What is the best city building game app for iPhone?

Township, S tier, ranked #1 of 40, rated 4.8 by 2,215,598 people.

Which city building game apps are free?

34 of 40 are free to download: Township (S), Forge of Empires: Build a City (S), TheoTown (S), Designer City (S) and more. 21 of them sell in-app purchases.

Which city building game app has the best App Store rating?

Designer City 2 at 4.9 from 4,152 ratings.

AppTierList › All lists › City Building Games

Best City Building Game Apps for iPhone (2026)

40 apps ranked S through F · Updated 2026-10-19 · Ranked by AppTierList, computed, never sold · JSON

Part of Building Games.

Township is the top-ranked of 40 city building game apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.8/5 from 2,215,598 ratings.

1
TownshipS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 2,215,598 ratings · score 96
2
Forge of Empires: Build a CityS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 168,217 ratings · score 96
3
TheoTownS
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 18,486 ratings · score 95
4
Designer CityS
Free download · ★ 4.9 · 8,111 ratings · score 94
5
Megapolis: City Building SimS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 27,590 ratings · score 94

What belongs in this list

Build and grow a city by placing buildings, roads and services and managing residents.

Not here: a general building or construction game alone; a single house or base builder alone; map or geography quiz alone; crafting or drawing games alone; a city wallpaper or theme alone

How we pick

For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged with no weights: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier. Read the full method →

Compare every app

1
TownshipS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 2,215,598 ratings · score 96 · best in class
2
Forge of Empires: Build a CityS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 168,217 ratings · score 96 · best in class
3
TheoTownS
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 18,486 ratings · score 95 · best in class
4
Designer CityS
Free download · ★ 4.9 · 8,111 ratings · score 94 · best in class
5
Megapolis: City Building SimS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 27,590 ratings · score 94 · best in class
6
Global City: Building gamesS
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 6,209 ratings · score 93 · best in class
7
SimCity BuildItS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.1 · 87,151 ratings · score 93 · best in class
8
City Island 5: Building SimS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 10,354 ratings · score 91 · best in class
9
Designer City 2S
Free download · ★ 4.9 · 4,152 ratings · score 91 · best in class
10
Rise of Cultures: Kingdom gameA
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 21,255 ratings · score 90 · excellent
11
Airport City Manager SimulatorA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 60,108 ratings · score 89 · excellent
12
Frozen CityA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 48,426 ratings · score 87 · excellent
13
Paradise Island 2: Resort SimA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 31,237 ratings · score 86 · excellent
14
Whiteout SurvivalA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 469,131 ratings · score 85 · excellent
15
Elvenar - Fantasy KingdomA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 23,050 ratings · score 85 · excellent
16
Post Apo Tycoon - Idle BuilderA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 10,697 ratings · score 84 · excellent
17
City Island 3: Building SimA
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 3,141 ratings · score 84 · excellent
18
Family Guy The Quest for StuffA
Free download · ★ 4.1 · 16,266 ratings · score 83 · excellent
19
Bit City: Building EvolutionA
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 8,481 ratings · score 83 · excellent
20
The Tribez: Build a VillageB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 32,497 ratings · score 82 · good
21
Happy Citizens - Mayor SimB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 5,892 ratings · score 81 · good
22
Pocket City 2+B
n/a · ★ 4.7 · 4,619 ratings · score 81 · good
23
Heroes of History: Epic EmpireB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 15,366 ratings · score 80 · good
24
Wild West: Farm Town BuildingB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 17,209 ratings · score 77 · good
25
Cityscapes: Sim BuilderB
n/a · ★ 4.7 · 11,570 ratings · score 77 · good
26
Sea Port: Cargo Ships HarborB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 10,489 ratings · score 76 · good
27
Mini MotorwaysB
n/a · ★ 4.1 · 7,042 ratings · score 75 · good
28
Upland: City-BuilderB
Free download · ★ 4.1 · 4,929 ratings · score 74 · good
29
Pocket City 2C
$4.99 · ★ 4.6 · 803 ratings · score 70 · situational
30
Rent Please! Landlord SimC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 52,920 ratings · score 70 · situational · provisional
31
After Inc.C
$1.99 · ★ 4.8 · 16,516 ratings · score 70 · situational · provisional
32
Pocket Tales: Survival GameC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.9 · 5,660 ratings · score 69 · situational · provisional
33
West Game IIC
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 11,670 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
34
Homesteads: Dream Farm & TownC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 10,597 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
35
Gladiator Heroes Arena LegendsC
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 6,047 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
36
City Island 6: Building TownC
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 2,364 ratings · score 67 · situational · provisional
37
Steam City: Town building SimC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 2,545 ratings · score 67 · situational · provisional
38
Idle Island - City TycoonC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 46,254 ratings · score 67 · situational
39
Pocket CityC
$2.99 · ★ 4.7 · 5,129 ratings · score 66 · situational
40
Town Mess - Building AdventureC
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 2,532 ratings · score 66 · situational · provisional

Beyond the top 40

22 more, not ranked yet

New in the last 30 days

Questions people ask

What is the best city building game app for iPhone?: Township, S tier, ranked #1 of 40, rated 4.8 by 2,215,598 people.
Which city building game apps are free?: 34 of 40 are free to download: Township (S), Forge of Empires: Build a City (S), TheoTown (S), Designer City (S) and more. 21 of them sell in-app purchases.
Which city building game app has the best App Store rating?: Designer City 2 at 4.9 from 4,152 ratings.
How many city building game apps reach S or A tier?: 19 of 40. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier.