# Devil Shard vs Vampire Survivors

The clearest difference is price: Vampire Survivors at Free against Devil Shard's $1.99. Vampire Survivors also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (5.1K vs 45). Devil Shard's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 70%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Vampire Survivors is free to download; Devil Shard costs $1.99 up front. Devil Shard sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Vampire Survivors sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Vampire Survivors holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vampire Survivors has 5.1K ratings behind it against 45, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Devil Shard's written reviews are positive against 70% of Vampire Survivors's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Devil Shard ships an update every 7 months, Vampire Survivors every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Devil Shard | Vampire Survivors |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.4 (45 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/devil-shard/id869735685/reviews) | **[4.6 (5.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vampire-survivors/id6444525702/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 45 | **5.1K** |
| Positive reviews | **83.7% of reviews** | 70.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#189** |
| Size | 47 MB | 996 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [GUAN LING WU](https://appshunter.io/developer/517689895) | [Poncle](https://appshunter.io/developer/1655125278) |

## What reviewers say

### Devil Shard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/devil-shard/id869735685)

Embark on a retro-style match-3 RPG adventure to stop a war and face a great evil. Plan strategic combos, unlock powerful allies, and collect diverse equipment. Conquer numerous enemies and stages to uncover the truth and achieve a true ending.

**Highlights:** Match-3 puzzle with RPG elements, Strategic tile swapping for combos, Unlock and summon 9 incarnations, Collect and upgrade 32 equipment, Battle 37 different enemies, Complete 8 story stages and a hidden stage

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1000G | $0.99 | one-time |
| 2500G | $1.99 | one-time |
| 7500G | $4.99 | one-time |
| 17500G | $9.99 | one-time |
| 40000G | $19.99 | one-time |
| 75000G | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Addictive and engaging gameplay mechanics
- 🎨 Beautiful retro pixel art style
- 🎵 Great music and audio design
- ⚡ Simple yet challenging match-3 combat system
- 📱 Perfect for quick gaming sessions

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⚙️ Excessive grinding required for progression
- 💀 Harsh death penalty resets all character progress
- 💰 Pay-to-win mechanics and aggressive monetization
- 🎲 Heavy reliance on RNG and luck
- 😤 Unfair difficulty spikes in later dungeons

**Reported bugs**

- Item selection scroll problem on iPhone 6s Plus (items display in middle of screen)
- Unable to equip, melt, or forge items on certain devices
- In-app purchase functionality broken
- Character equipment not persisting correctly
- No undo option for melted items

**Requested features**

- Swipeable match-3 controls (standard for genre)
- More customization options for character progression
- Persistent progress or checkpoints upon death
- Better equipment distribution and tile spawning
- Reduced grinding requirements


### Vampire Survivors

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vampire-survivors/id6444525702)

**Currently charting:** #189 Top Free · Action (US App Store)

Survive endless waves of monsters in this roguelike survival RPG. Mow down thousands of enemies, gather gold for upgrades, and become a powerful warrior. Explore diverse stages and choose your weapons to become the last survivor.

**Highlights:** Minimalistic gameplay, Bullet hell survival, Gold collection for upgrades, Hundreds of monsters, Weapon and skill upgrades, Couch co-op mode

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Emerald Diorama | Free | one-time |
| Legacy of the Bloodmoon | $0.99 | one-time |
| Legacy of the Moonspell | $0.99 | one-time |
| Tides of the Foscari | $1.79 | one-time |
| Emergency Meeting | $2.49 | one-time |
| Operation Guns | $2.49 | one-time |
| Ode to Castlevania | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Faithful port of PC version
- 👍 No intrusive ads, only optional ones
- 👍 Great value, tons of content for free
- 🚀 Smooth performance, handles late-game well
- 👍 Retro pixel art style with charm

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and progress loss when switching apps
- 🐛 Occasional freezing and performance issues
- 🔋 No suspend/resume feature, runs reset when app is closed

**Reported bugs**

- Merchant UI not working properly
- Certain level mechanics (Infernas) causing soft-locks
- Movement and controls sometimes unresponsive

**Requested features**

- Add suspend/resume functionality to save progress
- Implement cross-save between devices
- Add controller support for better controls


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Devil Shard free?

Devil Shard costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Vampire Survivors free?

Vampire Survivors is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Devil Shard or Vampire Survivors?

Vampire Survivors is rated higher. Devil Shard averages 4.4 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while Vampire Survivors averages 4.6 from 5.1K ratings.

### Do Devil Shard or Vampire Survivors have ads?

Neither Devil Shard nor Vampire Survivors shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Devil Shard or Vampire Survivors?

Devil Shard ships an update every 7 months, and Vampire Survivors every 3 weeks. Most recently, Devil Shard was updated on September 25, 2026 and Vampire Survivors on September 28, 2026.

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