated more often, Dropbound or Chain?
Dropbound ships an update every 2 months, and Chain weekly. Most recently, Dropbound was updated on October 12, 2026 and Chain on October 7, 2026.

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