Comparison

Dotling vs Alive

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

Head to head
About

Dotling

Relive the 90s with a digital pixel pet that lives on your screen. Care for your virtual companion, play mini-games, and watch it evolve. Widgets keep your pet close, even when the app is closed.

Highlights
  • Pixelated dot-matrix LCD display
  • Hatch, grow, and evolve through 5 stages
  • Multiple species and care-dependent adult evolutions
  • Interactive care: feeding, cleaning, discipline
  • Mini-games: Guess the Turn, Stop the Dot, Hi-Lo
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • Generational traits and achievements
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

Alive

Features
Read full description

A tiny creature. You care for it once a day. That's the game. Alive-ish is a small, calm ritual: check in, care for your creature, and go about your day. No energy bars counting down against you, no timers demanding attention, no pressure between visits. WHAT'S IN HERE - One creature to raise, cared for once a day - Ten friends to meet along the way, each with their own look and personality - Ten mini-games you play together with them - Rooms and props to unlock and decorate with - A daily challenge and a memory book of moments you've earned - A home-screen widget that shows how your creature is doing at a glance - Optional cosmetics and an ad-free option, never required to keep playing HOW IT TREATS YOU - No account, no sign-up, nothing to create - No energy system and no pay-to-keep-alive pressure - Rewarded ads are entirely optional and never forced on you - Works fully offline, all progress stays on your device Don't let it die. That's the whole rule.

Screenshots

Dotling4 screens
Alive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Alive at none against Dotling's 2. Alive also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Dotling's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price and update cadence 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. Dotling sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Alive asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dotling ships an update weekly, Alive every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Dotling versus Alive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDotlingAlive
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB119 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDIJITAL PILOT REKLAM SANAYI TICARET LIMITED SIRKETINick Squared

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Dotling

Subscriptions2
  • Dotling Premium$5.991 Month
  • Dotling Premium7 Days trial$24.991 Year
None

Alive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dotling free?
Dotling is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Alive free?
Alive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dotling or Alive have ads?
Alive shows ads; Dotling does not.
Which is updated more often, Dotling or Alive?
Dotling ships an update weekly, and Alive every 6 days. Most recently, Dotling was updated on October 31, 2026 and Alive on October 29, 2026.

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