# Hocus Puzzle vs Candy Charming

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Hocus Puzzle at 93% against Candy Charming's 63%. Candy Charming's advantage is ratings volume (12K vs 42) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Hocus Puzzle sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Candy Charming sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Candy Charming holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Candy Charming has 12K ratings behind it against 42, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 93% of Hocus Puzzle's written reviews are positive against 63% of Candy Charming's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hocus Puzzle | Candy Charming |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (42 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hocus-puzzle/id952183548/reviews) | **[4.8 (12K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/candy-charming-match-3-game/id1163059069/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 42 | **12K** |
| Positive reviews | **92.9% of reviews** | 62.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 265 MB | 169 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Bigpoint GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/421914256) | [707 INTERACTIVE](https://appshunter.io/developer/1268932219) |

## What reviewers say

### Hocus Puzzle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hocus-puzzle/id952183548)

Embark on a magical puzzle adventure to restore a dried-up river by mixing potions and casting spells. Explore enchanting worlds, defeat villains, and challenge friends on leaderboards. Collect costumes for powerful advantages in over 200 levels.

**Highlights:** Mix and match potions, Cast spells, Over 200 spellbinding levels, Challenge friends, Collect costumes, Leaderboards

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Welcome Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Gem Pack n°1 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Special Pack 5 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Special Pack 10 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Gem Pack n°2 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Win The Level | $4.99 | one-time |
| Gem Pack n°3 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Gem Pack n°4 | $16.99 | one-time |
| Gem Pack n°5 | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Fun and addictive game
- 🎨 Great graphics and visuals
- 🕹️ Challenging but enjoyable gameplay
- 🕰️ Good time-passer
- 🎨 Cute and colorful design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔍 Lack of support and explanation for higher levels
- 🔋 Can be draining on battery

**Reported bugs**

- Lottery wheel not working properly
- Game freezing during updates
- Losing progress after updates

**Requested features**

- More levels and content updates
- Ability to convert coins to gems
- Option to disable ads or in-app purchases


### Candy Charming

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/candy-charming-match-3-game/id1163059069)

Engage in a vibrant match-3 puzzle adventure with thousands of levels and daily rewards. Explore magical kingdoms, crush candies, and unlock new challenges. Play offline and sync your progress across devices.

**Highlights:** 3,000+ addictive match-3 levels, Daily rewards and bonuses, Playable offline without Wi-Fi, Sync game data across devices, Powerful boosters to solve quests, Cute graphics and game maps

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reborn Gifts | $0.99 | one-time |
| handful of coins | $1.99 | one-time |
| Reborn hot gifts | $1.99 | one-time |
| Small Coins Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Heap of coins and energy | $4.99 | one-time |
| Limited Package | $4.99 | one-time |
| Super reborn pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Small sack of coins and energy | $9.99 | one-time |
| Huge Piggy Bank | $9.99 | one-time |
| Large sack of coins and energy | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Fun and challenging game
- 👍 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Relaxing and stress-relieving
- 👍 Good mix of easy and difficult levels
- 👍 Colorful and visually appealing

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 💰 Intrusive and excessive ads
- 💰 Paywall for removing ads and accessing features
- 🕰️ Slow progression and repetitive levels
- 🤯 Levels become impossibly difficult

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezes after watching ads
- Daily rewards not registering correctly
- Coins and progress not syncing across devices
- Inability to restore purchases and progress

**Requested features**

- Reduce ads and provide ad-free option
- Improve game stability and reduce crashes
- Add more variety in level design
- Improve progression system and reward structure
- Provide more ways to earn in-game currency


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hocus Puzzle free?

Hocus Puzzle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Candy Charming free?

Candy Charming is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Hocus Puzzle or Candy Charming?

Candy Charming is rated higher. Hocus Puzzle averages 4.5 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while Candy Charming averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.

### Do Hocus Puzzle or Candy Charming have ads?

Both Hocus Puzzle and Candy Charming show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hocus Puzzle or Candy Charming?

Hocus Puzzle ships an update fortnightly, and Candy Charming fortnightly. Most recently, Hocus Puzzle was updated on November 1, 2026 and Candy Charming on November 6, 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.*