Building comparison
head to head
FactoriovsMindustry
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Factorio
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A factory-engineering sandbox about scaling throughput against your own bottlenecks.
Mindustry
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Factory-meets-tower-defense; belts feed your defenses.
Factorio leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Mindustry leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
FactorioMindustry
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
Mindustry leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Factorio
Some APM in early hand-crafting; otherwise irrelevant.
Mindustry
some tower placement under pressure
Reads0 vs 1
Mindustry leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Factorio
Biters follow fixed pollution rules; no adaptive opponent.
Mindustry
scripted enemy waves
Variance1 vs 2
Mindustry leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Factorio
Resource patch placement adds minor map randomness.
Mindustry
map layout variation
Optimization10 vs 10
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Factorio
Throughput, ratios, and logistics are the entire game.
Mindustry
factory belts and logistics chains
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.