# Arcbound vs System Design Tycoon

The clearest difference is update cadence: Arcbound at every 2 days against System Design Tycoon's every 5 days. System Design Tycoon's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Arcbound sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and System Design Tycoon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Arcbound ships an update every 2 days, System Design Tycoon every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Arcbound | System Design Tycoon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcbound/id6759814990/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **3** | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 days** | Every 5 days |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 336 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dean Lennard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1880870293) | [Jibrin Sadiq](https://appshunter.io/developer/6784617365) |

## What reviewers say

### Arcbound

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcbound/id6759814990)

Design and manage a colony ship as it journeys through deep space. Guide your crew through resource management, social dynamics, and dangerous missions. Build a self-sustaining civilization within a single, evolving starship.

**Highlights:** Grid-based ship construction, Simulated resource networks, Crew needs and relationships, Consequence-driven missions, Research new technologies, Societal stability management, Emergent storytelling

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Arcbound - Early Access | $9.99 | one-time |


### System Design Tycoon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/system-design-tycoon/id6784617363)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Certification Path Access | $2.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Arcbound free?

Arcbound is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is System Design Tycoon free?

System Design Tycoon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Arcbound or System Design Tycoon have ads?

Neither Arcbound nor System Design Tycoon shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Arcbound or System Design Tycoon?

Arcbound ships an update every 2 days, and System Design Tycoon every 5 days. Most recently, Arcbound was updated on November 9, 2026 and System Design Tycoon on November 5, 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.*