Best Value Life Sim Games Under $20

The Life Sim games on Steam games under $20 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.

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.
  1. 1Ropuka's Idle Island$0.02/1hr
  2. 2Chill Pulse$0.08/1hr
  3. 3My Time at Portia$0.09/1hr
  4. 4Stardew Valley$0.12/1hr
  5. 5My Time at Sandrock$0.13/1hr
  6. 6Sun Haven$0.16/1hr
  7. 7Placid Plastic Duck Simulator$0.16/1hr
  8. 8Spirit City: Lofi Sessions$0.17/1hr
  9. 9The Guild II Renaissance$0.18/1hr
  10. 10Ithya: Magic Studies$0.19/1hr
  11. 11Paleo Pines$0.20/1hr
  12. 12Fields of Mistria$0.20/1hr
  13. 13Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator$0.22/1hr
  14. 14Streamer Life Simulator$0.24/1hr
  15. 15Car Dealer Simulator$0.27/1hr
  16. 16Old Market Simulator$0.27/1hr
  17. 17Volcano Princess$0.27/1hr
  18. 18Travellers Rest$0.32/1hr
  19. 19VillageRhapsody$0.32/1hr
  20. 20WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition$0.32/1hr
  21. 21Mon Bazou$0.35/1hr
  22. 22Little Witch in the Woods$0.36/1hr
  23. 23Immortal Life$0.36/1hr
  24. 24ANEURISM IV$0.37/1hr
  25. 25Yes, Your Grace$0.39/1hr
  26. 26No Place Like Home$0.40/1hr
  27. 27Monster Prom$0.40/1hr
  28. 28School Days$0.41/1hr
  29. 29ContractVille$0.41/1hr
  30. 30Ostranauts$0.41/1hr
  31. 31Chushpan Simulator$0.41/1hr
  32. 32Cash Cleaner Simulator$0.41/1hr
  33. 33Progressbar95$0.42/1hr
  34. 34The Sushi Spinnery$0.42/1hr
  35. 35Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator$0.43/1hr
  36. 36Supermarket Simulator$0.47/1hr
  37. 37Dinkum$0.47/1hr
  38. 38TCG Card Shop Simulator$0.49/1hr
  39. 39The Sims 3$0.50/1hr
  40. 40Tavern Talk - A Cozy Visual Novel$0.52/1hr
  41. 41Chinese Online Game$0.53/1hr
  42. 42Sailwind$0.55/1hr
  43. 43Good Pizza, Great Pizza - Cooking Simulator Game$0.55/1hr
  44. 44Internet Cafe Simulator 2$0.58/1hr
  45. 45Drug Lord Tycoon$0.58/1hr
  46. 46Sticky Business$0.61/1hr
  47. 47TheoTown$0.61/1hr
  48. 48Chef RPG$0.63/1hr
  49. 49Reigns$0.65/1hr
  50. 50Moonstone Island$0.66/1hr
  51. 51WorldBox - God Simulator$0.68/1hr
  52. 52I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival$0.68/1hr
  53. 53Mr. Prepper$0.69/1hr
  54. 54Office Life$0.70/1hr
  55. 5560 Seconds! Reatomized$0.71/1hr
  56. 56The Wandering Village$0.71/1hr
  57. 57Potion Permit$0.72/1hr
  58. 58Cozy Grove$0.72/1hr
  59. 59Echoes of the Plum Grove$0.73/1hr
  60. 60Bear and Breakfast$0.73/1hr
  61. 61Chinese Parents$0.74/1hr
  62. 62Russian Life Simulator$0.75/1hr
  63. 63THE GAME OF LIFE 2$0.77/1hr
  64. 64Streamer Life Simulator 2$0.78/1hr
  65. 65Finnish Cottage Simulator$0.79/1hr
  66. 66Growing Up$0.82/1hr
  67. 67Cattails: Wildwood Story$0.83/1hr
  68. 68Trash Goblin$0.84/1hr
  69. 69Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator$0.85/1hr
  70. 70The Tenants$0.90/1hr
  71. 71Vanity Fair: The Pursuit$0.93/1hr
  72. 72Summon$0.93/1hr
  73. 73Punch Club 2: Fast Forward$0.93/1hr
  74. 74Cozy Caravan$0.94/1hr
  75. 7560 Parsecs!$0.97/1hr
  76. 76Animal Shelter$0.99/1hr
  77. 77Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story$1.02/1hr
  78. 78Sunset Motel$1.02/1hr
  79. 79To Pixelia$1.06/1hr
  80. 80TOGETHER BnB$1.12/1hr
  81. 81Minami Lane$1.13/1hr
  82. 82VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action$1.16/1hr
  83. 83Initial Drift Online$1.21/1hr
  84. 84Comedy Night$1.21/1hr
  85. 85Farlands$1.22/1hr
  86. 86Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator$1.28/1hr
  87. 87Car For Sale Simulator 2023$1.29/1hr
  88. 88Not Tonight$1.38/1hr
  89. 89Cat Cafe Manager$1.39/1hr
  90. 90The Coin Game$1.41/1hr
  91. 91One Hour One Life$1.46/1hr
  92. 92Youtubers Life$1.54/1hr
  93. 93MiSide$1.54/1hr
  94. 94Bakery Simulator$1.60/1hr
  95. 95Havendock$1.83/1hr
  96. 96PC Building Simulator$1.88/1hr
  97. 97Wobbledogs$2.05/1hr
  98. 98[Chilla's Art] The Closing Shift | 閉店事件$2.26/1hr
  99. 99Insomnia: Theater in the Head$2.45/1hr
  100. 100Electrician Simulator$2.94/1hr

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.