Stardew Valley vs Plague Inc.
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Stardew Valley is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 8.7. Stardew Valley wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Plague Inc. on 0, with 1 tied.
Players who want a relaxing farm game they can sink a whole year into
Strategy fans who like dark humor and quick, replayable sessions
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Stardew Valley | Plague Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Strategy & Simulation Games | Strategy & Simulation Games |
| Category rank | #1 of 8 | #4 of 8 |
| Developer | ConcernedApe | Ndemic Creations |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Usable for free | No | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | — |
| Windows | ✓ | — |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Stardew Valley better than Plague Inc.?
Stardew Valley is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 8.7. Stardew Valley wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Plague Inc. on 0, with 1 tied.
Which is cheaper, Stardew Valley or Plague Inc.?
Stardew Valley: $4.99 in the App Store, with no in-app purchases or ads. Plague Inc.: $0.99 on iOS with optional expansions; free with ads on Android. On value for money, Stardew Valley scores higher.
Do Stardew Valley and Plague Inc. work on the same devices?
Only Stardew Valley runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
Which is more private, Stardew Valley or Plague Inc.?
Stardew Valley scores higher on privacy (9.6/10). App Store label: only crash, performance and other diagnostic data is collected, used for app functionality and not linked to you. No tracking.
Strengths and weaknesses
Stardew Valley
- One purchase, no ads or in-app purchases
- Seasons and years of farming, mining and town life
- Collects almost no data
- Touch controls can feel fiddly in busy menus
- Multiplayer on mobile is hidden and experimental
Stardew Valley is the farm sim every other cozy game gets measured against, and the phone version is the full game, 1.6 update included. You clear an overgrown plot, plant by the season, fish, mine and slowly win over a town with 12 marriage candidates. It's one cheap purchase with no ads or extras to buy. Touch controls take some getting used to, and multiplayer is only a hidden experimental mode on mobile.
Full Stardew Valley review
Plague Inc.
- Simple to learn, hard to master on higher difficulties
- Free new scenarios keep arriving
- Label says nothing is linked to you
- Extra disease types cost extra
- Android version shows ads
Plague Inc. flips the outbreak movie around: you are the disease. You pick where it starts, spend DNA points on transmission, symptoms and abilities, and race to infect the world before scientists finish a cure. It's grim, clever and quick to learn, and Ndemic is still adding free scenarios in 2026. On iPhone it's a 99-cent purchase with cheap expansions; on Android it's free with ads.
Full Plague Inc. review
