Yes. Kitty Kaboom is free to download on iPhone, iPad and Android, and it has no in-app purchases. All 60 campaign levels, all seven cats, every upgrade, every hat and the daily challenge are included from the first launch. The game is paid for with ads instead.
“Free with ads” covers a lot of ground, though, from one banner at the bottom of the screen to a video every ninety seconds. Here’s exactly what it means in this game.
Is there anything you can buy in Kitty Kaboom? #
No. There are no coin packs, no character bundles, no season pass and no ad-removal purchase. The App Store listing for Kitty Kaboom shows a price of Free with no in-app purchase list, and the Google Play listing declares ads but not purchases.
Everything in the shop costs coins you earn by playing:
| What free games usually charge for | How Kitty Kaboom handles it |
|---|---|
| Extra levels or episodes | All 60 levels are in the download |
| New characters | All seven cats are earned by finishing campaign levels |
| Power-ups and upgrades | Cat upgrades cost 100 to 800 coins each |
| Cosmetics | The 11 buyable hats cost 150 to 1,500 coins |
| Lives or energy refills | There are none. Replay anything, as often as you like |
| Removing the ads | Not sold |
| Currency packs | Not sold |
Coins come from new stars, Gold Paws, the daily challenge and the daily gift. We rank what to spend them on in the best Kitty Kaboom upgrades to buy.
Where do the ads appear? #
Four kinds, in four places:
| Ad type | Where it appears | Can you skip it? |
|---|---|---|
| Banner | A strip at the bottom, in menus and during levels | It’s always there |
| Between levels | Full screen after a level result | Closeable after a few seconds |
| App open | When you launch the game, or return to it after about 30 seconds away | Closeable |
| Rewarded video | Only when you tap a button asking for one | Entirely optional |
The between-level ads are paced rather than constant. Your first three level completions have none at all, which keeps the opening of the game clean. After that they appear roughly every second result, and there’s about a one-in-three chance of one after a failed attempt.
In practice a ten-minute session works out to a handful of full-screen ads plus the banner. That’s normal for a free casual game, and it’s more than you’d see in a paid one.
Which ads are optional? #
The rewarded videos are the only ads you choose, and all four of them give you something:
- Two extra cats after you run out, so you can finish the attempt. Using them caps that win at one star.
- Double coins on the victory screen, which doubles the whole payout for that level, Gold Paw bonus included.
- Skip this level, offered after you fail the same level twice.
- The daily gift on the title screen: 100 coins, plus 10 more for every day of your daily-challenge streak.
None of them are required to finish the game. Every level can be beaten with the cats the level gives you, and the three-star rule actively rewards using fewer of them.
Does the free version hold anything back? #
No. There’s no premium tier, no timed content and no paywall between worlds. Specifically:
- No lives or energy. You can fail the same level fifty times in a row at no cost.
- No account. There’s no sign-up, no login and no email capture. Stars, coins and hats are saved on your device.
- No online requirement. Every level, the shop and the daily challenge work with no connection, as covered in slingshot games that work offline.
- No timers on the shop. Upgrades and hats are priced in coins and available whenever you can afford them.
The one thing you lose offline is the rewarded videos, since an ad has to download before it can pay you.
How does that compare with other free slingshot games? #
Most of the big ones are free with ads and in-app purchases, and several sell randomized items. Angry Birds 2’s own App Store description says the game “may include loot boxes or other game mechanics with random rewards.” Cut the Rope’s says in-game items can be bought “including randomised items.”
The alternatives to that model are paying once or subscribing:
| Game | Cost | Ads | In-app purchases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitty Kaboom | Free | Yes | None |
| Angry Birds 2 | Free | Yes | Yes, including random items |
| Angry Birds Friends | Free | Yes | Yes |
| Red’s First Flight | $0.99 on iOS | Its listing says no intrusive pop-up ads | None |
| Angry Birds Reloaded | Apple Arcade subscription | No | No |
Apple Arcade costs $6.99 a month in the US and Apple states its games have “No ads. No in-app purchases.” More options are in our roundup of games like Angry Birds.
What the store labels tell you before you install #
On Google Play, a game that shows ads carries a “Contains ads” label, and one that sells things shows “Offers in-app purchases.” Kitty Kaboom carries the first and not the second. Neither label tells you how many ads there are or how pushy they get, which is why it’s worth reading a few recent reviews. We explain both labels in what “contains ads” and “in-app purchases” mean.
Frequently asked questions #
Does Kitty Kaboom have in-app purchases? #
No. There is nothing to buy with real money in the game, and no purchases are listed on either store page. Coins, upgrades and hats are all earned by playing.
Can you remove the ads in Kitty Kaboom? #
There’s no purchase that removes them. Playing with no connection stops most ads from loading, but it also disables the rewarded videos, so you lose the extra cats, the level skip, the double-coin option and the daily gift.
Is Kitty Kaboom free on both iPhone and Android? #
Yes, and it’s the same game on both. It’s rated 9+ on the App Store for infrequent cartoon violence, and it needs iOS 16.4 or later on Apple devices.
Do you need an account to play? #
No. There’s no sign-up and no login. Your progress lives on the device, which also means deleting the app deletes your stars, coins and hats unless your phone’s own backup includes them.
Is Kitty Kaboom free for kids? #
It’s free for everyone, but the 9+ rating and the ads are worth knowing about before you hand a young child a phone. Cartoon cats bonk cartoon robots, there’s no chat and no user content, but the banner and between-level ads come from an ad network rather than the developer. Google Play’s content restrictions and Apple’s Ask to Buy both help; see cat games for kids for how to check any game before your child plays it.