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

Crossy Road vs Subway Surfers

Crossy Road 4.7★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Subway Surfers
Subway Surfers 4.6★ · Free + IAP 70

Subway Surfers has a slight edge over Crossy Road due to its more consistent gameplay experience and fewer complaints about excessive ads, despite both games being free with in-app purchases.

Full reviews: Crossy Road · Subway Surfers

Both Crossy Road and Subway Surfers are popular endless runner games that offer engaging gameplay for free, but recent reviews highlight significant issues with ads in both. Subway Surfers appears to maintain a more consistent experience, while Crossy Road faces criticism for ad frequency and perceived difficulty spikes.

Head to head

Features and Gameplay tieR3R9R11R12
Crossy Road Crossy Road is praised for its fun and addictive nature, variety of characters and biomes, and hidden secrets R11. However, some users are disappointed by the lack of defined level progression, focusing instead on character unlocking R9. The game is also described as becoming too hard quickly R3R12R13.
Subway Surfers Subway Surfers is considered fun, entertaining, and addictive, with users spending hours playing . It's appreciated for being playable offline R80R117. However, some find the game repetitive and lacking in challenge or new ideas . There are also complaints about frequent changes to themes, music, and backgrounds with monthly updates .
Ease of Use and Difficulty edge: Subway SurfersR3R12R13R19
Crossy Road Many Crossy Road players find the game too hard, with too many cars making it difficult to play, especially for new players R3R12R13. Some users also report issues with dying too quickly, for example, by staying on a log for only two seconds R19.
Subway Surfers Subway Surfers is generally seen as easy to pick up and play, though some users wish it were more challenging . A few users mention it being "a little difficult" but still recommend it . Some users also complain about the game going too fast .
Reliability and Performance edge: Crossy RoadR31R36R65R69
Crossy Road Crossy Road users report issues with the game getting stuck on the loading screen R31 and general lag R36.
Subway Surfers Subway Surfers has complaints about being glitchy R65, including issues where the game doesn't register high scores or rewards after watching ads R69. There are also reports of the game causing phones to glitch to the point of being unclosable and loud whistle sounds when wearing headphones . Some users have also experienced losing their entire account progress .
Price/Value (Ads & IAP) tieR5R6R7R10
Crossy Road Crossy Road is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of ads, appearing after every death or even every other round R5R6R7R10. Users express frustration that they have to pay around £8 (or $8) to remove ads R34. Some ads are described as unskippable, requiring the app to be shut down and reloaded R10.
Subway Surfers Subway Surfers also receives numerous complaints about too many ads R64. Users find them annoying and disruptive to gameplay . There are also mentions of the game pushing bundles and being "pay to win" . One user reported an unexpected $24 charge upon downloading a supposedly free game .
Pick Crossy Road if

Pick Crossy Road if you enjoy a more pixelated, blocky aesthetic and a game that focuses on unlocking a wide variety of characters and biomes, and don't mind a steep difficulty curve or frequent ads . It's also suitable if you appreciate hidden secrets and Easter eggs .

Pick Subway Surfers if

Pick Subway Surfers if you prefer a smoother, more fluid endless runner experience with regular world tour updates and a focus on high scores, and if you value offline play R80R117. It's also a good choice if you're looking for an entertaining game for long car rides, despite the ads .

Evidence note: Both apps are free with in-app purchases, and a significant portion of negative reviews for both are related to the frequency and intrusiveness of ads. This free-vs-paid asymmetry means that many negative reviews come from non-paying users experiencing friction from ads, which is a common trade-off for free games. The lifetime ratings for both apps are very high, suggesting that while ads are a pain point, the core gameplay is still highly valued by many users.

