Comparison

Verbena vs Spice Sort

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

Head to head
About

Verbena

A cozy word game that blends gardening with roguelike deckbuilding. Spell words to achieve seasonal goals, collect enchanted charms to create powerful combos, and nurture your garden through the changing seasons. Enjoy a relaxed, turn-based experience with no timers or ads.

Highlights
  • Word spelling and garden growing
  • Roguelike deckbuilding mechanics
  • Collect and combine enchanted charms
  • Seasonal progression with unique challenges
  • Daily challenges and leaderboards
  • Relaxed, turn-based gameplay
  • Cozy visuals and soothing soundtrack
Features
Read full description

Verbena — a cozy word roguelike. Spell words. Grow your garden. Chase the bloom. Verbena blends the calm of a cozy garden with the moreish "just one more run" of a roguelike deckbuilder. Draw a rack of letters, spell words to reach each season's goal, then visit the Garden Shop to collect enchanted charms — a Sunflower that adds to every word, a Dewdrop that rewards vowels, a Lucky Ladybug that multiplies your score. Stack charms into run-defining combos and see how many seasons your garden can survive. No timers. No pressure. No ads, ever. A fresh fusion — word game meets roguelike deckbuilder Collect from 17 charms (with a Charm Codex to complete) and build wild combos Special seasons add twists — gentler goals, bonus leaves, lusher words Daily Challenge — everyone gets the same letters; build your streak A garden that blooms through Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter as you climb Cozy visuals, a soothing synth soundtrack, and a relaxed turn-based pace Light & dark "night garden" themes — and it autosaves, so pick up anytime Universal — plays on iPhone and iPad Accessibility-minded: no timers, Relaxed difficulty, VoiceOver, readable-letters, reduce-motion, a Hint helper Game Center leaderboards & achievements, plus personal Records A 200,000-word dictionary Try 7 days free, then S$2.99/month — no ads, no tracking, cancel anytime Whether you have two minutes or twenty, plant a new garden and watch it bloom. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Spice Sort

A calming, offline puzzle game where you sort colorful spices into glass jars. Enjoy hand-crafted levels with no timers or pressure, and a focus on relaxation and accessibility.

Highlights
  • 500 hand-tuned, solvable levels
  • Daily Spice challenges
  • Unlimited undo and instant restart
  • Relaxing pour animations and sounds
  • Offline play
  • Colorblind assist mode
  • VoiceOver and Reduce Motion support
Features
Read full description

Spice Sort is a calm, hand-crafted sorting puzzle. Pour ground spices between glass jars until every jar holds a single color. That's the whole game — no timers, no lives, no energy meters, no pressure. It's the sort-puzzle you've played before, with a warmer soul: a dim pantry, real glass jars, and eight richly colored spices — turmeric, paprika, basil, sumac, black pepper, cinnamon, blue butterfly pea, and pink Himalayan salt. WHY YOU'LL KEEP IT ON YOUR PHONE • 500 hand-tuned levels, each one guaranteed solvable • A new Daily Spice every day — the same puzzle for everyone, with a streak to keep • Unlimited undo and instant restart. Stuck is never a dead end. • Genuinely relaxing pour animations and soft, tactile sounds BUILT TO RESPECT YOU • No ads. Not one. • No accounts, no sign-up, nothing to buy. • Works completely offline — play on a plane, on the subway, anywhere. • Google usage analytics and crash sharing are on by default. Turn either off in Settings. No advertising use. MADE FOR EVERYONE • Colorblind assist mode adds a distinct pattern to every spice • Full VoiceOver support and Reduce Motion friendly • One-handed, portrait, pick-up-and-play Sort a jar. Breathe. Sort another.

Screenshots

Verbena4 screens
Spice Sort4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Spice Sort at free against Verbena's subscription. Verbena's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Verbena against 5.0 for Spice Sort. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Verbena ships an update every 2 days, Spice Sort fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Verbena versus Spice Sort: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVerbenaSpice Sort
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings25 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNaizhong XuPrachi Jain

Customer experience

Verbena

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Spice Sort

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Verbena

No in-app purchases

None

Spice Sort

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Verbena free?
Verbena is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spice Sort free?
Spice Sort is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Verbena or Spice Sort?
Verbena and Spice Sort are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do Verbena or Spice Sort have ads?
Neither Verbena nor Spice Sort shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Verbena or Spice Sort?
Verbena ships an update every 2 days, and Spice Sort fortnightly. Most recently, Verbena was updated on October 31, 2026 and Spice Sort on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons