Comparison

Threes! vs Nebula Merge

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

Head to head
About

Threes!

A captivating number-sliding puzzle game that offers an endless challenge. Swipe to combine matching numbers, grow your score, and discover adorable characters. This is a complete, buy-once experience with no in-app purchases or ads.

Highlights
  • Number sliding puzzle gameplay
  • Endless challenge
  • Adorable characters
  • Heart-warming soundtrack
  • No in-app purchases
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

Threes is tiny puzzle that grows on you. This is the buy-once-play-forever version. ³ Apple Game of the Year 2014!! ³ Apple Design Award 2014 Winner ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ “You might as well delete Candy Crush Saga now.” ~ Pocket Gamer “It's surprisingly adorable, for a game starring numbers.” ~ Joystiq “It’s the kind of game that embosses the rules on your brain within 30 seconds, but then compels you to spend the next two hours playing.” ~ Pocket Tactics ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Explore our little game’s deep challenge and grow your mind beyond imagination. Optimized for iOS8 and human brains. Universal app for iPhone and iPads. ³ Endless challenge from one simple game mode ³ An endearing cast of characters ³ A heart-warming soundtrack ³ No IAP - Threes is a complete experience the moment you download it Honorably mentioned for Excellence in Design by the Independent Games Festival. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ From the makers of PUZZLEJUICE: ³ Designed by Asher Vollmer ³ Illustrated by Greg Wohlwend (Ridiculous Fishing, Hundreds) ³ Scored by Jimmy Hinson (Black Ops 2, Mass Effect 2) ³ Optimized by Hidden Variable (Bag It!, Tic Tactics) ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Threes grows with you and you’ll grow with Threes.

About

Nebula Merge

Drop celestial bodies into a cosmic well, merging matching tiers to ascend. Fuse various cosmic objects to reach an Eternal Nebula, using comets and void shards to your advantage. Earn in-game currency for permanent upgrades and compete in daily challenges.

Highlights
  • Celestial body merging
  • Permanent upgrades
  • Daily, weekly, monthly challenges
  • Prestige system for bonuses
  • Leaderboard competition
  • Offline play
Read full description

Drop celestial bodies into a cosmic well. Matching tiers merge, the pile rises, and one slip past the danger line ends the run. Fuse Stardust into Asteroids, Moons, Planets, Stars, and beyond — all the way to an Eternal Nebula. Comets promote whatever they touch. Void Shards erase a body for score. Earn Stardust, buy permanent upgrades, collect every body, and chase daily, weekly, and monthly challenges. Prestige to keep a forever Stardust bonus. Climb the Game Center leaderboard — beat the record and a Record Breaker jackpot drops. Cosmic Pass removes ads and always doubles end-of-run Stardust. Stardust packs are optional. Portrait. Offline. No account required.

Screenshots

Threes!4 screens
Nebula Merge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Nebula Merge at Free against Threes!'s $5.99. Nebula Merge also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). Threes!'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown).

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

Nebula Merge is free to download; Threes! costs $5.99 up front. Nebula Merge sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Threes! asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nebula Merge holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Threes! has 3K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Threes!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Nebula Merge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Threes! ships an update every 3 weeks, Nebula Merge daily. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard11 real differences · 0 level
Threes! versus Nebula Merge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThrees!Nebula Merge
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (3K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#28 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSirvo LLCTYLER JOSEPH RUBINO

Customer experience

Threes!

All ratings2,994 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral7.2%
Negative21.4%
Written reviews931 reviews
Positive79.4%
Neutral7.3%
Negative13.3%

Nebula Merge

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Threes!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on launch for some users
  • Unresponsive controls and swipe detection issues
  • Syncing problems with Game Center

Requested features

4 requests
  • Undo/redo functionality
  • Customizable difficulty levels
  • Ability to save/load game progress
  • Leaderboards and achievements

Nebula Merge

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Threes!

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Nebula Merge

One-time6
  • Pocket Dust$0.99
  • Cosmic Pass$4.99
  • Comet Cluster$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Star Cache$9.99
  • Nebula Vault$19.99
  • Cosmic Treasury$39.99

Questions

Is Threes! free?
Threes! costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nebula Merge free?
Nebula Merge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Threes! or Nebula Merge?
Nebula Merge is rated higher. Threes! averages 4.0 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while Nebula Merge averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Threes! or Nebula Merge have ads?
Nebula Merge shows ads; Threes! does not.
Which is updated more often, Threes! or Nebula Merge?
Threes! ships an update every 3 weeks, and Nebula Merge daily. Most recently, Threes! was updated on October 21, 2026 and Nebula Merge on October 17, 2026.

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