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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Hay Day vs Plants vs. Zombies™

Hay Day 4.7★ · Free + IAP 60
Winner Plants vs. Zombies™
Plants vs. Zombies™ 4.8★ · Free + IAP 70

Plants vs. Zombies™ has a slight edge due to its strong core gameplay and nostalgic appeal, despite being heavily criticized for excessive ads, while Hay Day struggles with numerous technical issues and recent unpopular updates.

Full reviews: Hay Day · Plants vs. Zombies™

Hay Day, a farming simulation game, offers a long-term, engaging experience but is currently plagued by loading issues, crashes, and unpopular design changes. Plants vs. Zombies™, a tower defense classic, is praised for its fun gameplay and nostalgic value, but its user experience is severely hampered by an overwhelming number of intrusive ads.

Head to head

Features & Gameplay edge: Plants vs. Zombies™R1R6R8R11
Hay Day Hay Day offers a deep farming simulation with many activities, and players appreciate the design challenges and lack of ads R11R23. However, recent updates have introduced motion sickness-inducing animations and disliked changes to core mechanics like the orders board and boat R1R6. Users also wish for features like moving entire designs, selling unwanted decorations, and more diverse items in the marketplace R8.
Plants vs. Zombies™ Plants vs. Zombies™ is celebrated for its fun, addictive, and nostalgic tower defense gameplay, with users enjoying the plants, zombies, and mini-games like Whack-a-Mole . Some users find certain mini-games, like Pogo Party, nearly unplayable due to difficulty .
Ease of Use edge: Hay DayR1R11R41R63
Hay Day Hay Day is generally considered easy to play and suitable for all ages R11. However, recent updates have introduced overwhelming elements, like event icons that drag users across the farm R1. Some users find the amount of things to do overwhelming R41.
Plants vs. Zombies™ Plants vs. Zombies™ is easy to pick up and play, with many users enjoying it since childhood . The core gameplay is straightforward, but the constant interruption by ads significantly detracts from the user experience R63R67.
Reliability & Performance tieR2R9R13R15
Hay Day Hay Day suffers from significant reliability issues, with many users reporting the game getting stuck on the loading screen, crashing, or not opening at all on various devices, including iPhones and iPads R2R9R13R15. Connectivity issues are also a recurring problem . Some users have experienced lost progress after switching phones .
Plants vs. Zombies™ Plants vs. Zombies™ also has notable reliability problems, with users reporting crashes, freezing after rounds, and the app closing entirely when trying to start a level . A major issue is the loss of all progress upon reinstallation or when the game bugs out .
Price & Value edge: Hay DayR10R11R23R31
Hay Day Hay Day is free to play with in-app purchases, and users appreciate the lack of forced ads R11R23. However, some feel the game is becoming a 'cashgrab' R10 and that in-game items like machines and animals are too expensive . There are complaints about diamonds disappearing or being accidentally spent R31 and about the high cost of decorations .
Plants vs. Zombies™ Plants vs. Zombies™ is also free with IAP, but its value is severely undermined by an overwhelming number of ads, appearing between every phase, after every level, and even to access basic features like lawnmowers or the Zen Garden R61R63R64R67. Many users feel the game is unplayable due to the ads, especially since it was originally a paid game without them .
Support & Updates tieR1R4R6R12
Hay Day Hay Day receives frequent updates, but many users find them unnecessary or dislike the design changes they bring R1R6. Issues like diamonds disappearing are met with unhelpful customer support R31. Some users report problems with buying diamonds, with support blaming Apple . There are requests for specific fixes like filtering the newspaper for ore R4 and addressing dead trees R12.
Plants vs. Zombies™ Plants vs. Zombies™ users criticize the 'new developers' for adding too many ads and purchases . There's frustration with the lack of progress saving, especially when reinstalling . Users also report ads being impossible to close .
Pick Hay Day if

You enjoy a deep farming simulation game with a strong community aspect and minimal ads, and you are willing to overlook occasional technical glitches and recent unpopular design changes R11R23.

Pick Plants vs. Zombies™ if

You are looking for a classic tower defense experience with nostalgic appeal and engaging gameplay, and you are prepared to tolerate a very high volume of intrusive ads .

Evidence note: Recent reviews for both apps show a negative skew, primarily due to technical issues and unpopular changes for Hay Day, and overwhelming ads for Plants vs. Zombies™. The lifetime ratings are higher, suggesting that these issues are more recent or have become more pronounced.

