Powder Toy vs Elemental Box
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Powder Toy
Explore a 2D physics sandbox where you can build, create, and interact with nearly 100 different elements. Simulate complex systems, from atomic power plants to custom CPUs, by combining various materials, liquids, gases, and electronic components.
- 2D physics simulation
- Nearly 100 elements
- Build complex machines
- Simulate air pressure and heat
- Create realistic terrains
- Electronic components
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I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH CREATORS OF THE ORIGINAL THE POWDER TOY The game is based on The Powder Toy opensource project, which is available for free on your Mac or PC, complete GPL 3-covered source code of the port, as well as binaries are available for free on CannonballStudio@GitHub iPad port of the most popular 2D physics sandbox is out! Build, create, play, draw, interact with almost 100 different elements, and do whatever you want using your fingertips! Have you ever wanted to blow something up? Or maybe you always dreamt of operating an atomic power plant? Do you have a will to develop your own CPU? Powder Toy lets you to do all of these, and even more! Powder Toy is a physics sandbox game, which simulates air pressure and velocity, heat, gravity and a countless number of interactions between different substances! The game provides you with various building materials, liquids, gases and electronic components which can be used to construct complex machines, guns, bombs, realistic terrains and almost anything else.
Elemental Box
Engage in a sandbox game focused on realistic physical simulations. Experiment with various shapes and materials to observe their unique interactions and transformations. This app offers a creative space for exploration and discovery through physics.
- Physical simulation
- Material interaction
- Shape manipulation
- Sandbox gameplay
- Real-time physics
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Physical simulation game that enjoys real physical operation of each shape and change in each material.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Elemental Box at Free against Powder Toy's $1.99. Elemental Box also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.1) and review sentiment (72% vs 40%). Powder Toy's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). On 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
Elemental Box is free to download; Powder Toy costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Elemental Box holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Powder Toy has 345 ratings behind it against 63, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Powder Toy's written reviews are positive against 72% of Elemental Box's.
Powder Toy ships an update every 6 weeks, Elemental Box every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.
| Parameter | Powder Toy | Elemental Box |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.1 (345 ratings) | 4.2 (63 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.1% of reviews | 72.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 345 — better | 63 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 5.1.1 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marcin Chojnacki | DAN-BALL |
Customer experience
Powder Toy
Elemental Box
In-app purchases
Powder Toy
No in-app purchases
Elemental Box
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Powder Toy free?
Is Elemental Box free?
Which has better reviews, Powder Toy or Elemental Box?
Do Powder Toy or Elemental Box have ads?
Which is updated more often, Powder Toy or Elemental Box?
Other comparisons
