Comparison

Mini Metro vs Papers, Please

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

Papers, Please

Step into the shoes of a border inspector in a dystopian communist state. Examine documents, interrogate travelers, and decide who is allowed to enter. Your choices impact your family's survival and the fate of the nation.

Highlights
  • Dystopian border inspector simulation
  • Document examination and verification
  • Interrogation and decision-making
  • Multiple endings based on choices
  • Unlockable multitouch support
  • Game Center achievements and leaderboards
Features
Read full description

A dystopian document thriller. The award-winning, critically-acclaimed border inspector game. ______________________________________ "Congratulations." "The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled." "For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint." "An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling." "Glory to Arstotzka." ______________________________________ Awards ◉ Best Game of 2013 - The New Yorker ◉ Best Game of 2013 - Wired Magazine ◉ Top Indie Game 2013 - Forbes Magazine ◉ Best Strategy & Simulation Game 2014 - BAFTA ◉ Grand Prize Winner 2014 - Independent Games Festival ◉ Excellence in Design Winner - IGF 2014 ◉ Excellence in Narrative Winner - IGF 2014 ◉ GameCity Prize Winner 2014 - GameCity ◉ Cultural Innovation Award 2013 - SXSW ◉ Best PC Game 2014 - LARA Game Awards ◉ Innovation Award - GDCA 2014 ◉ Most Innovative 2014 - Games For Change ◉ Best Gameplay 2014 - Games For Change ◉ Best Game of 2013 - Ars Technica ◉ Best Game of 2013 - PC World ◉ Best PC Game of 2013 - Destructoid ◉ Best Story of 2013 - Destructoid ... and more ______________________________________ Story The communist state of Arstotzka has just ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin. Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Using only the documents provided by travelers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested. ______________________________________ Features Includes the complete original game with all 31 days and 20 endings. Also adds unlockable multitouch support for faster paperwork, an enhanced inspection mode, Game Center achievements, leaderboards, mid-day resume, and more. ______________________________________ Warning This game contains mature themes, non-photographic nudity, and brief moments of pixelated violence.

Screenshots

Mini Metro4 screens
Papers, Please4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Papers, Please at weekly against Mini Metro's every 2 months. Papers, Please also leads on chart position (#4 vs #20) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). Mini Metro's advantage is ratings volume (32K vs 1.2K) and review sentiment (89% vs 80%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Papers, Please $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Mini Metro against 4.7 for Papers, Please. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Metro has 32K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Mini Metro's written reviews are positive against 80% of Papers, Please's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, Papers, Please weekly. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Mini Metro versus Papers, Please: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMini MetroPapers, Please
Price$3.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.9 (32K ratings) — better4.7 (1.2K ratings)
Positive reviews88.8% of reviews — better79.6% of reviews
Number of ratings32K — better1.2K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#20#4 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB62 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDinosaur Polo Club3909

Customer experience

Mini Metro

All ratings31,792 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews1,509 reviews
Positive88.8%
Neutral4.5%
Negative6.7%

Papers, Please

All ratings1,202 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral3.7%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews997 reviews
Positive79.6%
Neutral7.5%
Negative12.8%

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

Papers, Please

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Mini Metro

No in-app purchases

None

Papers, Please

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mini Metro free?
Mini Metro costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Papers, Please free?
Papers, Please costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mini Metro or Papers, Please?
Mini Metro is rated higher. Mini Metro averages 4.9 out of 5 from 32K ratings, while Papers, Please averages 4.7 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Mini Metro or Papers, Please have ads?
Neither Mini Metro nor Papers, Please shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mini Metro or Papers, Please?
Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, and Papers, Please weekly. Most recently, Mini Metro was updated on October 22, 2026 and Papers, Please on October 22, 2026.
Which is more popular, Mini Metro or Papers, Please?
Mini Metro currently peaks at #20 in the App Store charts, and Papers, Please at #4. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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