Comparison

Surgeon Simulator vs Goat Simulator PAYDAY

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

Head to head
About

Surgeon Simulator

Take on the role of a surgeon with shaky hands and attempt to save a patient through a series of increasingly absurd surgical procedures. Experience hilarious failures and unexpected outcomes as you operate.

Highlights
  • Perform absurd surgeries
  • Alien autopsy transplants
  • Heart and kidney transplants
  • Teeth and eyes transplants
  • Operate in hospital corridors
  • New control system
  • Unlock achievements
  • Multiplayer mode
Features
Read full description

You are the surgeon. Bob is the victim. Do your worst! More difficult than real surgery! Can you rise to the challenge? Take urgent care of the world's unluckiest patient, Bob, with your very own shaky hands. As the would-be surgeon Nigel Burke, perform all kinds of crazy surgeries to try to save his life -- or fail hilariously in the process while poor Bob... Well, dies. Join the ranks of more than three million players who butchered Bob for the amusement of 250 million people who watched the failed surgeries on YouTube, now from the comfort of your awesome iPhone / iPad, anytime, anywhere. Hospitals don't get any better than this, really. - Over 3 Million units sold Worldwide! - No. 1 Paid App on App Store Charts - March 2017 - BAFTA 2014 Nominee: Strategy and Simulation - Mobile Entertainment Awards 2014: Best Design - Develop 2013 Awards Nominee: Best New IP "Some of the most fun you can have screwing up" - IGN "The world's hardest game" - redbull.com "Bob! Booooob! Don't die on me, Bob!" - PewDiePie "Where's the %$£%$@£ heart?!? It's gone! It's on the floor now, and I don't think the 5 seconds rule apply, dude!" - RoosterTeeth "Shhhhh. I Doctor Now." - Anonymous meme creator. Awesome work, mate! You should have signed it, though... In this spiffy version of the classic game, you'll find: - Six Alien Autopsy transplants, featuring organs you’ve never heard of (and will barely be able to pronounce); - The trusty Heart and Double-Kidney transplants; - Two new surgeries: Give Bob a smile with Teeth transplant, and a great look with Eyes transplant; - Feeling lucky? Abandon the Operation Theatre and try your hand on a moving trolley in the hospital corridors; - Brand-new control system: gone is Nigel's left arm, in are your nimble fingers; - More than 50 new achievements to unlock and prove you rule; - Tons more we won't tell you so we don't spoil the surprise; - Multiplayer. Show your friends who's the boss. It's a good day to save lives.

About

Goat Simulator PAYDAY

Experience the most realistic goat simulation with a criminal twist. Assemble a crew of unique characters for smash-and-grab heists, spend your ill-gotten gains on masks, and evade the police by stealing vehicles. Unlock new abilities and mutators for endless chaotic fun.

Highlights
  • Four new main goat characters with unique abilities
  • Perform smash & grab heists using PRANKNET
  • Spend stolen cash on masks for disguise and style
  • Steal and drive other people's cars
  • Unlock 14 new mutators
Features
Read full description

Goat Simulator: Payday is the most criminally realistic goat simulation yet! Starring 4 new main thugs - A flying flamingo, a wheelchairing dolphin, a spitting camel and a goat that’s just really handsome. Use PRANKNET © to find your new crew some smash & grab heists, then blast away your stolen cash on different things. Mostly masks. Okay only masks. Dodge the police by stealing and driving other people’s cars, because it’s too expensive to buy your own. KEY FEATURES * FOUR AWESOME NEW MAIN GOATS, seriously these guys are like they’re from an Al Pancake movie. * One can fly and control people's brains, another can climb any surface with a wheelchair and a third can spit water that it stores in it’s back. Disgusting. * PRANKNET - a database filled with stupid “jobs” for your crew to do. But who cares. They pay well. * Buy masks to disguise your identity so that the police won’t catch you. Or just to look cool. * There are like 14 new mutators to unlock. I’m not even kidding. So many. * Did I say that you can steal and drive cars?

Screenshots

Surgeon Simulator4 screens
Goat Simulator PAYDAY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Goat Simulator PAYDAY at 4.4 against Surgeon Simulator's 3.9. Goat Simulator PAYDAY also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 56%). Surgeon Simulator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and price ($4.99 vs $7.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and device support 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

Surgeon Simulator costs $4.99 and Goat Simulator PAYDAY $7.99 up front. Goat Simulator PAYDAY sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Surgeon Simulator asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Goat Simulator PAYDAY holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 2.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Surgeon Simulator's written reviews are positive against 77% of Goat Simulator PAYDAY's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surgeon Simulator ships an update every 3 months, Goat Simulator PAYDAY every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 21, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Surgeon Simulator versus Goat Simulator PAYDAY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurgeon SimulatorGoat Simulator PAYDAY
Price$4.99 — better$7.99
Rating3.9 (1.1K ratings)4.4 (2.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.0% of reviews77.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.1K2.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#77 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size491 MB717 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperInfogrames LLCCoffee Stain Publishing

Customer experience

Surgeon Simulator

All ratings1,067 ratings
Positive69.8%
Neutral5.8%
Negative24.4%
Written reviews825 reviews
Positive56.0%
Neutral9.7%
Negative34.3%

Goat Simulator PAYDAY

All ratings2,434 ratings
Positive85.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.9%
Written reviews441 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral7.5%
Negative15.4%

User reviews

Surgeon Simulator

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤌 Fun and entertaining
  • 👍 Good graphics
  • 🚀 Challenging gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🤯 Frustrating controls
  • 🤔 Limited number of levels

Goat Simulator PAYDAY

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Amazing, funny, and hilarious game
  • 👍 Great for kids, teens, and adults
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay and controls
  • 💯 Excellent value for money

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • 🔁 Repetitive missions and content
  • 🔄 Teleportation issues when switching characters
  • 🚗 Buggy vehicle physics and controls

Bugs and requests

Surgeon Simulator

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game crashes on certain levels
  • Controls are unresponsive at times
  • Achievements reset when exiting the game

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more surgery types (brain, ambulance, TF2)
  • Improve controls and camera movement
  • Add difficulty settings
  • Fix achievement reset issue

Goat Simulator PAYDAY

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Disappearing/glitching items and objects
  • Inconsistent save data and progress loss
  • Compatibility issues on older devices
  • Freezing and performance problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more goat types and customization options
  • Expand the map and add new locations to explore
  • Implement local multiplayer co-op
  • Add holiday-themed content and events
  • Improve police AI and chases

In-app purchases

None

Surgeon Simulator

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Goat Simulator PAYDAY

One-time4
  • Classics Pack$1.99
  • Fantasy Pack$1.99
  • Zombie Pack$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Space Pack$1.99

Questions

Is Surgeon Simulator free?
Surgeon Simulator costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Goat Simulator PAYDAY free?
Goat Simulator PAYDAY costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surgeon Simulator or Goat Simulator PAYDAY?
Goat Simulator PAYDAY is rated higher. Surgeon Simulator averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Goat Simulator PAYDAY averages 4.4 from 2.4K ratings.
Do Surgeon Simulator or Goat Simulator PAYDAY have ads?
Neither Surgeon Simulator nor Goat Simulator PAYDAY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Surgeon Simulator or Goat Simulator PAYDAY?
Surgeon Simulator ships an update every 3 months, and Goat Simulator PAYDAY every 2 months. Most recently, Surgeon Simulator was updated on October 21, 2026 and Goat Simulator PAYDAY on October 21, 2026.

Other comparisons