# Tasty Tale vs Cupcake Mania™

The clearest difference is rating: Tasty Tale at 4.7 against Cupcake Mania™'s 4.3. Tasty Tale also leads on ratings volume (4.6K vs 1.5K). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Tasty Tale sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Cupcake Mania™ sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Tasty Tale holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.6K and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of Tasty Tale's written reviews are positive against 77% of Cupcake Mania™'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Tasty Tale ships an update every 3 months, Cupcake Mania™ every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Tasty Tale | Cupcake Mania™ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (4.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tasty-tale/id841415461/reviews)** | [4.3 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cupcake-mania/id867833019/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.6K** | 1.5K |
| Positive reviews | 73.7% of reviews | **76.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 106 MB | 197 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sublinet](https://appshunter.io/developer/617493009) | [Storm8 Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/967465771) |

## What reviewers say

### Tasty Tale

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tasty-tale/id841415461)

Embark on a culinary adventure combining match-3 puzzles with cooking. Prepare and serve delicious dishes from hundreds of recipes across diverse global locations. Compete with friends and overcome challenging levels in this engaging puzzle game.

**Highlights:** Match-3 ingredient puzzles, Over 1000 challenging levels, Global restaurant settings, Hundreds of recipes, Compete with friends on leaderboards, Unlock Super Ingredients and boosters, Daily rewards from fortune wheel

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 10 bucks | $0.99 | one-time |
| 20 bucks | $1.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| 50 bucks | $4.99 | one-time |
| 100 bucks | $9.99 | one-time |
| 200 bucks | $19.99 | one-time |
| 500 bucks | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Enjoyable game
- 🎨 Lovely graphics
- ⏱️ Good time-passer
- 🧠 Challenging but not too difficult

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Lack of written recipe information
- 🤖 Irrelevant hazards (bombs)
- 🔊 Repetitive background music
- 💰 Progression blocked without purchases
- 📢 Intrusive ads

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezes and crashes
- Progress not saving properly
- Linking to Facebook causes reset
- Levels not loading correctly

**Requested features**

- Add written recipe details
- Remove unnecessary hazards
- Provide more background music variety
- Improve progression without requiring purchases
- Reduce ad frequency and interruptions


### Cupcake Mania™

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cupcake-mania/id867833019)

Embark on a sweet puzzle adventure matching delicious pastries to win. Fend off a hungry bear and use powerful boosts to conquer over 500 levels. Compete with friends for the highest score in this free-to-play game.

**Highlights:** Match and collect pastries, Over 500 levels, Fend off Bruno the Bear, Earn potent boosts, Create big matches for bonuses, Challenge Facebook friends

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 22 Gems | $0.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| 120 Gems | $2.99 | one-time |
| 120 Gems | $3.99 | one-time |
| 120 Gems | $4.99 | one-time |
| Variety Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| 250 Gems | $5.99 | one-time |
| 250 Gems | $9.99 | one-time |
| 530 Gems | $19.99 | one-time |
| 1400 Gems | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎢 Exciting gameplay
- 🎨 Visually appealing
- ⏱️ Enjoyable time-passer
- 💪 Challenging levels
- 🕹️ Old-school fun

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 📺 Excessive ads and intrusive pop-ups
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔄 Lack of progress sync and game resets
- 🔍 Difficult to earn rewards and gems

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashing after winning a level
- Screen orientation issues on newer devices
- Rewards not being awarded properly
- Levels becoming unbeatable due to glitches
- Saved progress not loading correctly

**Requested features**

- More frequent level updates
- Ability to reset progress and start over
- Better reward system and more free lives
- Improved ad experience and optional ad-free version
- Syncing progress across devices


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Tasty Tale free?

Tasty Tale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Cupcake Mania™ free?

Cupcake Mania™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Tasty Tale or Cupcake Mania™?

Tasty Tale is rated higher. Tasty Tale averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.6K ratings, while Cupcake Mania™ averages 4.3 from 1.5K ratings.

### Do Tasty Tale or Cupcake Mania™ have ads?

Both Tasty Tale and Cupcake Mania™ show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Tasty Tale or Cupcake Mania™?

Tasty Tale ships an update every 3 months, and Cupcake Mania™ every 2 months. Most recently, Tasty Tale was updated on November 1, 2026 and Cupcake Mania™ on November 1, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*