Comparison

Plants vs. Zombies™ vs Playdead's INSIDE

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

Head to head
About

Plants vs. Zombies™

Defend your home from a horde of fun-loving zombies using a variety of powerful plants. Strategize your defenses across 50 challenging levels, each with unique zombie types and environmental obstacles. Earn new plants and power-ups to become the ultimate zombie-zapping master.

Highlights
  • 49 zombie-zapping plants
  • 26 types of zombies
  • 50 fun-dead levels
  • Adventure and Survival modes
  • Unlockable plants and power-ups
  • Collect coins and earn achievements
Read full description

This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items. Get ready to soil your plants as a mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home. Use your arsenal of 49 zombie-zapping plants — Peashooters, Wall-nuts, Cherry bombs and more — to mulchify 26 types of zombies before they break down your door. This app offers in-app purchases. You may disable in-app purchasing using your device settings WINNER OF OVER 30 GAME OF THE YEAR AWARDS* 50 FUN-DEAD LEVELS Conquer all 50 levels of Adventure mode — through day, night, fog, in a swimming pool, on the rooftop and more. Plus fend off a continual wave of zombies as long as you can with Survival mode! NOT GARDEN-VARIETY GHOULS Battle zombie pole-vaulters, snorkelers, bucketheads and 26 more fun-dead zombies. Each has its own special skills, so you'll need to think fast and plant faster to combat them all. SMARTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE ZOMBIE Be careful how you use your limited supply of greens and seeds. Zombies love brains so much they'll jump, run, dance, swim and even eat plants to get into your house. Open the Almanac to learn more about all the zombies and plants to help plan your strategy. FIGHT LONGER, GET STRONGER Earn 49 powerful perennials as you progress and collect coins to buy a pet snail, power-ups and more. GROW WITH YOUR GAME Show off your zombie-zapping prowess by earning 46 awesome achievements. COIN PACKS Need coins for great new stuff? Buy up to 600,000 coins right from the Main Menu. *Original PC downloadable game. Be the first to know! Get inside EA info on great deals, plus the latest game updates, tips & more VISIT US: ea.com FOLLOW US: twitter.com/eamobile LIKE US: facebook.com/eamobile WATCH US: youtube.com/eamobilegames Requires acceptance of EA’s Privacy & Cookie Policy and User Agreement. User Agreement: terms.ea.com Visit https://help.ea.com/ for assistance or inquiries. EA may retire online features and services after 30 days’ notice posted on www.ea.com/1/service-updates Important Consumer Information. This app contains direct links to the Internet.

About

Playdead's INSIDE

Embark on a dark, narrative-driven adventure in this critically acclaimed indie platformer. Solve challenging puzzles and experience intense action within a moody, unsettling atmosphere. This award-winning game is known for its stunning art style and ambient soundtrack.

Highlights
  • Narrative-driven adventure
  • Challenging puzzles
  • Intense action
  • Moody art style
  • Ambient soundtrack
  • Unsettling atmosphere
Features
Currently charting
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Discover Playdead's unique indie adventure game Inside, a dark, narrative-driven platformer combining intense action with challenging puzzles. It has received critical acclaim for its moody art style, ambient soundtrack and unsettling atmosphere. Apple Design Award Winner. What the press said: “MASTERPIECE! Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer that builds upon what made Limbo great, and in fact builds something greater.” IGN — 10/10 “Inside expands on the concepts and scope of its predecessor in wildly creative ways, and it's so immaculately designed and constructed from top to bottom that it almost feels suitable for display in an art museum. This is one hell of a follow-up.” Giant Bomb — 5/5 “Gorgeous art and animations, devious puzzle design and a pitch-black sense of humor. A perfectly paced series of escalating "holy shit" moments.” Kotaku Winner of more than 100 awards, including: - Artistic Achievement (BAFTA) - Game Design (BAFTA) - Narrative (BAFTA) - Original Property (BAFTA) - Best Independent Game (Game Critics Awards) - Best Independent Game (The Game Awards) - Best Art Direction (The Game Awards) - Spite Award (D.I.C.E. Awards) - Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction (D.I.C.E. Awards) - Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction (D.I.C.E. Awards) - Best Audio (Game Developers Choice Awards) - Best Visual Art (Game Developers Choice Awards)

