Comparison

Atomics vs Pilots

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

Head to head
About

Atomics

Features
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Atomics is an idle clicker game about growing elements and expanding your own periodic table. Start with Hydrogen. Tap to collect Energy, upgrade research labs, automate reactors, improve element efficiency, and discover the next element. You can return to any discovered element, keep building your favorites, and raise the power of your entire research cycle. Every element has its own skill. As you develop elements, you unlock bonuses that affect your whole lab. Build several elements from the same category to activate set bonuses from nonmetals, noble gases, alkali metals, transition metals, and more. Once you reach the 10th element and beyond, rebirth becomes available. Use Atomic Cores and rebirth points to make the next run stronger. Expand the rebirth skill tree, improve idle production, tap power, active slots, and unlock deeper research paths such as compounds, isotopes, and antimatter. Whether you play in short tapping sessions or let progress build while idle, your lab keeps moving forward. Fill the periodic table and enjoy a long-form elemental growth game. - 118 elements from Hydrogen to Oganesson - Simple tap-and-idle Energy growth - Labs, reactors, and efficiency upgrades for each element - Unique element skills and category set bonuses - Long-term progression with Atomic Cores and rebirth points - Map-style rebirth skill tree - Deep research into compounds, isotopes, and antimatter - Achievements to guide your progress - Supports Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Russian - Autosave support

About

Pilots

An aviation idle and incremental strategy game where you build an airfield from scratch. Research new technologies, design aircraft, and manage pilots to progress through different flight eras. Enjoy offline progress and dynamic weather without timers or ads.

Highlights
  • Idle and incremental strategy gameplay
  • Fleet and route design
  • Dynamic weather system
  • Pilot experience and ranks
  • Prestige reset for permanent upgrades
  • Offline progress simulation
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Build from a grass airstrip to interstellar flight, one horizon at a time. Pilots: Ascension is an aviation idle and incremental strategy game. It starts with a hand-cranked fuel drum and a wood-and-fabric machine that has no business leaving the ground. Your job is to get it into the sky anyway. You are the quartermaster of a tiny airfield. Crank fuel, recruit crew and coax the first aircraft into the air. Then build an industry: depots, mines, smelters and workshops. Assign aviators to the jobs that suit them and research your way up the altitude spine through seven eras: Dawn of Flight, the Propeller Age, the Jet Age, the Rocket Age, Orbit, the Interplanetary frontier and the Interstellar Age. IT KEEPS THE LOOP YOU KNOW Gather, build, assign, research, trade, prestige. Then it adds mechanics built around flight: • Adventure campaign: five flight programs tie era research to real flying. Aircraft must be capable of their route, so your fleet choices matter. • Grand Expeditions: three voyages and 16 story legs with changing routes, flight modes and supply needs. Earn Bronze, Silver and Gold honors that stay with every future career. No deadlines. • Flight Operations: seven stories and 21 mission stages across all seven eras. Choose relief service or scientific survey. • Flight modes: Standard, Economy, Express and Survey trade speed, fuel, risk and science output for each aircraft. • Route mastery: successful landings earn better payouts and lower risk on familiar routes. • Simulated weather: four in-game seasons plus changing conditions. Tailwinds, fog and thunderstorms can ground flights and shift production. • Pilot ranks: aviators climb from Rookie to Wingman to Veteran to Ace, multiplying their output. • New Horizon: take a Final Flight, bank Legacy, Ace Points and Renown, pick a Founding Charter and, if you want, a challenge for your next run. Your career log remembers your last 50 runs. A CALMER, CLEARER AIRFIELD A compact home screen puts one crank button beside your crew and fuel stats. Tap any resource to see what produces it, what stores it and what consumes it. Fleets group by aircraft, route and mode, with bulk controls for dispatch. CLASSIC AND ADVENTURE New careers begin in Adventure. Existing careers keep the original rules as Classic, and you can choose Adventure at a voluntary New Horizon. Offline progress for up to three days: your fleet keeps flying while you are away. Your save lives on your device. No timers nagging you. No ads. No in-app purchases. No account or login. Start with a windsock and an empty field.

Screenshots

Atomics4 screens
Pilots4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Atomics at Free against Pilots's $0.99. Atomics also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Pilots's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On 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

Atomics is free to download; Pilots costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Atomics ships an update every 2 weeks, Pilots monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Atomics versus Pilots: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAtomicsPilots
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGarageLabsDas Creative LLC

In-app purchases

None

Atomics

No in-app purchases

None

Pilots

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Atomics free?
Atomics is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pilots free?
Pilots costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Atomics or Pilots have ads?
Atomics shows ads; Pilots does not.
Which is updated more often, Atomics or Pilots?
Atomics ships an update every 2 weeks, and Pilots monthly. Most recently, Atomics was updated on October 31, 2026 and Pilots on October 25, 2026.

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