Frequently asked

Do Crossy Road and Subway Surfers have ads?
Yes, both Crossy Road and Subway Surfers have frequent and often intrusive ads, which are a major point of frustration for many users R5R10R34R64.
Can you play Crossy Road and Subway Surfers offline?
Yes, both Crossy Road and Subway Surfers can be played offline, making them suitable for travel or areas without Wi-Fi R23R80R117.
Is Crossy Road available on Apple Arcade?
Yes, Crossy Road has a version on Apple Arcade, called Crossy Road+, which users note is much better because it has no ads and does not require Wi-Fi R15.

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. [R3] Crossy Road 3/5 · US Cars: I just started playing and it’s so fun! I also think there are to Many cars and it makes really hard to play. I only just started and it’s already so hard. Great game to play and waist time though!
  2. [R9] Crossy Road 3/5 · US Game focuses on unlocking characters rather than progressing thru levels: Was disappointed to see that there’s no defined level progression and the game goal is mostly to unlock characters. It’s a high quality game but not for me. Wish there was a version where you beat a set of predefined levels instead, and that you could unlock new levels instead of characters
  3. [R11] Crossy Road 5/5 · US Idk: So much fun even my friend played it and made me let her play it every time I saw here
  4. [R12] Crossy Road 3/5 · US ITS TOO HARD: Make it easier ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️
  5. [R13] Crossy Road 2/5 · US Meh: The game is becoming to hard
  6. [R19] Crossy Road 1/5 · US Uhhhh another bad game: Well so if you’re trying to get to the other side of the road and you stay on a log for like 2 seconds you die and there are so many other things wrong with this game so save your money and time do not get this game
  7. [R31] Crossy Road 1/5 · GB Doesn’t work: Just gets stuck on the hipster whale part
  8. [R36] Crossy Road 3/5 · GB Ok but things to improve: It is quite laggy and too many adds
  9. [R65] Subway Surfers 5/5 · US H: Y
  10. [R69] Subway Surfers 3/5 · US This is not fair: I love your game. It’s not like I want you do go down, but there is a bug I need you guys to fix. I beat a lot of people in the leader for the run. Twice , I beat the champions high score. I even beat my own record. Then when I come out of it, in still in the same place, I refreshed my game and this was still here. You guys owe me my diamond and my champion medal.
  11. [R5] Crossy Road 4/5 · US Good but…: Crossy road is a good game game but when I want to play again after I die it says “ now a word from our sponsors” and it’s so annoying!!!!!! And the duplicate stuff when I spend 100 coins!!!!! That’s annoying too
  12. [R6] Crossy Road 3/5 · US From Jack: To much add fix it so as your PAC man 256
  13. [R7] Crossy Road 1/5 · US why did you guys add advertisements 😭: it was like a 4 1/2 until yall added the advertisements :(
  14. [R10] Crossy Road 1/5 · US Never-ending advertisement: The new update will have an ad from a sponsor. There is no way to exit out of the ad. Have to continuously shut down the program and reload it.
  15. [R34] Crossy Road 1/5 · GB Oh hell nah: Way way way way way way way way way to many ads don’t download this if you hate ads like me (To be fair,just don’t anyway)It’s boring and the only thing to do is cross a road and nearly every time you play there is ads and it’s 8 quid to stop them which is annoying
  16. [R64] Subway Surfers 1/5 · US Ads: Ads are horrible I’d rather have the option to turn them off completely so my daughter can play uninterrupted! This is absolutely ridiculous.
  17. [R23] Crossy Road 5/5 · US Best game: Best game I ever played I can game Crossy Road when on trips if I don’t have WiFi.
  18. [R80] Subway Surfers 4/5 · US Love this game: I love this game so much I love that you don’t even need internet to play great
  19. [R117] Subway Surfers 5/5 · US Best game ever: A good game online and offline game the best game for me
  20. [R15] Crossy Road 3/5 · US PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE APPLE ARCADE!!!!!!: OK, so here’s the thing I love this game but like the one on Apple Arcade is so much better there’s no labs. You don’t have to play it on Wi-Fi. I don’t really remember if this one has ads and have to play it on Wi-Fi or not but definitely download the Crossy Road+ on Apple Arcade. It’s also completely free.

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