Comparison

Dev Tycoon vs Startup Dev Story

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

Head to head
About

Dev Tycoon

Build a software company from the ground up. Hire a team, develop SaaS products, and manage your finances to achieve success or face collapse. A simulation game focused on business strategy.

Highlights
  • Start a software company
  • Hire developers and marketers
  • Create SaaS products
  • Gain customers and revenue
  • Manage company finances
  • Business simulation gameplay
Read full description

Start with $50,000 and a dream. In Dev Tycoon, you play as a 25-year-old founder building a software company from scratch. Hire developers and marketers, create SaaS products, gain customers, and watch your revenue grow, or watch it all collapse if you run out of cash!

About

Startup Dev Story

Features
Read full description

Found your own software startup and grow it from a one-person garage hustle into a world-changing tech giant, one pixel at a time. Startup Dev Story is a cozy, fast-paced business simulation inspired by the management-sim classics. Hire developers, designers, and marketers, organize them into teams, and cook up products in the Lab by mixing a type, an audience, and secret ingredients. Discover powerful combos, ship them, and watch the subscribers (and the cash) roll in. But the tech world never sits still. Survive and thrive across shifting eras, the SaaS & Mobile Boom, Crypto Winter, the AI Revolution and beyond, each one reshaping what sells and who your rivals are. FEATURES • Hire & grow a team, level up staff, manage energy, loyalty and burnout, and promote your stars. • The Product Lab, combine type + audience + ingredients to discover hidden synergy recipes. • Ride the eras, adapt as the market transforms decade after decade. • Rivals & market, competitors ship their own products; trends rise and fall. • Research & perks, unlock new product types and kit out your office. • Three difficulties, from a gentle Learn-the-Ropes run to a brutal lean-runway challenge. • New Game+, bank a veteran co-founder and a cash head start for your next venture. • Multiple save slots, run parallel companies. • Handcrafted pixel art and a chiptune soundtrack, all generated with love. Free to play, supported by ads. No account required, your progress is saved on your device. Can you survive the burn, out-ship your rivals, and IPO your way to the singularity? Your startup story starts now.

Screenshots

Dev Tycoon4 screens
Startup Dev Story4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Dev Tycoon at none against Startup Dev Story's shown. Dev Tycoon also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 4 months). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dev Tycoon ships an update every 6 days, Startup Dev Story every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Dev Tycoon versus Startup Dev Story: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDev TycoonStartup Dev Story
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOrkun OrbayJAIME RICHARD DAZA GUZMAN

In-app purchases

None

Dev Tycoon

No in-app purchases

None

Startup Dev Story

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dev Tycoon free?
Dev Tycoon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Startup Dev Story free?
Startup Dev Story is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dev Tycoon or Startup Dev Story have ads?
Startup Dev Story shows ads; Dev Tycoon does not.
Which is updated more often, Dev Tycoon or Startup Dev Story?
Dev Tycoon ships an update every 6 days, and Startup Dev Story every 4 months. Most recently, Dev Tycoon was updated on November 13, 2026 and Startup Dev Story on October 31, 2026.

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