# Bit City vs Chess

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess at none against Bit City's 5. Chess also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bit City sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

Bit City ships an update every 2 months, Chess daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bit City | Chess |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (8.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bit-city-building-evolution/id914343148/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **8.5K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 288 MB | 43 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [NimbleBit LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/285808572) | [Lung Wai Hor](https://appshunter.io/developer/6779518340) |

## What reviewers say

### Bit City

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bit-city-building-evolution/id914343148)

Develop a small town into a bustling metropolis in this idle city-building simulation. Earn profits, invest in upgrades, and unlock new buildings and vehicles to expand your urban landscape. Customize your city with famous landmarks.

**Highlights:** City building simulation, Idle gameplay, Profit collection, Upgrade investments, Unlock new buildings, Vehicle collection, Landmark customization

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

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pension Pig | $2.99 | one-time |
| Stack of Bux | $4.99 | one-time |
| Infinite Double Time | $4.99 | one-time |
| Bag of Bux | $9.99 | one-time |
| Vault of Bux | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to play
- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 💎 Great for casual time-wasting
- 🎨 Charming pixel art style

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🕰️ Slow progression and repetitive gameplay
- 🔀 Inability to rotate buildings
- 🤑 Expensive special buildings
- 🤔 Prestige feature not as beneficial as expected

**Reported bugs**

- Prestige feature not working as intended
- Occasional crashes and progress loss
- Ads sometimes freeze the app

**Requested features**

- Ability to rotate buildings
- Option to choose building types
- Ability to visit and upgrade past cities
- More city themes and building variety
- Collect all vehicle earnings at once


### Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-learn-and-play/id6818005967)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bit City free?

Bit City is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Chess free?

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

### Do Bit City or Chess have ads?

Bit City shows ads; Chess does not.

### Which is updated more often, Bit City or Chess?

Bit City ships an update every 2 months, and Chess daily. Most recently, Bit City was updated on November 3, 2026 and Chess on October 26, 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.*