Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Cookie Jam vs Candy Crush Friends Saga

Cookie Jam 4.7★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Candy Crush Friends Saga
Candy Crush Friends Saga 4.8★ · Free + IAP 70

Candy Crush Friends Saga has a slight edge over Cookie Jam due to fewer complaints about overwhelming ads and more consistent gameplay, despite both suffering from technical glitches and monetization issues.

Full reviews: Cookie Jam · Candy Crush Friends Saga

Both Cookie Jam and Candy Crush Friends Saga are free-to-play match-3 games with in-app purchases, offering relaxing gameplay but marred by frequent ads and technical problems. Cookie Jam faces significant backlash for a recent increase in intrusive ads and changes to its reward system, while Candy Crush Friends Saga struggles with disappearing events and game-breaking glitches.

Head to head

Ads and Monetization edge: Candy Crush Friends SagaR1R3R4R7
Cookie Jam Cookie Jam users are overwhelmingly frustrated by a recent surge in mandatory, long, and unskippable ads, often freezing the game and causing loss of progress or bonuses R1R3R4R7. Players also feel the game has become 'money hungry,' requiring purchases to win due to limited moves and stingy rewards from the daily spin R4R9R10.
Candy Crush Friends Saga Candy Crush Friends Saga also has complaints about ads, noting they are getting longer, layered, and can freeze the screen R63. Some users report ads for extra moves being removed, forcing them to spend money . However, the volume and recent increase in ad complaints seem less severe than for Cookie Jam.
Reliability and Performance tieR7R15R27R30
Cookie Jam Cookie Jam players frequently report the game freezing, crashing, or becoming unplayable, sometimes leading to lost items or progress R7R15R27R30. There are also complaints about the game being a major battery drain and making phones hot .
Candy Crush Friends Saga Candy Crush Friends Saga users experience numerous glitches, including the game crashing, freezing during ads, or not downloading properly after updates R61R63. A significant issue is the loss of progress or events disappearing, which can be very frustrating for long-time players R61R67R66R78.
Gameplay and Features edge: Candy Crush Friends SagaR4R9R10R14
Cookie Jam Long-time Cookie Jam players report a decline in game quality, with less varied levels, repetitive content, and a loss of creativity . Changes to the booster wheel and daily prizes are unpopular, as they now offer less desirable rewards like short-duration bonuses instead of tools or coins R9R10R14. Some find levels too difficult with limited moves, making the game less fun R4.
Candy Crush Friends Saga Candy Crush Friends Saga is praised for being fun, challenging, and relaxing, with cute characters, costumes, and holiday themes . However, some levels are described as boring, impossible to pass without paying, or intentionally frustrating . There are also reports of character sound effects missing and power-ups not always working as intended R66.
Support and Customer Service tieR30R78R81R82
Cookie Jam One Cookie Jam user reported being stuck on a level and unable to get support, indicating a lack of accessible customer service R30.
Candy Crush Friends Saga Candy Crush Friends Saga users complain about ongoing issues like disappearing events and glitches not being fixed for weeks, suggesting a lack of responsiveness from developers R78R81R82. One user mentioned reinstalling the game and losing all data, which implies poor data recovery or support .
Pick Cookie Jam if

You are a long-time player who enjoys the core match-3 mechanics and can tolerate frequent, intrusive ads and recent changes to rewards, or if you find the game therapeutic despite its flaws .

Pick Candy Crush Friends Saga if

You prefer a match-3 game with cute characters, varied themes, and generally less overwhelming ad interruptions, even if it has its own share of technical glitches and monetization pressures .

Evidence note: Both apps are free-to-play with in-app purchases, and many negative reviews for both stem from the friction of free-tier usage (ads, difficulty spikes to encourage purchases). The lifetime ratings are very similar, but recent reviews for Cookie Jam show a significant increase in ad-related complaints, suggesting a recent negative shift in user experience.

