Minimum Effort vs Life Starts Today
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Minimum Effort
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You have a job. You do not want to do it. Minimum Effort is a satirical workplace strategy game. Every workday runs from 09:00 to 17:00, and everything you can do with those 480 minutes trades three things against each other: the time it saves you, the output it actually produces, and how conspicuous it makes you. The goal is not to be good at your job. It is to find the least amount of work that survives. HOW A DAY WORKS • Do the work, fake the work, or avoid it entirely. Looking busy covers part of a shortfall when the boss checks the deliverables. It never files the report. • The boss patrols the floor. When he walks past in the middle of something you get a couple of seconds to look busy . and less time the hotter you already are. • Repeat an act and it gets riskier every time. The fourth bathroom break is not the first bathroom break. • Colleagues talk. Each one has their own trust in you and their own doubts, and a rumour that crosses the floor twice reaches the boss's office from a direction you were not watching. THE PEOPLE Your accomplice will cover for you. The overachiever notices an unearned win. The snitch keeps a note of when people leave their desk. The gossip has already told two other people. You can chat, delegate your work, ask somebody to cover, genuinely help them . or put your name on their work, which they never forget. PROMOTIONS ARE A TRAP Every rung on the ladder pays more and expects more. Getting promoted is easy. Staying just competent enough not to be fired, one rung higher, with a bigger quota and the same amount of effort . that is the game. FIVE CAREERS - Corporate. Easy. Meetings, decks and a quarterly review nobody reads. - Startup. Chaotic. Twelve people, no structure, and everybody notices everything. - Consulting. Medium. Frameworks, workstreams, and never being the one with the answer. - Investment banking. Extreme. Enormous money, enormous work, and an associate who never leaves. - Home office. Nobody can see you and everything is measured. The green dot is your new boss and it cannot be charmed. Corporate and Startup are included. Consulting and Investment Banking are unlocked together by the Career Pack. Home Office is its own pack. Both are one purchase each, not a subscription, nothing recurring, and either one removes the advertising. THE ONLY SCORE THAT MATTERS Total money earned, divided by hours you actually worked. Retire at the top of a ladder having been paid for years and worked for weeks, and the number on your record board will say so. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO No account and no sign-in. Your careers are saved on your device and nothing about them leaves it. It does show advertising, which Google's ad kit loads over the network, and either pack removes it. Minimum Effort is a work of satire. The offices, the colleagues and the careers are invented, and nothing in it is advice about a real job. Recommendations for our other apps load online. Their views and taps are counted as daily totals, without personal profiles or user/device identifiers. See our privacy policy.
Life Starts Today
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Your paycheck may be fixed. Your next choice isn’t. Life Starts Today is a life simulation game about everyday decisions, career growth, and virtual stock investing. Will you push for a promotion? Invest the money you’ve saved? Or give yourself a well-earned break? Every choice can change your finances, career, health, and friendships. Discover what kind of life you want to build. FOUR WAYS TO BEGIN Start in your 20s, 30s, 40s, or 50s, each with different circumstances. Take your first steps into working life or begin a new chapter later on. 400 EVENTS, YOUR OWN DECISIONS Navigate workplace dilemmas, plans with friends, unexpected expenses, and investment opportunities. Decide what matters to you—and live with the results. GO BEYOND YOUR PAYCHECK Buy and sell virtual stocks as you manage your in-game finances. Review your average purchase price, unrealized gains and losses, and transaction history before making your next move. Every opportunity comes with risk. BUILD YOUR REPUTATION Manage your workplace reputation and work toward your next promotion. Make choices that shape your career while balancing the demands of daily life. MAKE ROOM FOR YOURSELF Money isn’t the only thing that matters. Keep an eye on your health, stress, and friendships. Sometimes moving forward means knowing when to take a break. A FRESH LOOK AND SOUND Step into warmly illustrated city scenes with redesigned menus, new music, and updated sound effects. Watch your story unfold one moment at a time. PLAY IN FIVE LANGUAGES Choose English, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, or Traditional Chinese. In-game monetary values are displayed in the currency associated with your selected language. What will you choose today? PLEASE NOTE • All stocks and assets are fictional, in-game elements. The game does not offer real stock trading or real-money earnings. • The game includes ads and an optional in-app purchase. • Remove Interstitial Ads is a one-time purchase that permanently removes automatic interstitial ads. Optional rewarded ads remain available.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Life Starts Today at every 3 days against Minimum Effort's every 3 weeks. Life Starts Today also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Minimum Effort sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Life Starts Today sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Minimum Effort ships an update every 3 weeks, Life Starts Today every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Minimum Effort | Life Starts Today |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 470 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Levin David Schwab | GIPYO HONG |
In-app purchases
Minimum Effort
- Home Office Pack$3.99
- Career Pack$3.99
Life Starts Today
- Remove Interstitial Ads$1.99
Questions
Is Minimum Effort free?
Is Life Starts Today free?
Do Minimum Effort or Life Starts Today have ads?
Which is updated more often, Minimum Effort or Life Starts Today?
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