Comparison

Mini Metro vs Pocket City

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

Head to head
About

Mini Metro

Design and manage a subway system for a growing city. Draw lines, start trains, and adapt your network as new stations open. Strategically use limited resources to keep the city moving and achieve the highest score.

Highlights
  • Design subway maps
  • Draw lines between stations
  • Manage train routes
  • Adapt to random city growth
  • Utilize limited resources
  • Over two dozen real-world cities
  • Variety of upgrades
Features
Read full description

Mini Metro, the sublime subway simulator, now on iPhone and iPad. • Included in the App Store Best of 2016 • Mac Game of the Year in over 30 countries • BAFTA-nominated • IGF award-winning • IGN Mobile Game of the Year nominee • Included in Gamespot's Best Mobile Games of 2016 Mini Metro is a game about designing a subway map for a growing city. Draw lines between stations and start your trains running. As new stations open, redraw your lines to keep them efficient. Decide where to use your limited resources. How long can you keep the city moving? • Random city growth means each game is unique. • Over two dozen of real-world cities to test your planning skills. • A variety of upgrades so you can tailor your network. • Normal mode for quick scored games, Endless to relax, or Extreme for the ultimate challenge. • Build your metro exactly how you want to with the Creative mode. • Compete against the world every day in the Daily Challenge. • Colorblind and night modes. • Responsive soundtrack created by your metro system, engineered by Disasterpeace. "If you love the city-planning aspect of Sim City but can't handle the pressure of playing god, then you may have just found your new favorite time-waster." - Ashley Feinberg, Gizmodo "Take my word for it that a game about mass-transit system design can be a tense, white-knuckle thriller." - Owen Faraday, Pocket Tactics "Mini Metro: fun game simulates planning and running public transit system." - Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing

About

Pocket City

Become a mayor and construct your own thriving metropolis. Design residential, commercial, and industrial areas, add recreational spaces, and manage challenges like crime and disasters to see your city flourish.

Highlights
  • Build residential, commercial, and industrial zones
  • Create parks and recreation areas
  • Respond to crime and disasters
  • No microtransactions or wait times
  • Unlock content through gameplay
  • Classic city building simulation
Features
Read full description

Build your own city as the new mayor. Create residential, commercial, and industrial zones. Build parks and recreation spots. Respond to crime and disasters. Watch your city come alive! No microtransactions or long wait times! Everything is unlocked and rewarded through gameplay. Pocket City re-imagines classic city building simulation gameplay for iOS devices. Note: Landscape and portrait mode can be toggled in the settings menu during gameplay, or by tapping the icon at the top right of the start screen.

Screenshots

Mini Metro4 screens
Pocket City4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Mini Metro at 32K against Pocket City's 5.1K. Mini Metro also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 80%) and chart position (#17 vs #56). Pocket City's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). On rating, update cadence, ads and 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Mini Metro costs $3.99 and Pocket City $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mini Metro holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Metro has 32K ratings behind it against 5.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Mini Metro's written reviews are positive against 80% of Pocket City's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, Pocket City monthly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Mini Metro versus Pocket City: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMini MetroPocket City
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.9 (32K ratings) — better4.7 (5.1K ratings)
Positive reviews88.8% of reviews — better79.9% of reviews
Number of ratings32K — better5.1K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#17 — better#56
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB64 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperDinosaur Polo ClubCodebrew Games Inc.

Customer experience

Mini Metro

All ratings31,792 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews1,513 reviews
Positive88.8%
Neutral4.6%
Negative6.7%

Pocket City

All ratings5,118 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews773 reviews
Positive79.9%
Neutral10.7%
Negative9.3%

User reviews

Mini Metro

From 32K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple and relaxing gameplay
  • 🎨 Beautiful minimalist design
  • ⏱️ Addictive and time-killing
  • 🌐 Wide variety of cities to play
  • 💰 Good value for money

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Trains skipping stations
  • 🤯 Overwhelming difficulty at times
  • 🔍 Lack of clear instructions
  • 🔀 Difficulty removing/rerouting lines
  • 🕰️ No ability to save progress

Pocket City

From 5.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 No in-app purchases
  • 🚀 Fast building times
  • 🎨 Charming graphics
  • 🕹️ Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🔓 Offline playable

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Limited map size
  • 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔧 Lack of customization options

Bugs and requests

Mini Metro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Leaderboard issues with daily challenges
  • Crashes and compatibility problems on certain devices
  • Unexpected behavior when trains skip stations

Requested features

5 requests
  • Undo/redo functionality
  • Ability to create branching lines
  • More detailed statistics and analytics
  • Additional game modes (e.g. career, scenarios)
  • Integration with real-world transit data

Pocket City

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when placing buildings
  • Power plants not connecting to grid properly
  • Blurry textures on high-end devices
  • Difficulty navigating map when placing buildings

Requested features

6 requests
  • Larger map sizes
  • More building and upgrade options
  • Ability to rotate buildings
  • Day/night cycle and weather effects
  • Expanded transportation options (e.g. subways, trains)
Show 1 more
  • More disaster types and challenges

In-app purchases

None

Mini Metro

No in-app purchases

None

Pocket City

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mini Metro free?
Mini Metro costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pocket City free?
Pocket City costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mini Metro or Pocket City?
Mini Metro is rated higher. Mini Metro averages 4.9 out of 5 from 32K ratings, while Pocket City averages 4.7 from 5.1K ratings.
Do Mini Metro or Pocket City have ads?
Neither Mini Metro nor Pocket City shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mini Metro or Pocket City?
Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, and Pocket City monthly. Most recently, Mini Metro was updated on November 1, 2026 and Pocket City on November 1, 2026.
Which is more popular, Mini Metro or Pocket City?
Mini Metro currently peaks at #17 in the App Store charts, and Pocket City at #56. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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