Comparison

Incremental ELM Quest vs Archmage Idle

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

Head to head
About

Incremental ELM Quest

Embark on a challenging incremental RPG adventure where every battle and defeat fuels your progress. Upgrade your hero, build your town, and strategize to overcome hundreds of unique foes and powerful bosses. This game offers a rewarding experience for both short sessions and extended play.

Highlights
  • Incremental RPG gameplay
  • Hero upgrades and evolutions
  • Town building for progression
  • Boss battles with unique tactics
  • Permanent bonuses from defeats
  • Hundreds of unique enemies
Features
Read full description

ELM Quest is a cozy but challenging incremental RPG where every battle pushes your progress forward. Begin your quest, fight through encounters, and upgrade your hero to survive tougher foes. Every loss results in powerful permanent bonuses that strengthen future runs. Why players enjoy ELM Quest: - 4 starting heroes, each with a unique playstyle and several evolutions each. - Face powerful bosses with unique tactics. Can you beat them all? - Hundreds of unique foes. Study your foes carefully to overcome difficult fights. - Build up your town for lasting progression. - Every defeat matters, no matter how quick. Learn, adapt, and push farther each run. Whether you play in short sessions or long grinds, ELM Quest rewards strategy, persistence, and clever upgrades. Dev note: This game was made by an incremental game fan who got bored of waiting for another to come out. You will find no ads and the game was balanced around being a completely free experience. All perks/rewards obtainable for free through gameplay.

About

Archmage Idle

An idle RPG where you train skills to empower wizards and manage resources. Your guild continues to work and gather resources even when you are offline, allowing for continuous progression.

Highlights
  • Interconnected skill system
  • Recruit and train wizards
  • Elemental hex map combat
  • Resource management
  • Offline progression
  • Item collection
Features
Read full description

Train Skills. Recruit Wizards. Conquer Foes. An idle/incremental RPG with deeply interconnected skills. Your skills feed the frontlines: Attunement, Summoning, and Sigilry power your wizards as they fight across an elemental hex map. Your skills feed the supply lines: Research, Runecrafting, Alchemy, Mercantile, and Scavenging keep the resources flowing. And skills you won't find anywhere else, like Chronomancy, Diplomacy, and Appraisal, tie it all together. Burn Runes in the Runic Cauldron. Train wizards at the Academy. Sell surplus goods on the Bazaar. Collect hundreds of items that fuel both your skilling and your combat. Your guild keeps working while you're offline.

Screenshots

Incremental ELM Quest4 screens
Archmage Idle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Archmage Idle at 4.7 against Incremental ELM Quest's 4.2. Archmage Idle also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 48%) and update cadence (daily vs every 6 days). Incremental ELM Quest's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, 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. Incremental ELM Quest sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Archmage Idle sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Archmage Idle holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 50 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Incremental ELM Quest's written reviews are positive against 82% of Archmage Idle's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Incremental ELM Quest ships an update every 6 days, Archmage Idle daily. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Incremental ELM Quest versus Archmage Idle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIncremental ELM QuestArchmage Idle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (22 ratings)4.7 (50 ratings) — better
Positive reviews47.6% of reviews82.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2250 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#137 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB346 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperEric MarinTopCog LLC

Customer experience

Incremental ELM Quest

All ratings22 ratings
Positive72.7%
Neutral13.6%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive47.6%
Neutral28.6%
Negative23.8%

Archmage Idle

All ratings50 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral2.9%
Negative14.7%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Incremental ELM Quest

One-time3
  • Buy Dev a Coffee (+30 Renown)$0.99
  • Buy Dev Lunch (+200 Renown)$4.99
  • Fully Support Dev (+450 Renown)$9.99
9 purchases

Archmage Idle

One-time9
  • Time Warp$0.99
  • VIP 1 - Apprentice Patron$2.99
  • Remove Ads + XP Boost$4.99
Show 6 more
  • VIP 2 - Adept Patron$4.99
  • Animus Augment$9.99
  • Time Warp x10$9.99
  • VIP 3 - Mage Patron$9.99
  • VIP 4 - Grandmage Patron$14.99
  • VIP 5 - Archmage Patron$19.99

Questions

Is Incremental ELM Quest free?
Incremental ELM Quest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Archmage Idle free?
Archmage Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Incremental ELM Quest or Archmage Idle?
Archmage Idle is rated higher. Incremental ELM Quest averages 4.2 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Archmage Idle averages 4.7 from 50 ratings.
Do Incremental ELM Quest or Archmage Idle have ads?
Archmage Idle shows ads; Incremental ELM Quest does not.
Which is updated more often, Incremental ELM Quest or Archmage Idle?
Incremental ELM Quest ships an update every 6 days, and Archmage Idle daily. Most recently, Incremental ELM Quest was updated on September 22, 2026 and Archmage Idle on September 23, 2026.

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