Frequently asked

Does Hay Day have a lot of ads?
No, Hay Day is praised by users for having very few ads; ads are typically optional for treasure chests or free gifts R11R23.
Why is Plants vs. Zombies™ getting low recent ratings?
Plants vs. Zombies™ is receiving low recent ratings primarily because of an excessive number of intrusive ads that appear between every level and even for basic features, making the game feel unplayable for many users R61R63R64R67.
Are there technical issues with Hay Day?
Yes, many Hay Day users report significant technical issues including the game getting stuck on loading screens, frequent crashes, and connectivity problems, particularly after recent updates R2R9R13R15.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Hay Day 1/5 · US Overwhelming Update: I have been playing this game since 2013 but the recent update might be the end of my journey. I get very motion sick and the new animations may kill my heyday enjoyment. With each event having its own icon and taking you to a new page when you click it, its feels like i’m constantly being dragged across the farm. The neighborhood nurture event that rushes across the screen is
  2. [R6] Hay Day 3/5 · US Updates: I wish I would stop with the unnecessary updates. I’ve had the game 10+ years and I do like it, but I don’t know why the design for things have to change so much. Like why change the design for the orders board and why change how the boat works. Lecture add more buildings for us to buy, but I don’t know why the design has changed. I also wish the bushes that are supposed to attract butter
  3. [R8] Hay Day 5/5 · US PLEASE ADD!: Pretty please add an option to move entire designs from farm around!!! Also if we could add previous designs we have made directly onto my farm from the design book that would be great 😍 ps: this is my favorite game ever!!! 🫶🏽
  4. [R11] Hay Day 5/5 · US Andi’s farm: LOVE the game❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I have been playing with my cousins brother and friends since like 2019 and I love it. The best thing NO ADS!!!!! I just wish it was easier to get diamonds, other wise I think you should get it. And it’s great for all ages and easy to play!!!!
  5. [R41] Hay Day 5/5 · US Love it: I’ve been playing for 9 years and it’s really fun and addicting. The only thing that frustrates me is that there’s a LOT of stuff to do and it can get overwhelming sometimes.
  6. [R63] Plants vs. Zombies™ 3/5 · US Ads crashing game: PvZ is a good game but the ads are too much I understand this is how games make their money but if you play on IOS your forced to play with the WiFi off because your game will crash if you get an add and the fact the you need to watch ads if you want to have all your lawn mowers is crazy
  7. [R2] Hay Day 5/5 · US Freeze Loading the game: Hi The game not playing on my phone (iPhone 8) and my daughter’s phone (iPhone 16). Loading the game stop in half of its run
  8. [R9] Hay Day 3/5 · US My game won’t open: I’ve been trying since yesterday to open my game but it continues to say loading
  9. [R13] Hay Day 1/5 · US Why: My game is stuck at the loading screen….💔💔
  10. [R15] Hay Day 3/5 · US App crashes: It crashes since yesterday, tries to restart my iPhone no luck
  11. [R10] Hay Day 1/5 · US I really hate that I ever invested in this game: Used to be more, this is just what it is now. Soon I will give up and move along. Just a cashgrab now
  12. [R23] Hay Day 5/5 · US I LOVE THIS!!!!: So I got this game ( cuz my parents recommended me it ) and I’m addicted to hayday!!! Also if you are reading and do not have hayday, totally get!! There’s not really adds. You only get adds when you have a treasure chest and free gift and you want more gifts ( the free gift is free so no adds for that ) overall no glitch or code rot!!! ( code rot is where there’s a really old gam
  13. [R31] Hay Day 1/5 · US Diamonds disappearing: Disappointed beyond belief. Had 580 ish diamonds yesterday and found I only had 94 today. After contacting support they told me I spent 492 of them on marker stakes. I only have 12 stakes and haven’t opened any new plots of land and said this to the customer support, which consequently told me they could do nothing. 500 diamonds do not disappear like that.
  14. [R4] Hay Day 2/5 · US Unplayable after you unlock the mine people fill the news paper with pre and that’s all you ever see: Not cool and not fun booo. Do something about the ore in the news paper
  15. [R12] Hay Day 3/5 · US Coin purchases: I have been playing Hay Day on and off for several years and I always quit playing because of the same thing. I have more than 8 million in game coins which I would gladly spend on game play, like buying saws and axes to chop down all of my dead trees. I do purchase the special offers so I am not apposed to spending money on the game but this doesn’t fix the dead tree problem on ev
  16. [R61] Plants vs. Zombies™ 1/5 · US EA has utterly ruined this masterpiece: Micro transaction cancer that EA is to this game
  17. [R64] Plants vs. Zombies™ 1/5 · US Muchos anuncios: Cada nivel te comes demasiados anuncios es muy fastidioso 👎
  18. [R67] Plants vs. Zombies™ 1/5 · US Plants vs. Zombies: Was, a good game until between every phase ads kickass.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store