Comparison

Star Realms vs Magic

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Star Realms

Engage in thrilling space combat with this popular deckbuilding game. Build your deck, outmaneuver opponents, and conquer the galaxy. Offers both single-player campaigns and multiplayer battles.

Highlights
  • Deckbuilding gameplay
  • Player vs Player combat
  • AI battles
  • Campaign mode
  • Online multiplayer
  • Pass and Play mode
Features
Read full description

Star Realms is a hugely popular space combat deckbuilding game. Download and play today to find out why Star Realms is the winner of SXSW 2014 Board Game of the Year, 7 Golden Geek Awards from BoardGameGeek, including Best Mobile Game, and 2 Dice Tower awards! Reviews: "My readers are going to have a seizure about how good Star Realms is." -Owen Faraday, pockettactics.com “Good on all levels, thumbs up!” -Tom Vasel, The Dice Tower “This game is superb! I think it’s a brilliant game. Beautiful artwork, second to none.” -Tim Norris, Grey Elephant Gaming “What can I say? Star Realms is excellent.” - Lenny, ISlaytheDragon.com “I desperately wanted to play again and again. It's just consistently fun every time.” -The Critical Boardgamer Star Realms combines addictive deck building game play with exciting Trading Card Game (TCG) style combat! Designed by Magic the Gathering Hall of Famers Darwin Kastle and Rob Dougherty (of the Ascension Deckbuilding Game), Star Realms provides tons of playability for free, and a one-time upgrade to be able play with your friends and more on any device. Free Version •Universal Application: Play on iPhone, iPod, iPad, iPad Mini, and Ipad Air. •Addictive Deckbuilding Game with Player VS Player Combat. •Tutorial teaches you to play in minutes. •Stunning visuals. •Play VS the AI. •6 mission campaign mode. Full Game Additional Features •Play the AI on 3 different difficulty settings. •9 additional campaign missions. •Battle friends face to face with Pass and Play. •Online play with global rankings. •Challenge a friend online.

About

Magic

Experience the original fantasy collectible card game digitally. Discover strategies, build unique decks, and battle friends worldwide. Offers a comprehensive tutorial for new players and various game modes for seasoned veterans.

Highlights
  • Digital collectible card game
  • Deck building and strategy
  • Online multiplayer battles
  • Tutorial for new players
  • Multiple game formats
  • Cosmetic customization
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the digital Multiverse! Magic: The Gathering is the original trading card game- and now you can download and start playing for free with your friends from anywhere! Magic: The Gathering Arena empowers you to discover your strategy, meet the planeswalkers, explore the multiverse, and battle friends around the world. Collect, build and master your unique deck that will become its own legend. Your battle is only the beginning; duel on stunning battlefields, and enjoy Arena’s game changing battle effects and immerse yourself in the game. Start playing for free, challenge your friends, unlock cards, and feel the magic of the original fantasy CCG! NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY Never played Magic before? No problem! Magic: The Gathering Arena’s tutorial system takes you through the playstyles so you can find your strategy and decide if you’re the type to overwhelm your opponent with brute strength, if subterfuge is more your style, or anything in between. Meet characters from around the multiverse and try out spells and artifacts that make learning to play the original fantasy collectible card game quick and fun. It’s never been easier to play Magic! Collect cards to build a deck that matches your personality, then master your strategy to battle friends and be part of the TCG that started them all. GAME ON(LINE) The original TCG is now digital! Explore the fantasy worlds of Magic: The Gathering Arena and build your deck, play a variety of game formats to collect cards, master multiple strategies, and hone your skills against friends or the AI. With multiple game formats like Draft and Brawl, 15 unlockable collectible decks, and explosive card combo effects: Your ideal Magic: The Gathering playstyle is at your fingertips! Show off eye-popping cosmetics like avatars, card sleeves, and pets and collect daily rewards to grow your collection and build powerful decks that reflect your personal strategy. CHALLENGE AND PLAY Duel your friends for glory or enter in-game tournaments for exciting prizes! With Draft and Brawl pairing, there is always someone to game with. Special in-game events offer exciting rewards, and with Esports qualifiers your Pro-Magic dreams are closer than you think in the Arena Premier Play League! Queue into casual battles to hone your strategy at your own pace, or battle in Esports qualifiers and frequent tournaments to flaunt your mastery. FANTASY AND MAGIC Dive into the fantasy planes of Magic: The Gathering and write your own legend through Magic’s immersive lore and vibrant card art. Find your path through the multiverse using only favorite characters and their most iconic spells and artifacts, or create a theme deck with a narrative that makes sense only to you. Your story is only just beginning! All prices inclusive of VAT. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Magic: The Gathering Arena, their respective logos, Magic, the mana symbols, the planeswalker symbol, and all character names and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC. ©2019-2026 Wizards. Please visit https://company.wizards.com/legal/wizards-coasts-privacy-policy to view Wizards of the Coast's privacy policy and https://company.wizards.com/legal/terms to view Wizards of the Coast's terms of use.

