# Red Planet Pinball vs Visual Pinball

The clearest difference is price: Visual Pinball at Free against Red Planet Pinball's $1.99. Visual Pinball also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 17 months). Red Planet Pinball's advantage is review sentiment (95% vs 79%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.6). On rating, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Visual Pinball is free to download; Red Planet Pinball costs $1.99 up front. Red Planet Pinball sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Visual Pinball asks for nothing beyond the download.

Red Planet Pinball holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 48 and 74 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of Red Planet Pinball's written reviews are positive against 79% of Visual Pinball's.

Red Planet Pinball ships an update every 17 months, Visual Pinball fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Red Planet Pinball | Visual Pinball |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.5 (48 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/red-planet-pinball/id936504684/reviews)** | [4.3 (74 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 48 | **74** |
| Positive reviews | **95.2% of reviews** | 78.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 94 MB | 134 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 26.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [BrainVault Games, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/967022364) | [Jason Millard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527911552) |

## What reviewers say

### Red Planet Pinball

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/red-planet-pinball/id936504684)

Embark on an intergalactic pinball adventure to the Red Planet. This award-winning game offers hours of entertainment with its realistic physics and stunning graphics.

**Highlights:** Intergalactic pinball adventure, Realistic physics, Gorgeous graphics, Hours of entertainment, Award-winning design

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ball Saver x15 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extra Ball x10 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Multiball x15 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Cheats Pack | $1.99 | one-time |


### Visual Pinball

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926)

Experience the full virtual pinball simulator with realistic physics, lighting, and sound. This open-source app offers a redesigned interface, enhanced table management, and the complete desktop experience for mobile devices. Enjoy a vast library of tables without ads or in-app purchases.

**Highlights:** Realistic physics, lighting, and sound, Redesigned interface with Liquid Glass, Full in-game menu for graphics and controls, Support for various backglass and display types, Easy table import and management, Optimized memory usage

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome way to play virtual pinball on the go
- 👍 Super easy to set up with minimal file prep time
- 👍 Insane that I can play favorite pins on just my phone
- 👍 Fantastic portable implementation of VPX
- 👍 Fun and exciting to archive the history of pinball

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔧 More ability to adjust table settings needed
- 🔧 Struggling to manage camera angle
- 🔧 No fullscreen on iPad, plunger and outlanes cropped
- 🔧 Some tables don't work or have issues

**Reported bugs**

- Tables don't load for some users
- Certain complex/intensive tables error out or run at low FPS

**Requested features**

- List of most played tables
- Ability to reposition DMD
- Option to skip startup checks for some tables
- Ability to edit table scripts on the app
- Direct link to table depository


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Red Planet Pinball free?

Red Planet Pinball costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Visual Pinball free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Red Planet Pinball or Visual Pinball?

Red Planet Pinball is rated higher. Red Planet Pinball averages 4.5 out of 5 from 48 ratings, while Visual Pinball averages 4.3 from 74 ratings.

### Do Red Planet Pinball or Visual Pinball have ads?

Neither Red Planet Pinball nor Visual Pinball shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Red Planet Pinball or Visual Pinball?

Red Planet Pinball ships an update every 17 months, and Visual Pinball fortnightly. Most recently, Red Planet Pinball was updated on October 23, 2026 and Visual Pinball on October 30, 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.*