Comparison

SimCity BuildIt vs TheoTown

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

Head to head
About

SimCity BuildIt

Design and build your dream city, managing resources and citizen happiness. Trade with other players, compete in challenges, and defend your metropolis from disasters and rivals. Unlock new buildings and regions to expand your unique urban landscape.

Highlights
  • Design and build cities
  • Manage resources and services
  • Trade with other players
  • Compete in challenges and wars
  • Unlock landmarks and regions
  • Build and customize train networks
Read full description

Includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items. Welcome, Mayor, to the city builder and simulator! Be the hero of your very own city metropolis. This is the city-building game to design and create a beautiful, bustling town or metropolis. Every decision is yours as your city simulation grows larger and more intricate. You need to make smart building choices as a city builder to keep your citizens happy and your skyline growing. Then build, trade, chat, compete, and join clubs with fellow city-building Mayors. The city game that lets you build your city, your way! BRING YOUR CITY METROPOLIS TO LIFE Build your metropolis with skyscrapers, parks, bridges, and much more! Place buildings strategically to keep your taxes flowing and your city growing. Solve real-life city-building challenges like traffic and pollution. Provide your town and city services like power plants and police departments. Strategize, build and keep traffic moving with grand avenues and streetcars in this fun city builder and simulator. PUT YOUR IMAGINATION AND CITY ON THE MAP The possibilities are endless in this town and city-building simulator! A worldwide city game, build Tokyo-, London-, or Paris-style neighborhoods, and unlock exclusive city landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty. Make building rewarding and discover new technologies with the Future Cities while getting athletic with sports stadiums to become a pro city builder. Build and decorate your town or city with rivers, lakes, forests, and expand along the beach or mountain slopes. Unlock your city-builder strategies with new geographic regions for your metropolis, such as the Sunny Isles or Frosty Fjords, each with a unique architectural style. The city-building game where there’s always something new and different to make your city simulation unique. BUILD AND BATTLE YOUR WAY TO VICTORY The city-building game that lets you defend your city metropolis against monsters or compete against other mayors in Club Wars. Plot winning city-builder strategies with your Club mates and declare war on other cities. Once the battle simulation is on, unleash crazy disasters like the Disco Twister and Plant Monster on your opponents. Earn valuable rewards to use in battle, in building or to improve your city. In addition, take on other players in the Contest of Mayors, where you can complete weekly challenges and climb the League ranks toward the top of this city game. BUILD A BETTER CITY WITH TRAINS The city-building game to improve as a city builder with unlockable and upgradeable trains. Discover new trains and train stations for your dream metropolis! Build, expand and customize your rail network to fit your unique city simulation. BUILD, CONNECT AND TEAM UP Join a Mayor’s Club to trade city supplies with other members who love and chat about city-building strategies and available resources. Collaborate with other town and city builders to help someone complete their personal vision as well as get support to complete yours. Build big, work together, lead other Mayors, and watch your city simulation come to life in this city-building game and simulator! ___ Important Consumer Information. This app: Requires a persistent Internet connection (network fees may apply). Requires acceptance of EA’s Privacy & Cookie Policy and User Agreement. Includes in-game advertising. Contains direct links to the Internet and social networking sites intended for an audience over 13. The app uses Game Center. Log out of Game Center before installation if you don’t want to share your game play with friends. User Agreement: http://terms.ea.com Privacy and Cookie Policy: http://privacy.ea.com Visit https://help.ea.com/en/ for assistance or inquiries. EA may retire online features after 30 days’ notice posted on www.ea.com/service-updates.

About

TheoTown

Build and manage your own cities, from small towns to vast metropolises. As mayor, design transportation networks, prepare for emergencies, and construct famous landmarks. Expand your game with user-created plugins for endless customization.

Highlights
  • City building and management
  • Complex transportation networks
  • Emergency preparedness
  • Famous landmark construction
  • User-made plugin expansion
  • Mayor role simulation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

TheoTown is a city-building game where you can build and manage your own cities. Start with a small town and develop it into an enormous metropolis. Take on the role of mayor, shape impressive skylines, and manage the many systems that keep your cities running. Build complex transportation networks with roads, railways, buses, airports, and more. Create bus routes, expand your rail network, manage your vehicles, and even customize aircraft liveries. Prepare your cities for emergencies such as natural disasters, disease, crime, and fires. Construct famous landmarks including Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and many more. Still missing something? Expand the game with user-made plugins and add new buildings, vehicles, decorations, and more.