Screenshots

Plants vs. Zombies™4 screens
Playdead's INSIDE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Playdead's INSIDE at none against Plants vs. Zombies™'s shown. Playdead's INSIDE also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 57%) and device support (4 vs 2). Plants vs. Zombies™'s advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (940K vs 31K). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Plants vs. Zombies™ sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Playdead's INSIDE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Plants vs. Zombies™ holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Plants vs. Zombies™ has 940K ratings behind it against 31K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of Plants vs. Zombies™'s written reviews are positive against 77% of Playdead's INSIDE's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Plants vs. Zombies™ versus Playdead's INSIDE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlants vs. Zombies™Playdead's INSIDE
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (940K ratings) — better4.4 (31K ratings)
Positive reviews56.9% of reviews77.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings940K — better31K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#22 — better#69
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size172 MB705 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperElectronic ArtsPlaydead

Customer experience

Plants vs. Zombies™

All ratings927,567 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews5,011 reviews
Positive56.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative35.2%

Playdead's INSIDE

All ratings30,447 ratings
Positive83.2%
Neutral4.0%
Negative12.8%
Written reviews2,458 reviews
Positive77.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative16.2%

User reviews

Plants vs. Zombies™

From 940K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Fantastic gameplay
  • 💎 Addictive and engaging
  • 🕹️ Nostalgic classic
  • 🌱 Unique and creative plant/zombie mechanics
  • 🎨 Charming art style

Room to improve

  • 💸 Excessive ads and monetization
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔄 Progress resets and lost data
  • 🤯 Frustrating ad-related issues (no skip option, crashes)
  • 🤔 Questionable changes from original game

Playdead's INSIDE

From 31K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Stunning graphics and atmosphere
  • 🧠 Clever and challenging puzzles
  • 🎨 Unique art style
  • 🎢 Thrilling and suspenseful gameplay
  • 🔍 Intriguing and mysterious story

Room to improve

  • 🕰️ Game is too short
  • 🤔 Ending is confusing or unsatisfying
  • 💰 Game is overpriced
  • 🤖 Some controls can be finicky
  • 📱 Compatibility issues on older devices

Bugs and requests

Plants vs. Zombies™

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game crashes after ads
  • Survival mode progress lost
  • Purchased content not restoring
  • Zen Garden and other features not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Restore original gameplay and features
  • Reduce ads or offer ad-free option
  • Improve stability and prevent progress loss
  • Add more levels, mini-games, and content
  • Improve customer support and bug fixes

Playdead's INSIDE

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Game crashes or freezes
  • Progress not saving properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Longer gameplay or additional levels
  • More explanation or closure for the story
  • Controller support
  • Lower price point

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Plants vs. Zombies™

One-time11
  • Crazy Dave's Lost Wallet$0.99
  • Sunflower's Golden Chest$0.99
  • Marigold's Coin Pot$0.99
Show 8 more
  • Stinky's Secret Stash$0.99
  • Dr. Zomboss’ Piggy Bank$1.99
  • Ads Free$2.99
  • Digger's Diamond Mine$3.99
  • Whirly-Blurry Speed Up Stash$3.99
  • Whirly-Blurry Speed Up Bundle$4.99
  • Craaazy Speed Up Stash$5.99
  • Craaazy Speed Up Bundle$6.99
1 purchases

Playdead's INSIDE

One-time1
  • INSIDE full game$9.99

Questions

Is Plants vs. Zombies™ free?
Plants vs. Zombies™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Playdead's INSIDE free?
Playdead's INSIDE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Plants vs. Zombies™ or Playdead's INSIDE?
Plants vs. Zombies™ is rated higher. Plants vs. Zombies™ averages 4.8 out of 5 from 940K ratings, while Playdead's INSIDE averages 4.4 from 31K ratings.
Do Plants vs. Zombies™ or Playdead's INSIDE have ads?
Plants vs. Zombies™ shows ads; Playdead's INSIDE does not.
Which is updated more often, Plants vs. Zombies™ or Playdead's INSIDE?
Plants vs. Zombies™ ships an update every 2 months, and Playdead's INSIDE every 2 months. Most recently, Plants vs. Zombies™ was updated on October 20, 2026 and Playdead's INSIDE on October 20, 2026.
Which is more popular, Plants vs. Zombies™ or Playdead's INSIDE?
Plants vs. Zombies™ currently peaks at #22 in the App Store charts, and Playdead's INSIDE at #69. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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