Frequently asked

Are there many ads in Cookie Jam?
Yes, Cookie Jam has a significant number of ads, with many recent reviews indicating a sharp increase in mandatory, long, and often freezing advertisements that disrupt gameplay and cause frustration R1R3R4R7.
Does Candy Crush Friends Saga have technical issues?
Yes, Candy Crush Friends Saga users report various technical issues including game crashes, freezing during ads, levels not loading correctly, and significant problems with events disappearing or not triggering rewards R61R63R66R67.
Have recent updates improved Cookie Jam?
Recent updates to Cookie Jam have generally been met with negative feedback, with users complaining about an increase in ads, less desirable daily spin rewards, and a loss of creativity and variety in levels, leading many long-time players to consider quitting R4R9R10R14.

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] Cookie Jam 1/5 · US Ads: Always an ad every time makes you not even want to play the game at all!
  2. [R3] Cookie Jam 3/5 · US Soso: Too much ad
  3. [R4] Cookie Jam 1/5 · US Joke: If you like watching ads, this game is for you! Very few moves to complete level so have to watch ads to get more moves. Then the computer makes most of the moves for you. Very little choice. In addition, you have no control over the free spin you get . This game has become very disappointing. Used to be fun.
  4. [R7] Cookie Jam 1/5 · US ADs SUCK: Waaayyyy too many ADS! So tired of adds freezing and making me lose rainbow cake, place in a game etc. kalshi, monopoly and some slot add are the worst!!
  5. [R15] Cookie Jam 3/5 · US Cookie Jam: Started getting ads more frequently. Just want to enjoy playing without all the ads. Also, the ads for extra moves get stuck and can’t get out of them
  6. [R27] Cookie Jam 3/5 · US Broke: The game is not working on my iPhone. I deleted it and reinstalled it. I cannot tap or open anything.
  7. [R30] Cookie Jam 3/5 · US Would have given: I would have given this app of five, but I am stuck on 181 level and I can’t go any further I tried getting support but I can’t get that either. I can’t click on anything. I can’t collect anything.
  8. [R9] Cookie Jam 3/5 · US Use to be a lot of fun: They have suddenly changed the booster wheel to where you don’t get many of the boosters. You get mostly 15 min. Of something or another. Not as much fun. Don’t think I will keep it much longer
  9. [R10] Cookie Jam 1/5 · US “Free Spins”: I rarely play anymore since the daily spin changed. It’s just not fun anymore when I only get 5 - 15 minutes with something instead of a tool or coins, something I actually want. I know that probably doesn’t make sense but I just close the game after I spin now. It’s just not fun anymore.
  10. [R14] Cookie Jam 4/5 · US Change the daily prize: Great variety.having 24 hours everyday is not good or fun. Nobody plays for 24 hours straight. Change it back to a variety of gifts. Or don’t give lives as prizes of other inside games.
  11. [R78] Candy Crush Friends Saga 3/5 · US Always Missing Events: I’ve played this game for years and its frustrating that events always disappear. The team challenge ends today but when I opened the app it’s gone! This is a chronic issue and you seriously need to address it.
  12. [R81] Candy Crush Friends Saga 3/5 · US Disappearing events: On my phone I see the Rachel event but on my tablet I see nothing but the bubblegum event and I’ve tried 2 year to complete this event and just need to complete level 1 and complete so please help because I have played for years and nothing has gone wrong.
  13. [R82] Candy Crush Friends Saga 1/5 · US Where are my events???: No your so claimed new release did not fix the bug! I can’t even update! The new events keep disappearing!!!!!!!!!!and I’ve spent so much money on this game!!!!!I will not spend one more dime on this game!
  14. [R61] Candy Crush Friends Saga 2/5 · US Update: Ever since the recent update, have had problems with the game-short to download, upcoming challenge disappeared. I have shut IPAD down and restarted without changing above issues
  15. [R63] Candy Crush Friends Saga 3/5 · US Commercials: The commercials are getting longer They are layered one on top of another Also the really long commercials freeze the screen Takes all the fun out of playing
  16. [R66] Candy Crush Friends Saga 3/5 · US Sweet Treats: I love playing this game, however recently I have not been getting my sweet treats at the start of each level when they are available. Also the power ups don’t always come up when I match the specific character quantity. Very frustrating. I’ve also had to limit the number of levels I play per day because of under construction puts me at a stop until new levels are added.
  17. [R67] Candy Crush Friends Saga 2/5 · US Progress lost!!: Today 5/29/2026 I opened my game like EVERY MORNING and was ticked off to see I went from level 3,892 to level 23!!! What did you doooooo?!?!

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