Comparison

Auto Drill vs Needle in Haystack

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

Head to head
About

Auto Drill

Pilot an auto-mining ship that automatically destroys planets block by block. Upgrade weapons, collect skills, and enhance your gear to build a powerful galactic drilling machine. Progress through tougher worlds with permanent upgrades.

Highlights
  • Automatic mining ship piloting
  • Destructible planets with various block types
  • Unlock and upgrade 10 unique weapons
  • Collect and fuse skills for buffs
  • Upgrade ship components (Hulls, Reactor Cores, Engines)
  • Permanent progression across runs
Features
Read full description

AUTO DRILL: GALAXY Pilot your own auto-mining ship and chew through entire planets, block by block! Your ship fights on its own — orbiting, seeking, and blasting the nearest block automatically. Sit back and watch the loot pour in, or grab the joystick and steer into the action yourself. IDLE AUTO-BATTLER Your mining ship never stops working. It automatically targets and destroys blocks while you focus on building the ultimate galactic drilling machine. Perfect for quick sessions or long grinds DESTROY EVERYTHING Every planet is a grid of destructible blocks — Normal, Gold, Energy, and volatile Explosive blocks that chain-detonate their neighbors in satisfying cascades. Mine them all to clear the planet and warp to a tougher sector! 10 UNIQUE WEAPONS Unlock and upgrade a devastating arsenal: drill lance, mortar, chain arc, orbiting saw, and more! Each unlock hits harder than the last and carries permanent damage multipliers — choose your upgrade path wisely. COLLECT & FUSE SKILLS Roll for powerful skills and fuse duplicates upward through rarity tiers — Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary! Equip them for massive buffs: extra damage, income multipliers, block transmutation, and more. UPGRADE YOUR GEAR Equip Hulls, Reactor Cores, and Engines, then level them up by salvaging spare items. Build the perfect loadout for endless expansion. ADVANCE FOREVER Clear a planet, advance a sector, and face tougher worlds. Your permanent unlocks and upgrades carry over — every run makes you stronger! The galaxy is full of planets waiting to be mined. How far can you drill? Download Auto Drill: Galaxy and start your cosmic mining empire today!

About

Needle in Haystack

Search for a hidden needle among thousands of hay pieces. Collect and sell hay, unlock tools, feed animals, and complete community challenges to earn rewards. Explore the farm and barn in this engaging search game.

Highlights
  • Search for hidden needles
  • Collect and sell hay
  • Unlock and upgrade tools
  • Feed farm animals
  • Complete community challenges
  • Explore farm and barn
Features
Read full description

There’s one tiny needle hidden somewhere inside a massive haystack. Finding it sounds simple. It’s not. Search through millions of pieces of hay, build up your farm, unlock powerful machines, and find the needle everyone is looking for. BUILD, COLLECT & SEARCH • Search for the hidden needle • Collect and sell huge amounts of hay • Unlock and upgrade powerful tools • Explore a massive hay area with up to 150 million hay BUILD YOUR FARM • Feed and take care of your animals • Unlock automatic animal feeders • Use automatic hay sweepers and robots • Explore the barn and farm NEW WAYS TO PLAY • Drive the Delivery Truck and complete deliveries • Unlock the Hay Baler and other machines • Join Community Challenges • Work together and earn community rewards Start with simple tools. Unlock bigger machines. Clear an enormous haystack. But remember, somewhere inside all that hay is one tiny needle. Can you actually find it? Download Needle in Haystack and start searching. Privacy Policy: https://www.nilplay.net/privacy_policy/ End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Auto Drill4 screens
Needle in Haystack4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Auto Drill at 58% against Needle in Haystack's 7%. Auto Drill also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and ads (none vs shown). Needle in Haystack's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Auto Drill sells 16 one-off in-app purchases and Needle in Haystack sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Auto Drill holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Auto Drill has 276 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Auto Drill's written reviews are positive against 7% of Needle in Haystack's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Auto Drill ships an update fortnightly, Needle in Haystack every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Auto Drill versus Needle in Haystack: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAuto DrillNeedle in Haystack
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (276 ratings) — better4.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews57.9% of reviews — better7.1% of reviews
Number of ratings276 — better3
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#34 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB288 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLava Labs Oyun Yazılım ve Pazarlama Anonim ŞirketiSERAP KIZILTEPE

Customer experience

Auto Drill

All ratings276 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive57.9%
Neutral15.8%
Negative26.3%

Needle in Haystack

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive7.1%
Neutral21.4%
Negative71.4%

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Auto Drill

One-time16
  • Solar Gem 1$1.99
  • Gem 1$1.99
  • Solar Offer$2.99
Show 13 more
  • Small Chest Offer$4.99
  • Gem 2$4.99
  • Life Time Boost$9.99
  • Galaxy Pass$9.99
  • Starter Pack$9.99
  • No Ads$9.99
  • Gem 3$9.99
  • Deluxe Solar Offer$19.99
  • Gem 4$19.99
  • Tournament Offer$29.99
  • Epic Pack$29.99
  • Gem 5$49.99
  • Gem 6$99.99
6 purchases

Needle in Haystack

One-time6
  • 100 Hays + No-Ads$0.49
  • 250 Hays + Double Collect + No-Ads$0.99
  • One-Time Exclusive Starter Bundle$2.99
Show 3 more
  • 500 Hays + 3x Collect + No-Ads$2.99
  • 1000 Hays + 5x collect + No-Ads$3.99
  • Vehicle Bundle$8.49

Questions

Is Auto Drill free?
Auto Drill is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Needle in Haystack free?
Needle in Haystack is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Auto Drill or Needle in Haystack?
Auto Drill is rated higher. Auto Drill averages 4.8 out of 5 from 276 ratings, while Needle in Haystack averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Auto Drill or Needle in Haystack have ads?
Needle in Haystack shows ads; Auto Drill does not.
Which is updated more often, Auto Drill or Needle in Haystack?
Auto Drill ships an update fortnightly, and Needle in Haystack every 5 days. Most recently, Auto Drill was updated on October 14, 2026 and Needle in Haystack on October 15, 2026.

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