# Cooking Mama vs Cat Spa

The clearest difference is rating: Cat Spa at 4.8 against Cooking Mama's 4.1. Cat Spa also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 62%). Cooking Mama's advantage is chart position (#33 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Cooking Mama sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Cat Spa sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Cat Spa holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.8K and 8.2K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Cooking Mama's written reviews are positive against 76% of Cat Spa's.

Cooking Mama ships an update monthly, Cat Spa every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cooking Mama | Cat Spa |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (9.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cooking-mama-lets-cook/id987360477/reviews) | **[4.8 (8.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cat-spa/id1543729168/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.8K** | 8.2K |
| Positive reviews | 62.2% of reviews | **75.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#33** | — |
| Size | 211 MB | 814 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Office Create Corp.](https://appshunter.io/developer/959235167) | [Seeplay Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1409526326) |

## What reviewers say

### Cooking Mama

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cooking-mama-lets-cook/id987360477)

**Currently charting:** #33 Top Free · Trivia, #61 Top Free · Family, #139 Top Grossing · Trivia (US App Store)

Engage in a fun, family-friendly cooking simulation game. Master over 30 recipes through intuitive mini-games, manage your own restaurant, and participate in global cooking challenges. It's a delightful way to explore culinary creativity with no game overs.

**Highlights:** Cook over 30 recipes with mini-games, Manage and decorate your own restaurant, Engage in non-cooking mini-games, Compete in weekly global rankings, Combine recipes for surprise dishes, Watch cooking and animated videos

**Features:** iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Halloween Dishes | $0.99 | one-time |
| New Year Dishes | $0.99 | one-time |
| Welcome Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Mama's Recipe Pack 3 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Mama's Recipe Pack 2 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Mama's Recipe Pack 5 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Mama's Recipe Pack 4 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Mama's Recipe Pack 1 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Gourmet Pack Bundle | $4.99 | one-time |
| Mama's Recipe Pack Bundle | $15.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Engaging gameplay
- 🤩 Nostalgic experience
- 👍 Variety of activities
- 🎨 Customization options
- 🕹 Addictive mini-games

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive recipe packs
- 🔍 Overwhelming UI
- 🕰 Repetitive gameplay
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes
- 📺 Too many ads and pop-ups

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezing after watching ads
- Progress not saving properly
- Unresponsive controls
- Incorrect coin/item rewards

**Requested features**

- Ability to earn recipes instead of buying them
- More free recipe options
- Difficulty settings for recipes
- Improved performance and stability
- Reduced ad frequency


### Cat Spa

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cat-spa/id1543729168)

Manage a charming spa staffed by cat fairies, offering massages and personal care to animal customers. Decorate various rooms, unlock new services, and collect heartwarming stories from your clients and staff. Grow your business and maximize profits in this relaxing idle simulation.

**Highlights:** Manage a spa staffed by cat fairies, Offer massages and personal care, Unlock and decorate spa rooms, Collect customer and staff stories, Maximize profits and grow business, Idle simulation gameplay

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

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 100,000 Apples | $0.99 | one-time |
| Crystals - Tiny Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Space Package | $1.99 | one-time |
| Fuzzy Package | $1.99 | one-time |
| Super Cheap Package | $1.99 | one-time |
| Blackticket - Discount 80% | $1.99 | one-time |
| Waterpark Package | $3.99 | one-time |
| Fihsery Package | $3.99 | one-time |
| Apples - Large Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Crystals - Small Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Super Cheap Package 2 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Massage Set - Frog | $5.99 | one-time |
| Crystals - Medium Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Crystals - Large Pack | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 Cute and adorable graphics
- 🎨 Relaxing and calming gameplay
- 💎 Generous free-to-play model with optional ads
- 🕹️ Addictive and entertaining
- 🐱 Variety of unique animal characters

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⏱️ Employees' rest times are too long
- 🛒 Expensive in-app purchases for some items
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
- 🔄 Repetitive gameplay loop
- 🤔 Similarities to other games like Animal Restaurant

**Reported bugs**

- Employees getting stuck in the break room
- Pool and floor customizations not saving properly
- Ads not working as intended or crashing the game
- Tutorial getting stuck or not progressing properly

**Requested features**

- Ability to customize employee uniforms
- More mini-games and side activities
- Expanded pool and salon areas
- Option to fire or replace employees
- Offline mode for playing without internet


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cooking Mama free?

Cooking Mama is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Cat Spa free?

Cat Spa is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Cooking Mama or Cat Spa?

Cat Spa is rated higher. Cooking Mama averages 4.1 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while Cat Spa averages 4.8 from 8.2K ratings.

### Do Cooking Mama or Cat Spa have ads?

Both Cooking Mama and Cat Spa show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cooking Mama or Cat Spa?

Cooking Mama ships an update monthly, and Cat Spa every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cooking Mama was updated on October 30, 2026 and Cat Spa on October 30, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*