# Cooking Mama vs Hamster Inn

The clearest difference is rating: Hamster Inn at 4.8 against Cooking Mama's 4.1. Hamster Inn also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 62%). Cooking Mama's advantage is chart position (#28 vs #128) 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 Hamster Inn sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Hamster Inn holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.8K and 6.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Cooking Mama's written reviews are positive against 90% of Hamster Inn's.

Cooking Mama ships an update monthly, Hamster Inn every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cooking Mama | Hamster Inn |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (9.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cooking-mama-lets-cook/id987360477/reviews) | **[4.8 (6.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hamster-inn/id6445921415/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.8K** | 6.8K |
| Positive reviews | 62.2% of reviews | **90.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 4 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#28** | #128 |
| Size | 211 MB | 315 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) | [HyperBeard Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1169188578) |

## What reviewers say

### Cooking Mama

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

**Currently charting:** #28 Top Free · Trivia, #67 Top Free · Family, #83 Top Grossing · Trivia, #197 Top Grossing · Family (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 |
| Mama's Recipe Pack 5 | $1.99 | 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 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


### Hamster Inn

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hamster-inn/id6445921415)

**Currently charting:** #128 Top Grossing · Trivia, #166 Top Free · Trivia (US App Store)

Manage a charming hotel as an adorable hamster innkeeper. Serve unique animal guests, upgrade your rooms, and decorate your inn with stylish items. Witness delightful hamster moments and relax with this cute management simulation game.

**Highlights:** Serve unique animal guests, Upgrade and decorate hotel rooms, Collect adorable decorations, Witness cute hamster moments, Employ skilled hamster staff, Relaxing idle gameplay

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 40k Seeds | $0.99 | one-time |
| 80k Seeds Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| 20 Gems Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| 24 Tickets Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Recharger Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| 150k Seeds | $2.99 | one-time |
| 300k Seeds Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $3.99 | one-time |
| 1.2M Seeds Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Sweet Set | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🐹 Cute and adorable characters
- 👍 Relaxing and casual gameplay
- 🚀 Optional ads for rewards
- 💎 Decent progression without spending money

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs with staff functionality and progression
- ⏱️ Slow progression at higher levels
- 🤑 Expensive in-app purchases for some items
- 🤖 Repetitive gameplay after a while

**Reported bugs**

- Food levels resetting on app restart
- Fishing instructor disappearing
- Ads not closing properly

**Requested features**

- More themes and areas to unlock
- Ability to automate certain tasks
- Increased gem/currency earn rates
- More guest/staff variety


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cooking Mama free?

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

### Is Hamster Inn free?

Hamster Inn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Cooking Mama or Hamster Inn?

Hamster Inn is rated higher. Cooking Mama averages 4.1 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while Hamster Inn averages 4.8 from 6.8K ratings.

### Do Cooking Mama or Hamster Inn have ads?

Both Cooking Mama and Hamster Inn show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cooking Mama or Hamster Inn?

Cooking Mama ships an update monthly, and Hamster Inn every 4 weeks. Most recently, Cooking Mama was updated on November 9, 2026 and Hamster Inn on November 9, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Cooking Mama or Hamster Inn?

Cooking Mama currently peaks at #28 in the App Store charts, and Hamster Inn at #128. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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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.*