Comparison

Mini Metro vs Synapse

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

Synapse

Features
Read full description

Something is walking down your neural pathways, and it is not a thought. Synapse TD is a tower defense game set inside a nervous system that has, frankly, stopped coping. Sixteen signal paths. Thirty waves. An assortment of luminous enemies advancing steadily toward the part of you that remembers where you put your keys. Deeper in the network lies The Cortex: sixteen more maps where three signals converge into one trunk or two routes cross, four creatures built to punish the habits the first maps taught you, and sixteen crystalline engrams to collect. Unlock it with one purchase, or earn it by clearing every Neural Path. You are the immune response. You have lasers. BUILD A DEFENSE Eleven towers, from a modest green laser up to things that should probably require paperwork. Place them along the signal path, watch the firing arcs overlap, and feel briefly competent. Every tower earns its keep differently - some chip away steadily, some panic in short violent bursts, one is just there to slow things down and think about its choices. THE BANK IS THE REAL GAME Unspent cash earns interest between waves. Which means the strongest opening is often to build almost nothing and let your money sit there thinking about itself - sophisticated economic strategy, or an elaborate way to lose on wave eleven. Both outcomes are available, and only one of them feels good in the moment. REWIRE BETWEEN WAVES Clear a bonus wave and the game offers you a permanent choice: more damage, more range, more interest, or five lives right now, no questions. Pick one. It holds for the rest of the run. Neuroplasticity, in the sense that your brain is now permanently different and there is no undo button. Exactly like the real thing. WHAT IT DOESN'T DO No energy meter. No daily streak quietly conditioning you like laboratory equipment. No timer between waves - think as long as you like, the enemies are patient, being conceptual. No forced tutorials once you know what a tower is. One hand, one thumb, portrait. Open it, think, close it. Thirty waves. Eleven towers. One increasingly concerned nervous system.

Screenshots

Mini Metro4 screens
Synapse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Synapse at Free against Mini Metro's $3.99. Synapse also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). Mini Metro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

Synapse is free to download; Mini Metro costs $3.99 up front. Synapse sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Mini Metro asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, Synapse every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Mini Metro versus Synapse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMini MetroSynapse
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (31K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings31K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size179 MB228 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDinosaur Polo ClubDisquiet Studio

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

Synapse

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Mini Metro

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Synapse

One-time2
  • Unlock All Maps$9.99
  • Unlock The Cortex$9.99

Questions

Is Mini Metro free?
Mini Metro costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Synapse free?
Synapse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mini Metro or Synapse have ads?
Synapse shows ads; Mini Metro does not.
Which is updated more often, Mini Metro or Synapse?
Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, and Synapse every 3 days. Most recently, Mini Metro was updated on October 20, 2026 and Synapse on October 3, 2026.

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