Comparison

Realm Grinder vs TownsFolk

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Realm Grinder

Build a vast kingdom from humble beginnings, earning wealth even offline. Explore deep strategic choices by aligning with diverse factions, unlocking hundreds of upgrades, and discovering new game systems. Enjoy frequent events and collect numerous achievements.

Highlights
  • Kingdom building and offline wealth generation
  • Deep strategic choices with multiple factions
  • Hundreds of upgrades and unique buildings
  • Unlock new game systems and content
  • Collect hundreds of achievements
  • Frequent in-game events
Features
Read full description

Grow your kingdom, build alliances, and explore one of the deepest idle RPG's ever! Use your money and influence to grow your kingdom from a single farm to a huge realm that earns wealth even while you're not online! In Realm Grinder, the player is given an incredible array of choices in how they build forge their new kingdom. KEY FEATURES: *Deep Strategy - Choose to align yourself with a dozen different factions, each of which has their own distinct play style. Will you align with the elves, who reward tapping for treasure, or the demons, who give massive bonuses to the most powerful structures? *Hundreds of Upgrades - Further fine tune your strategy by choosing unique upgrades, buildings, and spells to invest in. *Tons of Content - Continue to unlock new and exciting systems like new factions, research, reincarnations, excavations, and way more. Months and months of unique content! *Collect Hundreds of Achievements - Achievement hunters will be delighted with the broad range and depth of the achievement system. And it's not just eye candy! Many strategies rely on collecting trophies in order to boost certain upgrades. *Frequent Events - Beyond the expansive base content in the game, there are frequent events where players can enjoy unique mechanics and exciting bonuses. Please Note: Realm Grinder is a free-to-play game, but some extra game items can be purchased for real money. You can disable in-app purchases in your device's settings.

About

TownsFolk

Lead settlers to build and expand a thriving colony in a mysterious and dangerous world. Manage resources, make critical decisions, and overcome challenges to ensure your settlement's survival. Explore the unknown, face disasters, and appease a demanding king.

Highlights
  • Build and expand settlements
  • Explore unknown territories
  • Survive challenges and disasters
  • Roguelite strategy gameplay
  • Skirmish and puzzle modes
  • Handcrafted pixel art visuals
  • Weekly challenge mode
Features
Read full description

TownsFolk – Build. Survive. Explore. Lead a group of settlers into the unknown and build a thriving colony in a world full of mystery and danger. Manage scarce resources, make tough choices, and face the unpredictable frontier. Will your town prosper or fall? Lead, Expand, Survive: • Build & Expand – Grow your village by managing Food, Gold, Faith, and Production. • Explore the Unknown – Clear the fog, discover treasures, and uncover dangers. • Survive Challenges – Overcome disasters, wild animals, and moral dilemmas. • Appease the King – Deliver tribute, or risk your colony’s fate. Game Features: ▪ Roguelite Strategy – New challenges every playthrough. ▪ Skirmish Mode – Test survival skills in standalone scenarios. ▪ Puzzle Challenges – Solve strategic puzzles for rewards. ▪ Pixel Art World – Handcrafted visuals & atmospheric music. ▪ Deep, Minimalist Gameplay – Easy to start, challenging to master. ▪ Weekly Challenge Mode – A new scenario every week with leaderboards. ▪ Factions – 5 unique Factions, each with their own strengths, stories, and playstyles. Can you build a settlement that withstands the test of time? Download TownsFolk today! Play for Free – Upgrade Anytime TownsFolk lets you jump in for free! Enjoy the How to Play missions, test your skills in Puzzle Missions, and try out Skirmish Mode with a fixed setup. Want more? A one-time in-app purchase unlocks the full Campaign and lets you customize settings in Skirmish Mode for endless replayability.

Screenshots

Realm Grinder4 screens
TownsFolk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: TownsFolk at none against Realm Grinder's shown. TownsFolk also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Realm Grinder's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Realm Grinder sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and TownsFolk sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TownsFolk holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.1K and 3.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Realm Grinder's written reviews are positive against 73% of TownsFolk's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Realm Grinder ships an update every 6 weeks, TownsFolk every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Realm Grinder versus TownsFolk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRealm GrinderTownsFolk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (3.1K ratings)4.7 (3.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.8% of reviews72.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.1K3.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB256 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperKongregateShort Circuit Studio

Customer experience

Realm Grinder

All ratings3,114 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral4.6%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews726 reviews
Positive63.8%
Neutral10.3%
Negative25.9%

TownsFolk

All ratings3,260 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews654 reviews
Positive72.8%
Neutral8.6%
Negative18.7%

User reviews

Realm Grinder

From 3.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic game, getting even better
  • 🚀 Best idle game imo
  • 🚀 Really Good!
  • 🚀 Great game, just hard to read the text
  • 🚀 Amazing, Addicting, Creative, and Addicting Game!

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Scry not working - no response from support team
  • 🐛 Crashes constantly
  • 🐛 Impossible to read/play on iPhone 12
  • 🐛 Impossible to read/play on iPhone 12
  • 🐛 Broke

TownsFolk

From 3.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun game
  • 👍 Solid tutorial
  • 👍 Portrait mode
  • 👍 Great city sim game
  • 👍 Interesting mechanics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and freezes
  • 🔋 Drains battery
  • 💰 Requires payment after tutorial
  • 🔍 Needs better balancing
  • 🔍 Needs deeper gameplay

Bugs and requests

Realm Grinder

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Scry not working since last release
  • Crashes constantly
  • Impossible to read/play on iPhone 12
  • Impossible to read/play on iPhone 12
  • Can't collect lava stone, only holy symbols
Show 5 more
  • No lava stones
  • UI bad
  • Crashes every time it connects to Game Center
  • Spells cast not counting
  • Can't purchase anything

Requested features

5 requests
  • Have to add some faction wars
  • Change the screen bigger for newer iPhone models please
  • Please add Chinese
  • Please add Chinese
  • Suggestion

TownsFolk

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Tutorial freezes the game
  • Can't build anything and days don't progress
  • Save data reverts or gets corrupted

Requested features

2 requests
  • Creative/easy mode to keep progress
  • Leaderboards and daily challenges

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Realm Grinder

One-time9
  • Gift of the Heroes$4.99
  • Small Pack of Rubies$4.99
  • Gift of the Kings$9.99
Show 6 more
  • Medium Pack of Rubies$9.99
  • Gift of the Faithful$9.99
  • Gift of the Myths$14.99
  • Gift of the Gods$19.99
  • Large Pack of Rubies$19.99
  • Huge Pack of Rubies$49.99
2 purchases

TownsFolk

One-time2
  • Shadow of Empires bundle$2.99
  • TownsFolk: A new world$8.99

Questions

Is Realm Grinder free?
Realm Grinder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TownsFolk free?
TownsFolk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Realm Grinder or TownsFolk?
TownsFolk is rated higher. Realm Grinder averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3.1K ratings, while TownsFolk averages 4.7 from 3.3K ratings.
Do Realm Grinder or TownsFolk have ads?
Realm Grinder shows ads; TownsFolk does not.
Which is updated more often, Realm Grinder or TownsFolk?
Realm Grinder ships an update every 6 weeks, and TownsFolk every 2 weeks. Most recently, Realm Grinder was updated on November 4, 2026 and TownsFolk on November 8, 2026.

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