# Cupcake Mania™ vs Dropping Birds

The clearest difference is rating: Dropping Birds at 5.0 against Cupcake Mania™'s 4.3. Dropping Birds also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Cupcake Mania™'s advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Cupcake Mania™ sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Dropping Birds asks for nothing beyond the download.

Dropping Birds holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cupcake Mania™ has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Cupcake Mania™ ships an update every 2 months, Dropping Birds weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cupcake Mania™ | Dropping Birds |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cupcake-mania/id867833019/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dropping-birds/id6782104306/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 54.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 197 MB | 116 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Storm8 Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/967465771) | [GARY SMITH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1861501262) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Dropping Birds

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dropping-birds/id6782104306)

A cozy physics-based puzzle game where you drop birds to merge them into higher-level birds. It's easy to learn but offers addictive gameplay with adorable characters.

**Highlights:** Physics-based gameplay, Bird merging mechanics, Adorable bird characters, Cozy puzzle experience, Easy to learn

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cupcake Mania™ free?

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

### Is Dropping Birds free?

Dropping Birds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Cupcake Mania™ or Dropping Birds?

Dropping Birds is rated higher. Cupcake Mania™ averages 4.3 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Dropping Birds averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Cupcake Mania™ or Dropping Birds have ads?

Both Cupcake Mania™ and Dropping Birds show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cupcake Mania™ or Dropping Birds?

Cupcake Mania™ ships an update every 2 months, and Dropping Birds weekly. Most recently, Cupcake Mania™ was updated on October 23, 2026 and Dropping Birds on October 7, 2026.

---

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