# Hoplite vs Pathways

The clearest difference is price: Pathways at Free against Hoplite's $3.99. Hoplite's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and ratings volume (787 vs 26). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Pathways is free to download; Hoplite costs $3.99 up front. Pathways sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Hoplite asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Hoplite against 4.8 for Pathways. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hoplite has 787 ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 91% and 90% positive.

Hoplite ships an update every 3 months, Pathways every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and July 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hoplite | Pathways |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $3.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.7 (787 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hoplite/id782438457/reviews) | **[4.8 (26 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pathways-spatial-logic-puzzle/id6754125972/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **787** | 26 |
| Positive reviews | **90.8% of reviews** | 90.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Freemium** |
| Size | 39 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 14.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Douglas Cowley](https://appshunter.io/developer/782438460) | [William Arbuckle](https://appshunter.io/developer/1846740693) |

## What reviewers say

### Hoplite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hoplite/id782438457)

Engage in challenging turn-based tactical combat on small maps. Strategize your moves carefully to overcome procedurally generated levels and unlock upgrades. Compete with friends on leaderboards and test your skills in daily challenges.

**Highlights:** Turn-based tactical movement, Procedurally generated levels, Quest mode with upgrades, Challenge mode with daily challenges, Leaderboard rankings, Hard but fair gameplay

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple yet deep gameplay
- 👍 Addictive and challenging
- 🕹️ Elegant and intuitive controls
- 💎 Excellent value for money
- 🔍 Surprising depth and strategy

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or compatibility issues
- 🔧 Lack of landscape mode support
- 🔊 Mutes music/podcast playback
- 🕹️ Accidental moves due to controls

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes on launch with certain OS versions
- Agility upgrade not functioning properly

**Requested features**

- More game modes or levels
- Customization options for the character
- Landscape mode support
- Ability to start at higher levels


### Pathways

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pathways-spatial-logic-puzzle/id6754125972)

A minimalist logic puzzle game where players guide a dot to its home space by drawing colored paths. It offers increasing difficulty levels and daily challenges, with an option for advanced features like custom level creation.

**Highlights:** Draw colored paths to guide a dot, Solve spatial reasoning puzzles, Progress through increasing grid sizes, Daily timed puzzles with score sharing, Create and share custom levels, No ads, playable offline

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Support Developpment | $0.99 | one-time |
| Support Developpment | $1.99 | one-time |
| Support Developpment | $4.99 | one-time |
| Pathways PRO | $7.99 | one-time |
| Support Developpment | $7.99 | one-time |
| Support Developpment | $9.99 | one-time |
| Support Developpment | $14.99 | one-time |
| Support Developpment | $19.99 | one-time |
| Support Developpment | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hoplite free?

Hoplite costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Pathways free?

Pathways is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Hoplite or Pathways?

Pathways is rated higher. Hoplite averages 4.7 out of 5 from 787 ratings, while Pathways averages 4.8 from 26 ratings.

### Do Hoplite or Pathways have ads?

Neither Hoplite nor Pathways shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hoplite or Pathways?

Hoplite ships an update every 3 months, and Pathways every 2 months. Most recently, Hoplite was updated on September 26, 2026 and Pathways on July 16, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*