Screenshots

Star Realms3 screens
Magic4 screens

Verdict

The call

Star Realms and Magic both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 57% of Star Realms's written reviews are positive against 34% of Magic's. Magic's advantage is ratings volume (156K vs 4.5K) and chart position (#20 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Star Realms sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Magic sells 17 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Star Realms against 4.6 for Magic. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic has 156K ratings behind it against 4.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Star Realms's written reviews are positive against 34% of Magic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Star Realms ships an update every 10 days, Magic weekly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Star Realms versus Magic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar RealmsMagic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (4.5K ratings) — better4.6 (156K ratings)
Positive reviews57.0% of reviews — better34.1% of reviews
Number of ratings4.5K156K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#20 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size509 MB265 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesWizards of the Coast

Customer experience

Star Realms

All ratings4,453 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews405 reviews
Positive57.0%
Neutral10.9%
Negative32.1%

Magic

All ratings155,740 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral2.8%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews4,112 reviews
Positive34.1%
Neutral9.2%
Negative56.7%

User reviews

Star Realms

From 4.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Excellent implementation
  • 💡 Lots of content and features
  • 🚀 Fast and smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Challenging AI

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Issues with online play and connectivity
  • 🐛 Unbalanced AI difficulty
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🐛 Confusing UI and navigation

Magic

From 156K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great way to play Magic on the go
  • 🎨 Excellent visual representation of the game
  • 💰 Generous free-to-play model
  • 🕹️ Smooth and intuitive gameplay
  • 🕰️ Convenient for players who can't meet in person

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🕹️ Clunky UI and navigation
  • 💰 Aggressive monetization and pay-to-win concerns
  • 🔀 Rigged matchmaking and unfair shuffling algorithm
  • 🕰️ Slow performance on older devices

Bugs and requests

Star Realms

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game freezes and crashes on launch
  • Online games getting stuck or timing out
  • Inability to scrap or play certain cards
  • Incorrect card behavior and interactions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add undo/rewind functionality
  • Improve offline/single-player experience
  • Implement better matchmaking and player communication
  • Provide more detailed game statistics and analytics

Magic

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Cards not working as intended
  • Inability to select or interact with certain game elements
  • Inconsistent behavior when app crashes during matches
  • Sync issues between mobile and desktop accounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to trade or recycle unwanted cards
  • Improved deck building tools and organization
  • Support for multiplayer formats like Commander and Two-Headed Giant
  • Option to disable animations and speed up gameplay
  • Better integration between mobile and desktop versions

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Star Realms

One-time12
  • High Alert: Invasion$1.99
  • Crisis: Bases and Battleships Set$1.99
  • Crisis: Events Set$1.99
Show 9 more
  • Crisis: Heroes Set$1.99
  • Crisis: Fleets and Fortresses$1.99
  • Command$1.99
  • Gambit Set$3.99
  • Cosmic Gambit$3.99
  • High Alert: First Strike$3.99
  • Full Version$4.99
  • Colony Wars$4.99
  • Frontiers$4.99
17 purchases

Magic

One-time17
  • 750 Gems$4.99
  • Starter Bundle$4.99
  • Jurassic World Lands$9.99
Show 14 more
  • Fallout Companion Bundle$9.99
  • 1,600 Gems$9.99
  • 4x Rare Wildcards$9.99
  • Adventurer Bundle$14.99
  • Pre-order: Pass Bundle$14.99
  • 3,400 Gems$19.99
  • 4x Mythic Wildcards$19.99
  • Spark Bundle$24.99
  • Massacre Girl Pack Pre-order$49.99
  • Pre-order: Oko Pack Bundle$49.99
  • Pre-order: Pack Bundle8 variants$49.99
  • 9,200 Gems$49.99
  • Pre-order: Sorin Pack Bundle$49.99
  • 20,000 Gems$99.99

Questions

Is Star Realms free?
Star Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Magic free?
Magic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Star Realms or Magic?
Star Realms is rated higher. Star Realms averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Magic averages 4.6 from 156K ratings.
Do Star Realms or Magic have ads?
Neither Star Realms nor Magic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Star Realms or Magic?
Star Realms ships an update every 10 days, and Magic weekly. Most recently, Star Realms was updated on November 1, 2026 and Magic on November 1, 2026.

Other comparisons