# Once Upon a Tower vs Epic Life Diary

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Epic Life Diary at none against Once Upon a Tower's 24. Epic Life Diary also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Once Upon a Tower's advantage is ratings volume (3.3K vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Once Upon a Tower sells 24 one-off in-app purchases. Epic Life Diary asks for nothing beyond the download.

Epic Life Diary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Once Upon a Tower has 3.3K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Once Upon a Tower's written reviews are positive against 80% of Epic Life Diary's.

Once Upon a Tower ships an update every 3 weeks, Epic Life Diary every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Once Upon a Tower | Epic Life Diary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (3.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/once-upon-a-tower/id1209083773/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epic-life-diary/id6742134565/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.3K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 75.1% of reviews | **80.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 226 MB | 509 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 14.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Pomelo Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/899606172) | [Puffything Games Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1791042476) |

## What reviewers say

### Once Upon a Tower

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/once-upon-a-tower/id1209083773)

Break free from your tower prison in this adventure game. Armed with a war hammer, you'll battle enemies and escape a dragon. Your rescue is up to you!

**Highlights:** Tower escape adventure, Battle enemies, Fight a dragon, Princess protagonist, Offline gameplay

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

**In-app purchases (24)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oscura | $0.99 | one-time |
| Sigrid | $0.99 | one-time |
| Noriko | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x10 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Myrina | $0.99 | one-time |
| Loriel | $0.99 | one-time |
| Denise | $0.99 | one-time |
| Ali'i | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lilith | $0.99 | one-time |
| Dragon scales x20 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x25 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Rita | $0.99 | one-time |
| Linda | $0.99 | one-time |
| Muffin | $0.99 | one-time |
| Xochi | $0.99 | one-time |
| Nzinga | $0.99 | one-time |
| Draculina | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x25 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x60 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Dragon scales x100 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x200 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x200 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x1,500 | $49.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x9,999 | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💕 Addictive gameplay
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics
- 🎮 Simple but engaging mechanics
- 🚀 Great time killer
- 👍 Empowering female characters

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Unclear instructions/tutorials
- 🔁 Repetitive levels
- 💰 Aggressive monetization with ads
- 🤖 Unresponsive controls

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezes when watching ads
- Progress resets after crashes
- Challenges not tracking properly
- Compatibility issues on older devices

**Requested features**

- More character/princess variety
- Ability to save progress
- Difficulty settings
- Multiplayer mode
- Level editor


### Epic Life Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epic-life-diary/id6742134565)

Nurture unique characters and guide them through their stories with simple taps. Discover new endings and shape their abilities and appearance. Embark on an epic journey to create the life you desire.

**Highlights:** Multiple unique characters to raise, Tap-based gameplay mechanics, Branching story paths, Discover new endings, Character ability customization, Character appearance customization

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Once Upon a Tower free?

Once Upon a Tower is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Epic Life Diary free?

Epic Life Diary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Once Upon a Tower or Epic Life Diary?

Epic Life Diary is rated higher. Once Upon a Tower averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Epic Life Diary averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Once Upon a Tower or Epic Life Diary have ads?

Both Once Upon a Tower and Epic Life Diary show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Once Upon a Tower or Epic Life Diary?

Once Upon a Tower ships an update every 3 weeks, and Epic Life Diary every 2 days. Most recently, Once Upon a Tower was updated on October 28, 2026 and Epic Life Diary on October 24, 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.*