Comparison

Dev Idle vs Drill Baron

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

Head to head
About

Dev Idle

Tap to code and build your developer empire, from simple copy-pasting to advanced quantum compilation. Ship versions to earn reputation, unlock permanent upgrades, and eventually IPO for massive boosts. Enjoy an idle game experience with offline earnings and no ads.

Highlights
  • Tap to write code
  • Hire automated developers
  • Ship versions for reputation
  • Permanent upgrades via Lab
  • IPO for massive progress boosts
  • Offline earnings with reports
  • Live Activity for App Review countdown
Features
Read full description

You started by pasting an answer off Stack Overflow. Twelve tiers later you are running an autonomous agent fleet, a server farm and a quantum compiler, and the changelog has started calling the next one The Singularity. Dev Idle is an idle game about being an iOS developer, made by one. Tap to write code, hire the pipeline that writes it for you, then ship a version and do the whole thing again, faster. THE LOOP • BUILD — Twelve generator tiers, from "Stack Overflow copy-paste" to "The Singularity". Every 10, 25, 50 and 100 you own doubles that tier's output. Forever. There is no last milestone. • SHIP — Submit a version for App Review, wait out the thirty-minute queue like the rest of us, and bank Reputation for a permanent income multiplier. This wait is the game's clock, and yes, that is the joke. • LAB — Every ship also pays Commits, which buy permanent upgrades that survive every reset. A bad run still pays. No run is wasted. • SHOP — Conference Tickets buy time, never content: expedite a review, double an offline haul, or collect eight hours at once. • PASS — A four-week Sprint Pass season, 50 tiers, earned entirely by playing. THE PART THAT MAKES IT LAST Get big enough and you can IPO. Trade your whole Reputation for Shares, raise the level cap on every permanent upgrade, and watch the forty hours of progress you just gave up come back in four. Then the horizon moves again. BALANCED BY SIMULATION, NOT BY VIBES The economy runs in a harness that plays thousands of prestige cycles before a number ships. Tier 4 inside two minutes. Your first version out the door in about an hour. The Singularity considerably later. THINGS WE CARED ABOUT • Offline earnings, with a proper "while you were away" report when you come back. • A Live Activity that counts your App Review down on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. • Unlockable editor themes. All of them dark, because it is that kind of game. • Every number monospaced, so counters tick without jittering. • No ads. Not between screens, not for a bonus, not ever — there is no ad code in the app at all. • Plays entirely offline. No account, no sign-up, nothing personal collected — no name, no email, no advertising identifier, no tracking. Your save syncs through your own iCloud. FREE TO PLAY, AND MEANT IT Optional purchases shorten the road. Not one of them unlocks content you cannot reach by playing, because a wall you cannot climb is a game you stop opening. Dev Idle Pro — $4.99 per month with a 7-day free trial: ×2 income, offline earnings at full rate with double the cap, a bigger daily Ticket bonus, an exclusive editor theme, and every season's premium Sprint Pass track included. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of that period. Manage or cancel it in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions. Any unused portion of the free trial is forfeited when you buy the subscription. Terms of Use: https://devidle.petrina.me/terms Privacy Policy: https://devidle.petrina.me/privacy-policy

About

Drill Baron

Pilot a drill pod deep underground to mine ore, gems, and treasures. Sell your findings, upgrade your equipment, and explore seven unique worlds with their own dangers. Build your base, manage miner bots, and participate in seasonal events for rewards.

Highlights
  • One-finger drill pod control
  • Sell ore and gems at trade post
  • Upgrade drill, cargo, and other parts
  • Explore seven distinct worlds
  • Build and upgrade base structures
  • Miner bots dig while you're away
  • Participate in seasonal events
Read full description

Below the surface lie ore, gems and ancient treasures – and the deeper you drill, the more everything is worth. But watch out: gas explodes, lava burns, and your tank won't refill itself. DRILL, SELL, UPGRADE • Steer your drill pod through the ground with one finger. • Get your ore back up in time and sell it at the trade post. • Upgrade drill, cargo hold, tank, hull, engine, cooler, light and rock breaker in the workshop – every part shows on your pod. SEVEN WORLDS, ONE CORE EACH • Rubra, Glacia, Ignis, Toxa, Abyssa, Voltra and Prisma: each world has its own ground and dangers, from frost gas to lightning veins. • At the very bottom a guardian protects the core. Beat it and earn a world star. • Even deeper, the deep zone hides secret chambers and deep oil. • On the way, surprises await, from treasure finds to a race against the lava. YOUR BASE GROWS WITH YOU • Upgrade buildings to unlock stronger parts. • Miner bots keep digging for you, even while you're away. • Bid for oil fields, fill your museum with rare finds and solve riddles. • Contracts, daily missions and ranks all the way up to Drill Baron. SEASONAL EVENTS • At Halloween and during Winter Wonder the portal opens a seasonal world of its own. • Collect seasonal finds, trade them for boosts and win the event skin. FAIR AND RELAXED • No account, no internet needed to play. • Watch videos only if you want to – for a reward. • Gems and looks are optional in the shop. Buying needs a press-and-hold. • Game Center leaderboards, achievements and challenges. Progress saved in iCloud. In English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. For iPhone and iPad.

Screenshots

Dev Idle4 screens
Drill Baron4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Dev Idle at none against Drill Baron's shown. Drill Baron's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Dev Idle sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Drill Baron sells 3 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 Dev Idle against 5.0 for Drill Baron. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly daily. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Dev Idle versus Drill Baron: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDev IdleDrill Baron
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyDailyDaily
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB13 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDavid PetrinaTreeSolid Systems GmbH

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Dev Idle

Subscriptions1
  • Dev Idle Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
One-time9
  • Hotfix — 100 Tickets$0.99
  • Starter Pack$1.99
  • Sprint Pass Premium Track$2.99
Show 6 more
  • Monthly Card — 40 a Day$3.99
  • Overtime$4.99
  • Sprint — 600 Tickets$4.99
  • Release — 1,400 Tickets$9.99
  • Major Version — 3,200 Tickets$19.99
  • Enterprise — 9,000 Tickets$49.99
3 purchases

Drill Baron

One-time3
  • Remaining Pack$1.99
  • Remaining Pack5 variants$2.99
  • Remaining Pack4 variants$3.99

Questions

Is Dev Idle free?
Dev Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drill Baron free?
Drill Baron is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dev Idle or Drill Baron?
Dev Idle and Drill Baron are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Dev Idle or Drill Baron have ads?
Drill Baron shows ads; Dev Idle does not.
Which is updated more often, Dev Idle or Drill Baron?
Dev Idle ships an update daily, and Drill Baron daily. Most recently, Dev Idle was updated on October 31, 2026 and Drill Baron on November 1, 2026.

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