# Nova Retro vs RetroPocket

The clearest difference is ads: Nova Retro at none against RetroPocket's shown. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Nova Retro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and RetroPocket sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Nova Retro against 5.0 for RetroPocket. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

Nova Retro ships an update every 4 weeks, RetroPocket every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Nova Retro | RetroPocket |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nova-retro/id6799106990/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retropocket-retro-games/id6808930215/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2** | 1 |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Size | 18 MB | 25 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [振东 史](https://appshunter.io/developer/6799051561) | [Duc Tran Trung](https://appshunter.io/developer/1751737609) |

## What reviewers say

### Nova Retro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nova-retro/id6799106990)

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Buy Me a Coffee | $1.99 | one-time |
| Big Support | $12.99 | one-time |


### RetroPocket

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retropocket-retro-games/id6808930215)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GBA Emulator Monthly | $5.99 | per month |
| GBA Emulator Yearly | $24.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Membership | $34.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Nova Retro free?

Nova Retro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is RetroPocket free?

RetroPocket is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Nova Retro or RetroPocket?

Nova Retro and RetroPocket are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do Nova Retro or RetroPocket have ads?

RetroPocket shows ads; Nova Retro does not.

### Which is updated more often, Nova Retro or RetroPocket?

Nova Retro ships an update every 4 weeks, and RetroPocket every 5 weeks. Most recently, Nova Retro was updated on October 24, 2026 and RetroPocket on October 25, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*