Screenshots

SimCity BuildIt4 screens
TheoTown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TheoTown at 4.8 against SimCity BuildIt's 4.1. TheoTown also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). SimCity BuildIt's advantage is ratings volume (88K vs 19K). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. SimCity BuildIt sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and TheoTown sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TheoTown holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 88K and 19K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of SimCity BuildIt's written reviews are positive against 79% of TheoTown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SimCity BuildIt ships an update every 3 weeks, TheoTown every 9 days. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
SimCity BuildIt versus TheoTown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimCity BuildItTheoTown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (88K ratings)4.8 (19K ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.7% of reviews79.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings88K — better19K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#80 — better#145
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size350 MB171 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperElectronic Artsblueflower GmbH

Customer experience

SimCity BuildIt

All ratings87,649 ratings
Positive77.2%
Neutral6.9%
Negative15.9%
Written reviews11,235 reviews
Positive49.7%
Neutral9.8%
Negative40.5%

TheoTown

All ratings18,745 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews1,755 reviews
Positive79.4%
Neutral7.0%
Negative13.6%

User reviews

SimCity BuildIt

From 88K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Great game
  • 🌇 Beautiful graphics
  • 🕹️ Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🤝 Supportive club community
  • 🕰️ Relaxing and not too demanding

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🕰️ Slow progression without paying
  • 🔍 Difficult to find needed items
  • 🤖 Aggressive monetization tactics
  • 🤯 Frustrating club war mechanics

TheoTown

From 19K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Best city builder on mobile
  • 👍 Pixel art style and retro vibe
  • 🎨 Highly customizable with plugins
  • 💰 No microtransactions or ads
  • 🎮 Engaging and addictive gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and performance issues
  • 🔍 Lack of clear instructions and tutorials
  • 🎨 Outdated or basic graphics for some users
  • 🔋 High battery drain on larger cities
  • 🛑 Limitations on city size and terraforming

Bugs and requests

SimCity BuildIt

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Cars phasing through trains
  • Inconsistent traffic patterns
  • Disappearing delivery trucks
  • Frequent crashes and connection issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add city layout editor
  • Allow raising/lowering train tracks
  • Improve free-to-play experience
  • Introduce search function for trade depot
  • Add option to disable construction bubbles

TheoTown

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Placement of power lines and pipes can be finicky
  • Buildings sometimes fail to construct properly
  • Occasional audio glitches and music bugs
  • Difficulty deleting or modifying existing structures

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more transportation options (trams, subways, etc.)
  • Improve road and infrastructure customization
  • Implement multiplayer and regional interactions
  • Expand disaster and environmental management
  • Introduce more advanced building types and specializations

In-app purchases

10 purchases

SimCity BuildIt

One-time10
  • Small Daily SimCash$0.99
  • Pocketful of SimCash 3$1.99
  • Premium Vu Pass Level I$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Pocketful of SimCash$4.99
  • Premium Vu Pass Level II$5.99
  • Premium Mayor's Pass +$8.99
  • Little Stack of SimCash$9.99
  • Nice Pile of SimCash$19.99
  • Briefcase of SimCash$34.99
  • Big Sack of SimCash$49.99
10 purchases

TheoTown

One-time10
  • 100 diamonds$2.99
  • Starter Pack$2.99
  • Starter Pack 2$3.99
Show 7 more
  • 250 diamonds$4.99
  • Landmarks II$5.99
  • Landmarks IV$5.99
  • 550 diamonds$6.99
  • Unlimited Fast Speed$6.99
  • Unlimited Tunnels$6.99
  • 2,630 diamonds$29.99

Questions

Is SimCity BuildIt free?
SimCity BuildIt is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TheoTown free?
TheoTown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SimCity BuildIt or TheoTown?
TheoTown is rated higher. SimCity BuildIt averages 4.1 out of 5 from 88K ratings, while TheoTown averages 4.8 from 19K ratings.
Do SimCity BuildIt or TheoTown have ads?
Both SimCity BuildIt and TheoTown show ads.
Which is updated more often, SimCity BuildIt or TheoTown?
SimCity BuildIt ships an update every 3 weeks, and TheoTown every 9 days. Most recently, SimCity BuildIt was updated on November 6, 2026 and TheoTown on November 6, 2026.
Which is more popular, SimCity BuildIt or TheoTown?
SimCity BuildIt currently peaks at #80 in the App Store charts, and TheoTown at #145. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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