Comparison

EraBall vs Pixel Hoops

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

Head to head
About

EraBall

Draft legendary basketball players from different eras and simulate seasons to see how they perform. Build your dream team with various draft modes and compete in challenges or head-to-head multiplayer.

Highlights
  • Draft players from all basketball eras
  • Simulate full seasons and playoffs
  • Multiple draft modes (Normal, Salary Cap, Sandbox, Era Gauntlet, Weekly Challenge)
  • Draft real coaches with career records
  • Head-to-head multiplayer
  • Roguelike Era Gauntlet mode
  • Single-player RPG 'The League' mode
Features
Read full description

Draft real players from every era of basketball history and simulate full seasons to see how legends from different decades match up. Or take over a team today and run it for decades in Franchise. 4,500+ players. 360+ real coaches. Eight decades, from the 1950s to today. NEW: FRANCHISE Take over any team with today's real rosters and contracts, or start from a fantasy draft, then run it for as many years as you like. Trade with front offices that act like the real ones: contenders buy, rebuilders sell, and everyone counts the cost of the luxury tax and the aprons. Scout and work out prospects, sweat the lottery, run draft night, chase free agents, manage the cap, set your rotation and send young players to the Minor League. Watch players develop, age and retire, hang their numbers in the rafters and send the greats to the Hall of Fame. PICK YOUR ERA Choose from basketball's greatest periods, from the early pioneers of the game to today's stars. Every era plays with its own historically accurate style, pace, rules and strategy. BUILD YOUR ROSTER Draft in five modes: • Normal/H2H: Classic draft, pick the best team you can. • Salary Cap: Player tier limits force real trade-offs. • Sandbox: No limits, build your dream team. • Era Gauntlet: Draft and survive a roguelike run through basketball history. • Weekly Challenge: New draft and sim rules and a new leaderboard every week. DRAFT YOUR COACH Every coach carries their real career record: grades, championship pedigree, and franchise pairings with select players that boost each other's ratings. SIMULATE & COMPETE Watch your squad play a full, historically accurate season and playoffs. The engine runs a real basketball simulation: spacing, pace, defense, rebounding, experience, all of it. ERA GAUNTLET A roguelike run through basketball history. Draft nine players, then survive four segments per act while the owner's patience runs down. Sign free agents, develop your roster with badges, and hop forward a decade at a time as your legends age. Every act ends against a real dynasty boss, from the 1957 Celtics to the 2025 Thunder. Four maps, including a full eight-decade Odyssey. Run out of patience and you're fired. WEEKLY CHALLENGE New rules every week, with its own leaderboard: locked eras, strict tier limits, banned traits, bigger boosts. HEAD-TO-HEAD Challenge friends in real-time multiplayer. Draft against each other and let your teams battle it out in the finals. THE LEAGUE A single-player tabletop RPG. Build your player by choosing an era, class, origin, frame and abilities, then work your way from open runs to college, the draft and the league. Roll dice off your build to win the games that define your career. Your choices shape the story: relationships, endorsements, money, standing and more. MINI GAMES Four quick games with a daily puzzle and an unlimited mode: Daily Card, Higher or Lower, Franchise Roulette and State Hunt. LEADERBOARDS A board for every era in every mode, plus a weekly board. Your score counts more than wins: records, point differential, team rating, your coach's grade and roster bonuses. Compete globally, synced with the web version, or against your Game Center friends. ACHIEVEMENTS, CARDS AND YOUR PLAYER CARD 130+ achievements, from common to legendary. Unlock cards by winning titles with the exact player, team and era shown. Your shareable player card shows your rating, record in every mode, placements, and the players and coach you keep coming back to. Lifetime stats track every season you've played. Built for basketball fans.

About

Pixel Hoops

Features
Read full description

Run the offense. Read the defense. Build a dynasty. Pixel Hoops is a pocket basketball game with a retro arcade look. Every possession is a designed play: your players run their routes and attack the rim on their own. Your job is to read what the defense gives you and make the right call. READ THE DEFENSE Every trip down the floor you face a different look. A packed paint leaves your shooters open. A ball trap means someone is free. Defenders denying the pass leave the lane wide open. Find the open man and the game gets easy. SIMPLE CONTROLS, REAL DECISIONS • Tap a teammate to pass • Hold and release in the green to shoot • Swipe up or down to juke your defender • Quick tap to pump fake Hit cutters for alley-oops, break ankles with a crossover, and finish through contact for the and-one. CALL YOUR DEFENSE Every opponent has a style: shooters, bigs or guards. Pick man, zone or trap before the game and at every quarter break. Get the matchup right and you can beat teams better than yours. RUN THE FRANCHISE • Spend coaching credits to upgrade your players • Sign free agents and draft rookies • Build up your training center, arena and coaching staff • Handle the front office: owner meetings, sponsor deals and scouting quizzes • Face the press after big wins and tough losses BUILD A COACHING CAREER Win games to raise your coach rating. Go deep in the playoffs and other teams will come calling with job offers. Take over a new city or stay and build a dynasty. • 14-game seasons with playoffs • Players age, improve and retire • Play offline, no account needed • No ads, no tracking

Screenshots

EraBall4 screens
Pixel Hoops4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: EraBall at every 3 days against Pixel Hoops's every 6 days. Pixel Hoops's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). 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. EraBall sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pixel Hoops sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

EraBall ships an update every 3 days, Pixel Hoops every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
EraBall versus Pixel Hoops: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEraBallPixel Hoops
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (81 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings81 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTypical Evening Pictures LLCBrandon McCray

In-app purchases

1 purchases

EraBall

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$4.99
3 purchases

Pixel Hoops

One-time3
  • 25 Coaching Credits$0.99
  • 80 Coaching Credits$2.99
  • 200 Coaching Credits$5.99

Questions

Is EraBall free?
EraBall is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pixel Hoops free?
Pixel Hoops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do EraBall or Pixel Hoops have ads?
Both EraBall and Pixel Hoops show ads.
Which is updated more often, EraBall or Pixel Hoops?
EraBall ships an update every 3 days, and Pixel Hoops every 6 days. Most recently, EraBall was updated on November 8, 2026 and Pixel Hoops on November 6, 2026.

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