# Tower Keepers vs Gladiator Rising

The clearest difference is ads: Tower Keepers at none against Gladiator Rising's shown. Tower Keepers also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (10 vs 14.0). Gladiator Rising's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (2.6K vs 105). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Tower Keepers sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Gladiator Rising sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Gladiator Rising holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gladiator Rising has 2.6K ratings behind it against 105, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Tower Keepers's written reviews are positive against 65% of Gladiator Rising's.

Tower Keepers ships an update every 3 weeks, Gladiator Rising every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Tower Keepers | Gladiator Rising |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (105 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tower-keepers/id1077597317/reviews) | **[4.6 (2.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gladiator-rising/id1333928862/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 105 | **2.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | **65.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 229 MB | 99 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10** | 14.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Ninja Kiwi](https://appshunter.io/developer/386241773) | [Happii Gamer Studios Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1331663692) |

## What reviewers say

### Tower Keepers

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tower-keepers/id1077597317)

Build and train an army of heroes to defend your tower in this strategy RPG. Engage in a deep solo campaign with over 75 missions and 70+ monster types, or test your skills against other players in real-time PvP battles.

**Highlights:** Hero training and team building, Deep solo campaign with 75+ missions, Real-time head-to-head PvP battles, 30 unique heroes with special skills, 70+ unique monsters and bosses, Item crafting, enchanting, and upgrading

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bag of Gold | $1.99 | one-time |
| Advanced Hero Scroll Pack | $3.99 | one-time |
| Pile of Gems | $4.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Guild Marks | $4.99 | one-time |
| Daily Gems Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Artisan Points Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Pile of Gold | $7.99 | one-time |
| 4 Void Cores | $9.99 | one-time |
| Sack of Gems | $19.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Gold | $29.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Gems | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great fun game
- 👍 Depth of play from beginner to high level
- 👍 Nice campaign story with lots of missions and rewards
- 👍 No paywalls to access all parts of the game
- 👍 Supportive community

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Forced tutorial is too long
- 🐛 Potions not available on iOS
- 🐛 Game gets harder to progress without spending money
- 🐛 Unbalanced PvP matchmaking
- 🐛 Frequent ads

**Reported bugs**

- Forced tutorial is too long
- Potions not available on iOS
- Unbalanced PvP matchmaking
- Crashes and freezes
- Progress loss issues

**Requested features**

- Faster combat speed option
- More character customization options
- Improved PvP matchmaking
- Reduce in-app purchase prices
- Add more new content and events


### Gladiator Rising

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gladiator-rising/id1333928862)

Engage in strategic turn-based combat against procedurally generated opponents across five chapters. Equip and utilize a variety of items to hone your warrior skills and achieve ultimate victory in this challenging roguelike RPG.

**Highlights:** Procedurally generated gladiators, Five chapters of progression, Item buying and equipping, Turn-based RPG combat, Strategic gameplay

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Donation | $0.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| Medium Donation | $2.99 | one-time |
| Large Donation | $8.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fun gameplay
- 👍 Challenging and addictive
- 🤺 Gladiator theme
- 💎 Good value for a free game

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔨 Progression-blocking issues
- 🕹️ Unresponsive controls
- 🤯 Frustrating difficulty spikes

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes when opening ad chests
- Unable to progress past 3rd or 4th fight
- Character instantly dying when sleeping
- Inventory and skill issues on reloading

**Requested features**

- More character classes and abilities
- Improved save/load system
- Better in-app purchase options
- Expanded post-game content


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Tower Keepers free?

Tower Keepers is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Gladiator Rising free?

Gladiator Rising is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Tower Keepers or Gladiator Rising?

Gladiator Rising is rated higher. Tower Keepers averages 4.3 out of 5 from 105 ratings, while Gladiator Rising averages 4.6 from 2.6K ratings.

### Do Tower Keepers or Gladiator Rising have ads?

Gladiator Rising shows ads; Tower Keepers does not.

### Which is updated more often, Tower Keepers or Gladiator Rising?

Tower Keepers ships an update every 3 weeks, and Gladiator Rising every 4 months. Most recently, Tower Keepers was updated on October 21, 2026 and Gladiator Rising on October 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*