Best Value Life Sim Games Under $40
The Life Sim games on Steam games under $40 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.
All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG
By price
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
- 1Ropuka's Idle Island$0.03/1hr121h88.04%95.40%
- 2The Guild II Renaissance$0.04/1hr46h84.33%83.49%
- 3Chill Pulse$0.04/1hr115h88.38%95.55%
- 4Stardew Valley$0.11/1hr135h98.35%98.48%
- 5Spirit City: Lofi Sessions$0.13/1hr91h92.84%97.63%
- 6ANEURISM IV$0.16/1hr31h81.59%76.20%
- 7Farm Together 2$0.17/1hr154h87.84%93.72%
- 8Ithya: Magic Studies$0.17/1hr63h87.21%97.85%
- 9Placid Plastic Duck Simulator$0.18/1hr11h93.38%97.58%
- 10Amber Isle$0.21/1hr30h84.57%82.78%
- 11Punch Club 2: Fast Forward$0.21/1hr24h84.17%82.48%
- 12Card Survival: Fantasy Forest$0.22/1hr100h84.00%75.90%
- 13Coral Island$0.23/1hr129h87.82%88.87%
- 14Bear and Breakfast$0.24/1hr29h86.51%89.46%
- 15Potion Permit$0.25/1hr28h83.00%79.39%
- 16Little Witch in the Woods$0.29/1hr52h87.26%89.04%
- 17Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator$0.29/1hr27h91.46%92.93%
- 18I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival$0.31/1hr26h84.87%84.73%
- 19Mon Bazou$0.33/1hr48h93.14%97.12%
- 20Bellwright$0.34/1hr89h81.69%80.27%
- 21Wobbly Life$0.34/1hr48h94.52%97.24%
- 22Wylde Flowers$0.34/1hr73h87.47%95.88%
- 23Dinkum$0.34/1hr59h90.07%91.84%
- 24The Guild 3$0.35/1hr17h74.00%60.29%
- 25Fields of Mistria$0.35/1hr36h94.38%97.45%
- 26The Sims 3$0.35/1hr57h85.95%86.24%
- 27VillageRhapsody$0.35/1hr8h92.33%96.87%
- 28My Time at Sandrock$0.36/1hr111h87.34%88.18%
- 29Ostranauts$0.36/1hr44h83.44%79.22%
- 30Sun Haven$0.36/1hr69h81.81%80.57%
- 31Critter Cove$0.38/1hr66h86.52%94.75%
- 32Travellers Rest$0.38/1hr48h86.87%87.96%
- 33Roots of Pacha$0.38/1hr66h87.80%93.61%
- 34Car Dealer Simulator$0.39/1hr51h86.96%88.96%
- 35Disney Dreamlight Valley$0.40/1hr99h90.10%92.20%
- 36Kynseed$0.41/1hr48h84.54%82.90%
- 37ContractVille$0.42/1hr23h83.42%80.94%
- 38Project Hospital$0.43/1hr58h86.74%88.96%
- 39Progressbar95$0.44/1hr11h87.91%96.13%
- 40Cash Cleaner Simulator$0.46/1hr44h88.19%92.36%
- 41TheoTown$0.47/1hr21h88.04%94.58%
- 42Volcano Princess$0.47/1hr23h95.61%97.80%
- 43Calico$0.47/1hr8h85.49%86.59%
- 44Bloomtown: A Different Story$0.48/1hr21h85.05%85.72%
- 45Big Ambitions$0.48/1hr54h89.32%92.60%
- 46Summon$0.48/1hr1h86.92%92.51%
- 47Moonstone Island$0.48/1hr41h84.55%83.77%
- 48School Days$0.49/1hr30h81.24%76.52%
- 49Two Point Museum$0.50/1hr60h90.84%95.37%
- 50Supermarket Simulator$0.51/1hr40h91.30%92.07%
- 51WorldBox - God Simulator$0.51/1hr39h93.76%95.33%
- 52TCG Card Shop Simulator$0.52/1hr38h94.57%96.54%
- 53BOOK OF HOURS$0.53/1hr47h86.14%88.87%
- 54My Time at Portia$0.54/1hr55h90.29%91.50%
- 55The Ranch of Rivershine$0.55/1hr55h86.62%93.96%
- 56Echoes of the Plum Grove$0.55/1hr36h85.42%87.78%
- 57Cozy Grove$0.59/1hr26h87.06%89.57%
- 58Old Market Simulator$0.60/1hr17h85.91%87.73%
- 59Mr. Prepper$0.61/1hr30h83.40%80.14%
- 60WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition$0.61/1hr49h92.10%97.53%
- 61Finnish Cottage Simulator$0.64/1hr23h87.26%93.67%
- 62Chinese Online Game$0.65/1hr15h85.27%85.60%
- 63SimRail - The Railway Simulator$0.67/1hr52h85.02%85.16%
- 64Sailwind$0.69/1hr29h85.68%88.85%
- 65Potionomics$0.69/1hr36h87.27%90.44%
- 66Good Pizza, Great Pizza - Cooking Simulator Game$0.69/1hr14h86.17%88.00%
- 67The Tenants$0.69/1hr29h82.30%78.90%
- 68Sengoku Dynasty$0.69/1hr40h80.34%74.74%
- 69Tales of Seikyu$0.69/1hr36h84.88%84.65%
- 70Cozy Caravan$0.71/1hr28h86.00%93.77%
- 71Minami Lane$0.74/1hr5h89.91%97.40%
- 72Chef RPG$0.74/1hr27h85.56%87.83%
- 73VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action$0.78/1hr13h94.74%97.28%
- 74Growing Up$0.79/1hr19h85.73%87.88%
- 75Paleo Pines$0.79/1hr38h84.24%82.57%
- 76Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator$0.80/1hr23h84.16%83.19%
- 77Chinese Parents$0.81/1hr12h89.59%91.32%
- 78Cattails: Wildwood Story$0.83/1hr24h86.75%97.51%
- 79The Sims 2 Legacy Collection$0.85/1hr18h80.72%72.15%
- 80Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story$0.87/1hr23h85.66%98.57%
- 81Crime Scene Cleaner$0.88/1hr34h95.09%98.09%
- 82Russian Life Simulator$0.89/1hr1h86.58%88.54%
- 83Trash Goblin$0.89/1hr21h85.47%88.46%
- 84Vanity Fair: The Pursuit$0.90/1hr8h85.78%87.61%
- 85I Was a Teenage Exocolonist$0.93/1hr27h88.60%96.32%
- 86STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town$0.95/1hr42h88.15%93.35%
- 87Youtubers Life$1.04/1hr19h80.37%77.41%
- 88Hello Kitty Island Adventure$1.05/1hr38h89.88%93.93%
- 89To Pixelia$1.08/1hr14h83.73%74.30%
- 9060 Seconds! Reatomized$1.11/1hr9h91.22%94.46%
- 91Car For Sale Simulator 2023$1.12/1hr15h80.71%78.68%
- 92The Wandering Village$1.14/1hr26h88.15%91.97%
- 93Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator$1.15/1hr26h84.67%83.69%
- 94Sticky Business$1.20/1hr8h88.76%93.75%
- 95PC Building Simulator$1.20/1hr17h92.14%93.50%
- 96inZOI$1.22/1hr33h78.99%77.14%
- 97CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience$1.23/1hr16h86.23%90.80%
- 98TOGETHER BnB$1.32/1hr14h72.32%58.81%
- 99Go-Go Town!$1.34/1hr21h86.85%93.25%
- 100Comedy Night$1.39/1hr4h79.66%73.97%
How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.