Mobile games with no in-app purchases
Updated
Short answer
Almost all of them are premium games you buy once — Stardew Valley, Terraria, Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, Monument Valley and similar ports. Free games with genuinely zero in-app purchases are rare, because free-to-play is normally funded by exactly the thing you are trying to avoid. If you want no microtransactions, expect to pay once up front.
"No in-app purchases" gets used loosely. A game with a cosmetics-only shop, or one that sells a battle pass, or one that is generous with its energy timer, is still a game with in-app purchases — and if you are searching for this, you probably mean none at all: no currency packs, no loot boxes, no timers you can pay to skip, no ads you can pay to remove.
That narrower definition rules out most of the mobile top charts, and it points almost entirely at premium games. The list below is games where you pay once and the store page has nothing else on it.
At a glance
Compared
| Game | Best for | Model | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stardew Valley | Best overall, and the usual answer to this question | One-time purchase. No in-app purchases. | iOS, Android |
| Terraria | Best for open-ended building and exploration | One-time purchase. No in-app purchases. | iOS, Android |
| Dead Cells | Best for action and short sessions | One-time purchase. Paid DLC exists; no microtransactions. | iOS, Android |
| Slay the Spire | Best for deep strategy without reflexes | One-time purchase. No in-app purchases. | iOS, Android |
| Monument Valley 1 & 2 | Best short, beautiful experience | One-time purchase per game. No in-app purchases. | iOS, Android |
In order
The list
- 1
Stardew Valley
Best overall, and the usual answer to this question
A farming and life sim with hundreds of hours in it, ported essentially intact from the desktop version. It is the game most often recommended in this category and it deserves it: enormous scope, no monetisation hooks anywhere, and it works offline.
One-time purchase. No in-app purchases.
Pros
- + Very large amount of content for a single purchase
- + Plays entirely offline
- + Complete game, not a trimmed mobile version
Cons
- − Dense UI on small screens
- − No cross-save with the desktop version
- 2
Terraria
Best for open-ended building and exploration
A 2D sandbox with a genuinely deep crafting and combat progression. Like Stardew it is a full port rather than a mobile cut-down, and it will absorb a very long time without ever asking for more money.
One-time purchase. No in-app purchases.
Pros
- + Huge progression with no paywalls
- + Offline play
- + Regular content parity with desktop
Cons
- − Touch controls take adjustment
- − Can be overwhelming with no tutorial handholding
- 3
Dead Cells
Best for action and short sessions
A fast roguelike that suits mobile better than most action games, because a run is short and losing is part of the design. Worth knowing that expansions are sold separately — that is paid DLC rather than microtransactions, but it is not strictly one-and-done either.
One-time purchase. Paid DLC exists; no microtransactions.
Pros
- + Excellent on touch for the genre
- + Runs are short enough for real mobile sessions
Cons
- − Expansions cost extra
- − Genuinely difficult, which will not suit everyone
- 4
Slay the Spire
Best for deep strategy without reflexes
A deck-building roguelike that is turn-based, which makes it close to ideal on a phone — nothing is lost to touch latency. Very high replay value from a single purchase.
One-time purchase. No in-app purchases.
Pros
- + Turn-based, so touch controls cost nothing
- + Extremely replayable
Cons
- − Steep learning curve
- − Presentation is functional rather than lavish
- 5
Monument Valley 1 & 2
Best short, beautiful experience
Short, elegant puzzle games built for touch from the start rather than ported to it. A few hours each rather than hundreds, which is the honest trade — you are buying craft, not volume.
One-time purchase per game. No in-app purchases.
Pros
- + Designed for touch, not adapted to it
- + Genuinely beautiful
Cons
- − Short
- − Low replay value once solved
Where Craze City fits — not out yet
Craze City, the game this site is about, will be free with no in-app purchases at all — no loot boxes, no gem shop, no currency packs. That combination is rare, which is the reason it is worth mentioning here. But it is not out: it is scheduled for a soft launch in 2026, so it belongs on a wishlist rather than on this list. Everything above is playable today.
Before you buy
How to check a game really has none
Store listings are the reliable signal. On the App Store, a game with purchases shows an "In-App Purchases" label next to the price and an in-app purchase list further down the page. On Google Play, the same information sits under "In-app purchases" in the app details.
Be wary of "no pay-to-win" and "fair monetisation" in marketing copy — both are compatible with a shop full of cosmetics and a battle pass. The phrase you want is no in-app purchases, and the store page will confirm it in a way a description cannot.
Also check whether ads are present. A game can have zero in-app purchases and still be ad-funded, which many people searching for this are equally trying to avoid. Parents checking monetisation usually check content next, and we have written up why our zombie mode has no blood or gore.
On accuracy. This page describes monetisation models and platforms, which change rarely. It deliberately avoids quoting prices, star ratings and store availability, because those change often and a stale number is worse than none. Check the store listing before buying — it is the only source that is right today.