Comparison

SparkMTG vs MTG Crafter

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

Head to head
About

SparkMTG

Features
Read full description

Track life totals, commander damage, and every counter your pod needs — free, fast, and built for Commander. LIFE TRACKING - Large +/− buttons, hold to change by 5 - Tap your life total to type any number - Starting life: 20, 25, 30, or 40 - 2 to 6 players COMMANDER DAMAGE - Track damage from each opponent separately - Full partner commander support - Auto-KO at 21 commander damage or 0 life - One-tap revive for knocked-out players COUNTERS & TOKENS - Poison, Experience, Energy, Rad counters - Commander tax (auto-calculates) - Monarch & Initiative — tap to transfer - City's Blessing, Day/Night, Storm count - Floating mana pool (W U B R G C) - Treasure tokens TOOLS - Dice roller: D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20 - High-roll winner highlighting - Coin flip - Random player selector - Turn timer with per-player tracking and alerts - Full Planechase support with planar die CARD SEARCH - Search 20,000+ Magic cards via Scryfall - View art, set name, and pricing - Set any card as your player background MORE FEATURES - Camera mode — life totals face one direction for streaming or video - Auto-save — resume any interrupted game - Life history log and graph per player - Adjustable font size for across-the-table readability - Apple Watch companion app - Works fully offline (except card search) SPARK PRO One-time purchase to unlock card art backgrounds, life history charts, Apple Watch sync, and up to 10 saved playgroups. No subscription. No ads. Available for one time purchase until 8/31/26 Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast LLC. Magic: The Gathering is property of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

About

MTG Crafter

Features
Read full description

MTG Crafter is a deck builder app for Magic: The Gathering (MTG) players. From building and managing decks to solo playtesting, it offers a wide range of features in a simple, clean UI. ■ Key Features [Deck Building] ・Supports the 10 major formats: Standard / Pioneer / Modern / Legacy / Vintage / Commander / Pauper / Alchemy / Historic / Timeless ・Manage cards across 4 slots: Main / Sideboard / Commander / Wishlist ・Switch to another printing of the same card with a single tap ・Full front/back support for double-faced cards (Transform / Modal DFC / Flip / Adventure / Meld / Split) [Deck Analysis] ・Mana Base Optimizer: Automatically optimize your land distribution with one tap to hit a target color-mana probability. Fine-tune which land cycles to use, the total land count, and lands to lock or exclude ・Deck Statistics: See your mana curve (non-land) and color distribution at a glance [Card Search] ・Filter by name / set / mana cost / color / Oracle text / rarity ・Search by Japanese or English card name ・View other printings from the card detail screen [Import / Export] ・Import MTG Arena / MTGO text format from the clipboard ・In Commander, commanders listed under the Sideboard line are automatically assigned to the Commander slot ・Automatically sets a deck thumbnail on import ・Export via clipboard copy & dialog [Deck Visual / Registration Sheet] ・See all cards in your deck at a glance ・Commander cards are highlighted with a gold border in Commander format ・Save / share as PNG (Photo Library & share sheet integration) ・Registration Sheet: Lay your decklist onto an official tournament registration sheet, fill in player info (name / event / venue), and share it as a PDF [Solo Playtest (Solitaire)] ・7-card opening hand + London mulligan ・Faithfully recreates Library / Hand / Battlefield (lands & others) / Graveyard / Exile / Command Zone ・Move cards freely between zones with drag & drop ・Tap to tap/untap battlefield cards (90° rotation animation) ・Turn management + untap-all at end of turn ・Mana pool management (W/U/B/R/G + colorless) ・Tap lands to generate mana automatically; choose a color for multicolor lands ・Mana is consumed automatically when you put cards onto the battlefield / into the graveyard ・Library actions: Draw (1–7) / Mill (1–7) / Exile (1–7) / Scry / Search / Peek top / Shuffle ・Review Graveyard / Exile contents in a modal list [Other] ・Japanese / English language switching ・Card data is fetched and updated automatically from Scryfall ■ Subscription ・Free: Up to 5 decks (watch a video ad to earn +1 deck slot) ・MTG Crafter Pro (¥400/month): Unlimited decks and no ads  * On Mac, the app is ad-free, and Pro additionally unlocks the Mana Base Optimizer and Solo Playtest  * Pro works across your iPhone / iPad / Mac with the same Apple ID (Universal Purchase) Magic: The Gathering and related logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. This app is an independently developed, fan-made tool and is not an official or affiliated product of Wizards of the Coast. [Privacy & Terms] Terms of Service: https://sasaq.github.io/mtgcrafter-legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://sasaq.github.io/mtgcrafter-legal/privacy Legal (Tokushoho): https://sasaq.github.io/mtgcrafter-legal/tokushoho [Contact] Please feel free to reach out with bug reports or feature requests.

Screenshots

SparkMTG4 screens
MTG Crafter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MTG Crafter at weekly against SparkMTG's monthly. MTG Crafter also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, 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. SparkMTG sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MTG Crafter sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SparkMTG ships an update monthly, MTG Crafter weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
SparkMTG versus MTG Crafter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSparkMTGMTG Crafter
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB146 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperTechieZach Consulting LLCYuki Abe

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SparkMTG

One-time1
  • Spark Pro$4.99
1 purchases

MTG Crafter

Subscriptions1
  • MTG Crafter Pro$1.991 Month

Questions

Is SparkMTG free?
SparkMTG is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MTG Crafter free?
MTG Crafter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SparkMTG or MTG Crafter have ads?
Both SparkMTG and MTG Crafter show ads.
Which is updated more often, SparkMTG or MTG Crafter?
SparkMTG ships an update monthly, and MTG Crafter weekly. Most recently, SparkMTG was updated on October 24, 2026 and MTG Crafter on October 24, 2026.

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