# Papers, Please vs Tiny Space Program

The clearest difference is price: Tiny Space Program at Free against Papers, Please's $4.99. Papers, Please's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Tiny Space Program is free to download; Papers, Please costs $4.99 up front. Tiny Space Program sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. Papers, Please asks for nothing beyond the download.

Papers, Please holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Papers, Please's written reviews are positive against 81% of Tiny Space Program's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Papers, Please ships an update weekly, Tiny Space Program monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Papers, Please | Tiny Space Program |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.7 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papers-please/id935216956/reviews)** | [4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tiny-space-program-sim-tycoon/id1552882487/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K | **1.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 79.6% of reviews | **81.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#5** | — |
| Size | 62 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [3909](https://appshunter.io/developer/541419307) | [Jerry Neimann](https://appshunter.io/developer/926098645) |

## What reviewers say

### Papers, Please

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papers-please/id935216956)

**Currently charting:** #5 Top Paid · Role Playing, #24 Top Paid · Simulation, #52 Top Paid · Games, #90 Top Paid (US App Store)

Step into the shoes of a border inspector in a dystopian communist state. Examine documents, interrogate travelers, and decide who is allowed to enter. Your choices impact your family's survival and the fate of the nation.

**Highlights:** Dystopian border inspector simulation, Document examination and verification, Interrogation and decision-making, Multiple endings based on choices, Unlockable multitouch support, Game Center achievements and leaderboards

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Tiny Space Program

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tiny-space-program-sim-tycoon/id1552882487)

Manage your own space agency, from designing and building rockets to launching missions for research, mining, or tourism. Explore planets and moons, establish off-world economies, and advance your technology in this interplanetary simulation.

**Highlights:** Space program management, Build off-world colonies, Launch rockets and spaceships, Research technologies, Mine resources from celestial bodies, Astronaut progression, Simulates orbital mechanics

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

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Supporting the game, thank you | $1.99 | one-time |
| Helping out, many thanks | $4.99 | one-time |
| Crystal Pack 1 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Plasma Space Ship Package | $8.99 | one-time |
| You are great! Many thanks | $9.99 | one-time |
| Crystal Pack 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Colonizer Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Experimental Dragon Ships | $9.99 | one-time |
| Aerospike space ship pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| A big pile of credits | $19.99 | one-time |
| Crystal Pack 3 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Biggest box of credits | $49.99 | one-time |
| Crystal Pack 4 | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome game
- 👍 No ads or pay-to-win
- 🚀 Engaging gameplay
- 🚀 Lots of depth and content
- 👍 Great for space enthusiasts

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔧 Confusing UI and menus
- 💰 Difficult to earn credits/resources
- 🕰️ Slow progression and long wait times
- 🤔 Unclear tutorials and instructions

**Reported bugs**

- Buttons not working or unresponsive
- Disappearing ships and resources
- Crashes and freezes after updates
- Quests and missions not tracking properly

**Requested features**

- Add more planets and moons to explore
- Improve the economy and resource management
- Implement cloud/online save functionality
- Streamline the UI and make it more intuitive
- Expand the research and upgrade trees


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Papers, Please free?

Papers, Please costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Tiny Space Program free?

Tiny Space Program is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Papers, Please or Tiny Space Program?

Papers, Please is rated higher. Papers, Please averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Tiny Space Program averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do Papers, Please or Tiny Space Program have ads?

Tiny Space Program shows ads; Papers, Please does not.

### Which is updated more often, Papers, Please or Tiny Space Program?

Papers, Please ships an update weekly, and Tiny Space Program monthly. Most recently, Papers, Please was updated on September 28, 2026 and Tiny Space Program on September 29, 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.*