Comparison

Dotling vs Hermit Crab Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Dotling

Experience a digital pet that mimics the feel of 90s keychain toys with a dot-matrix LCD display. Care for your evolving pixel friend, play mini-games, and keep it close with home and lock screen widgets. Enjoy a realistic simulation with a focus on nurturing and lineage.

Highlights
  • Dot-matrix LCD display
  • Evolving virtual pet
  • Interactive mini-games
  • Home and lock screen widgets
  • Vacation mode
  • Generational lineage system
Features
Read full description

A pocket virtual pet that lives on a real dot-matrix LCD. No emoji, no cartoons: just 576 dots, a beeping little friend and the feeling of the keychain toy you carried in the 90s. HATCH IT • Start with an egg and watch it hatch, grow and evolve through 5 stages • Three species: Dotto the blob, Peep the bird and Nyx the cat • Adults evolve differently depending on your care: Classic, Radiant or Scruffy CARE FOR IT • Meals and snacks, cleaning, medicine, lights out at bedtime • Discipline it when it misbehaves, or it grows up wild • Gentle reminders, at most 3 a day, only when your pet really needs you • Vacation mode freezes all needs while you are away PLAY WITH IT • Guess the Turn: the classic virtual pet duel • Stop the Dot: a timing game that speeds up every round • Hi-Lo: will the next number be higher or lower? KEEP IT CLOSE • Home Screen widgets show your pet and its meters • Lock Screen widgets tell you at a glance when it is hungry or bored • LCD beeps and haptics, with on/off switches A REAL SIMULATION • Time passes while the app is closed, and it is handled fairly • Care windows are measured in hours, not minutes • Every pet passes a trait to the next generation • Records, a graveyard for every lineage and 8 achievements to unlock DOTLING PREMIUM Your first generation is free forever. Dotling Premium unlocks every later generation, the bird and cat species, and the Amber, Ice and Noir LCD screens. The yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in your account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.dijitalpilot.com/uygulama-gizlilik/

About

Hermit Crab Simulator

Create a tropical sanctuary for a virtual hermit crab. Collect shells, decorate habitats, and care for your companion. Enjoy a peaceful, ad-free experience with no subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Collect 44 unique shell designs
  • Decorate 12 environments with 29 items
  • Care for your hermit crab (feeding, misting, cleaning)
  • Unlock up to five habitats
  • Earn daily rewards and save photos
  • Optional iCloud backup
Read full description

No Ads. No Subscriptions. A Quiet Little World. Welcome a hermit crab and build a tropical home on the sand. Name your companion, collect beautiful shells, and make each habitat your own. A SHELL FOR EVERY MOOD Discover 44 shell designs, from natural spirals to fantasy jewels. Change shells while keeping your crab’s name, age, and care history. Each habitat has its own collection. CREATE YOUR SANCTUARY Explore 12 environments and arrange 29 decorations, including plants, hides, climbing structures, pools, and five luxurious treasures. Move, resize, and layer pieces to design your home. Unlock up to five habitats with a shared coin balance. CARE AND PLAY Feed your crab, mist the habitat, refresh freshwater and saltwater pools, and clean the glass. Tap the sand to play: ten taps fill playfulness. Each fresh pool adds 12 happiness for 24 hours. Optional feeding reminders help you keep a routine. A PEACEFUL POCKET COMPANION Enjoy a silent game with no ambient sound. Earn daily rewards, save terrarium photos, and use optional iCloud backup. Loading a backup replaces local progress; use one device at a time. Coins can be earned through play. Optional consumable coin packs are available through Apple in-app purchases. There are no ads or subscriptions. Care continues while the app is closed. If care lapses, the worn shell is lost. A free recovery meal brings your companion back in the starter shell; buy the lost shell again for 10% of its original coin price. Other collected shells remain yours. This is a fictional virtual-pet game. Its habitats, fantasy shells, and care timers are not instructions for real animal care.

Screenshots

Dotling4 screens
Hermit Crab Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

Dotling and Hermit Crab Simulator are too close to call on the numbers: across 8 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and ads among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Dotling sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Hermit Crab Simulator sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Dotling versus Hermit Crab Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDotlingHermit Crab Simulator
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDIJITAL PILOT REKLAM SANAYI TICARET LIMITED SIRKETIWYATT WAYNE KELLER

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Dotling

Subscriptions2
  • Dotling Premium$5.991 Month
  • Dotling Premium7 Days trial$24.991 Year
5 purchases

Hermit Crab Simulator

One-time5
  • Tiny Coin Pack$0.99
  • Small Coin Pack$3.99
  • Medium Coin Pack$7.99
Show 2 more
  • Large Coin Pack$12.99
  • Premium Coin Pack$29.99

Questions

Is Dotling free?
Dotling is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hermit Crab Simulator free?
Hermit Crab Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dotling or Hermit Crab Simulator?
Dotling and Hermit Crab Simulator are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Dotling or Hermit Crab Simulator have ads?
Neither Dotling nor Hermit Crab Simulator shows ads.

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