Comparison table
| App | Best for | Phones needed | Built-in voice | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | One phone or online rooms, in 12 languages | One, or one each online | Yes, with live translation on Aura Gold | Free, optional subscription |
| Jackbox Party Packs | A shared screen in the room | One host device plus each player's phone | Not stated; Jackbox suggests Discord or Zoom for remote play | Paid; only the host buys |
| Heads Up! | Guessing words with the phone on your forehead | One | Not stated | $1.99 on the US App Store |
| Splash | Impostor and viral party games, 3 to 20 people | Not stated | Not stated | Free, in-app purchases |
| Picolo | Rules and dares for a party | Not stated | Not stated | Free, optional subscription |
| Plato | 50 multiplayer games with chat | One each | Yes | Free, in-app purchases |
| Among Us | Social deduction in space, 4 to 15 players | One each | Not stated | Free, in-app purchases |
| Spaceteam | Shouting technobabble, 2 to 8 players | One each | No, you shout | Free, in-app purchases |
| Gartic Phone | The telephone game with drawings | One each | Not stated | Free |
How to choose
- Same room, one phone: pick an app built for passing the phone, so nobody has to install anything.
- Same room with a TV: Jackbox is built for a shared screen.
- Different cities: pick built-in voice, or you will run a separate call beside the game.
- Different languages: Aura is the one in this table that lists live translation of speech inside game rooms.
Where Aura fits
Aura holds more than 20 party games in one app, on iPhone and Android: Impostor, Spin the Bottle with truth or dare, Charades, Never Have I Ever, Draw It, Copycat, High Noon and more. Some are played on one phone, others in an online room with voice chat.
It is newer than most apps here and has far fewer ratings. If you want the most proven choice, Heads Up! has about 300,000 ratings on the US App Store. If you want one phone and online rooms in the same app, that is what we built Aura for.
Questions and answers
What is the best free party game app?
Aura, Splash and Picolo can all be downloaded for free and sell optional extras. Plato and Among Us are free too, but each player needs a device.
Which party game app works with only one phone?
Aura's one-phone games and Heads Up! are played on a single phone. Antics describes itself as party games that all live on one phone.
Is Jackbox playable with phones only?
Jackbox uses phones as controllers, and its guide shows a shared host screen that the whole room can see. Aura and the other one-phone apps need no second screen.
