Comparison

Mini Metro vs Shapez

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

Shapez

Build automated factories to produce increasingly complex geometric shapes. Experiment with tools to design your factory, extract and mix colors, and scale production on an infinite map. Enjoy a relaxed, minimalist experience with a soothing soundtrack.

Highlights
  • Automated shape production
  • Complex shape creation
  • Color extraction and mixing
  • Infinite map exploration
  • Factory optimization
  • Minimalist art style
Features
Read full description

*Try Shapez up to level 7 for free or unlock the full game for more tools, more shapes and more challenges!* Do you like automation games? Then you are in the right place! shapez is a relaxed game in which you have to build factories for the automated production of geometric shapes. As the level increases, the shapes become more and more complex, and you have to spread out on the infinite map. And as if that wasn't enough, you also have to produce exponentially more to satisfy the demands - the only thing that helps is scaling! While you only have to process shapes at the beginning, you will later have to color them - by extracting and mixing colors! FEATURES - Create a unique and complex abstract shapes factory in a satisfying way. - Unlock new devices, upgrade them, and optimize your factory by experimenting with diverse tools. - Develop your system the way you want: each problem can have many solutions. - Enjoy an elegant, minimalist and readable art direction. - Go at your own pace with an approachable gameplay and a soothing soundtrack. CAREFULLY REDESIGNED FOR MOBILE - Revamped interface - Game Center achievements - iCloud - Share your progress between iOS devices If you run into a problem, please contact us at https://playdigious.helpshift.com/hc/en/12-playdigious/ with as much information as possible on the issue.

Screenshots

Mini Metro4 screens
Shapez4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Shapez at Free against Mini Metro's $3.99. Mini Metro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (89% vs 54%). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Shapez is free to download; Mini Metro costs $3.99 up front. Shapez sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Mini Metro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mini Metro holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Metro has 32K ratings behind it against 1.5K, 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 54% of Shapez's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, Shapez every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Mini Metro versus Shapez: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMini MetroShapez
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (32K ratings) — better4.5 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews88.8% of reviews — better53.9% of reviews
Number of ratings32K — better1.5K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#23 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB240 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDinosaur Polo ClubPlaydigious

Customer experience

Mini Metro

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

Shapez

All ratings1,451 ratings
Positive88.0%
Neutral4.1%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews612 reviews
Positive53.9%
Neutral14.2%
Negative31.9%

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

Shapez

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Great mobile adaptation
  • 💡 Relaxing factory building
  • 🚀 Satisfying automation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
  • 🔒 Requires internet connection to play
  • 🔒 Can't use existing PC purchases
  • 👎 Clunky controls and UI

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

Shapez

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Save data corruption and loss of progress
  • Conveyor belt orientation issues
  • Inconsistent performance and frame rate drops
  • Placement and selection bugs

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to sync progress across devices
  • More game modes and customization options
  • Improved blueprint management
  • Faster time acceleration

In-app purchases

None

Mini Metro

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Shapez

One-time1
  • Unlock Full Game$6.99

Questions

Is Mini Metro free?
Mini Metro costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shapez free?
Shapez is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mini Metro or Shapez?
Mini Metro is rated higher. Mini Metro averages 4.9 out of 5 from 32K ratings, while Shapez averages 4.5 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Mini Metro or Shapez have ads?
Neither Mini Metro nor Shapez shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mini Metro or Shapez?
Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, and Shapez every 5 weeks. Most recently, Mini Metro was updated on November 4, 2026 and Shapez on November 3, 2026.

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