Comparison

Deep Dig vs Idle Stars

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

Head to head
About

Deep Dig

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Deep Dig is an idle mining game built around one addictive question: will THIS tap be the big one? TAP TO DIG Smash through rock with every tap. Land a critical hit and a lamp lights up — one more tap, and you break into a high-odds chain zone where crits can keep coming, tap after tap after tap. UPGRADE YOUR RIG Pour coins into Drill Power and Auto-Driller to dig faster, even while you are away. CORE UPGRADES + NEW GAME+ Reach the planet's core and earn permanent Cores, then start a fresh run with your upgrades carried over. Stack enough Cores across runs and your rig only gets stronger. PLAY IN YOUR LANGUAGE Fully translated into English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean. This release covers Stage 1 — dig from the surface all the way down to 500m. Deeper stages, new ore, and more content are already in the works. Free to play, no purchase required. Optional video ads offer bonuses like stamina refills and coin boosts, entirely up to you. Start tapping. See how deep you can go.

About

Idle Stars

Build a star-spanning empire by managing resources, researching technologies, and colonizing new worlds. Engage in diplomacy or conflict with alien civilizations. Reset your universe with permanent upgrades to achieve greater progress each cycle.

Highlights
  • Layered idle economy with five resources
  • Research paths and automation
  • Galaxy map with exploration and colonization
  • Diplomacy and conflict with civilizations
  • Supernova resets with permanent progression
  • Offline progress and notifications
Features
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Begin with one quiet world and turn it into an empire among the stars. Idle Stars is an incremental strategy game about connected systems. Build solar arrays, mines, laboratories, habitats, and spaceports. Balance five resources, research technologies that change how your economy works, and install AI Directors to automate each world while you are away. When your first planet is no longer enough, launch explorers into a living galaxy. Colonize new worlds, connect them into sectors, and meet civilizations with their own histories and strengths. Open talks, send envoys, or bring the fleet—the choices you make shape the empire and what the galaxy remembers. Eventually, growth reaches its limit. Trigger a supernova, carry stardust and permanent upgrades into a fresh universe, and push farther on every cycle. FEATURES • A layered idle economy built around energy, minerals, science, population, and influence • Research paths and automation that transform how worlds grow • A galaxy map with exploration, travel, colonization, and sectors • Civilizations that can be approached through diplomacy or force • Supernova resets with lasting progression • Offline progress and optional local notifications • Game Center achievements • Optional iCloud document sync between your Apple devices • Universal support for iPhone and iPad • No ads and no subscription The complete game is free. The optional Supporter Pack permanently unlocks three styles for planets, ships, and the app icon. You can also buy one hour of ×2 production: the timer runs in real time, even while the app is closed, and the multiplier never stacks above ×2. The optional Stellar Charter permanently multiplies all production by ×1.5, in every run.

Screenshots

Deep Dig3 screens
Idle Stars4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Deep Dig at none against Idle Stars's 3. Deep Dig also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Idle Stars's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price 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. Idle Stars sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Deep Dig asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deep Dig ships an update every 2 days, Idle Stars every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Deep Dig versus Idle Stars: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeep DigIdle Stars
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.9 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB13 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperAtsushi ItoPULSAR LLC

In-app purchases

None

Deep Dig

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Idle Stars

One-time3
  • 1-Hour Boost$1.99
  • Supporter Pack$4.99
  • Stellar Charter$7.99

Questions

Is Deep Dig free?
Deep Dig is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Idle Stars free?
Idle Stars is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Deep Dig or Idle Stars have ads?
Deep Dig shows ads; Idle Stars does not.
Which is updated more often, Deep Dig or Idle Stars?
Deep Dig ships an update every 2 days, and Idle Stars every 3 weeks. Most recently, Deep Dig was updated on October 31, 2026 and Idle Stars on November 10, 2026.

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