Comparison

Barrel River vs Ruby Run

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

Head to head
About

Barrel River

Navigate a dangerous river in a barrel, dodging obstacles and collecting gold coins. Compete with friends for the highest score in this action-packed game.

Highlights
  • Navigate a barrel down a river
  • Avoid rocks and jumping fish
  • Collect gold coins
  • Compete for high scores
  • Action-packed gameplay
Features
Read full description

Flow down the brutal water of the mighty barrel river with nothing but your wits and a rickety old barrel to guide you! Barrel river is a fun filled action game where you must flow down the river avoiding rocks and deadly jumping fish. As an added bonus, King Midas has touched the river with his magical golden touch, and his gold coins can be found on the river as well. Collect coins and try to stay alive on this deadly river. Your score is determined by how far you make it and how many coins you have collected. Compete with friends for the top score! **Special Credit** The music for Barrel River came from Kevin MacLeod at incompetech. Search for him online, he's got some awesome tracks!

About

Ruby Run

Read full description

Ruby Run is a challenging platformer not for the faint hearted. Explore and survive all the obstacles and traps as you collect various gemstones. Amethyst crystal spike traps hang from the walls and ceilings. Some may even shoot out at you. Large molten rocks can be in your path. Metal blocks can come at you at a fast distance and possibly even come from behind you. You can even run into dead end walls. Your Ruby moves on its own. Tap on-screen to make the Ruby jump. Tap on-screen twice for a double jump. If you fall or bounce off the ground, the double jump resets and you can recast again. Getting hit by any obstacle results in instant game over. The timing of your double jumps are very essential to survival. Gemstones that you can collect include: Topaz, Amethyst, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby and Diamond. Each stone type gives a different amount of points. Topaz = 1 point. Amethyst = 2 points. Sapphire = 3 points. Emerald = 5 points. Ruby = 10 points. Diamond = 25 points. Whether its challenging, fun or pure frustration - Ruby Run will keep you addicted as you try to beat your own gem score. Contains ads. No In app purchases.

Screenshots

Barrel River3 screens
Ruby Run4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ruby Run at none against Barrel River's 1. Ruby Run also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Barrel River sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ruby Run asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Barrel River ships an update every 15 months, Ruby Run every 28 months. The most recent releases landed on June 7, 2026 and September 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Barrel River versus Ruby Run: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBarrel RiverRuby Run
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 15 months — betterEvery 28 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB39 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperBrandon SteckleinZen Pixel Studios Pty Ltd

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Barrel River

One-time1
  • Advertising Removal$1.99
None

Ruby Run

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Barrel River free?
Barrel River is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ruby Run free?
Ruby Run is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Barrel River or Ruby Run have ads?
Both Barrel River and Ruby Run show ads.
Which is updated more often, Barrel River or Ruby Run?
Barrel River ships an update every 15 months, and Ruby Run every 28 months. Most recently, Barrel River was updated on June 7, 2026 and Ruby Run on September 6, 2026.

Other comparisons