Red Wave TD vs Trenchfront
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Red Wave TD
Defend America from invading communist forces in this real-time strategy and tower defense game. Engage in a full story mode campaign or enjoy quick skirmishes on additional maps. Experience RTS gameplay on the go.
- Real-time strategy gameplay
- Tower defense mechanics
- Story mode campaign
- Skirmish maps
- On-the-go fun
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Communist forces have invaded America! Do you have what it takes to stop the Red Wave? Red Wave is a real-time strategy and tower defense game with a totally unique look — every unit and tile is hand-drawn in colored pencil and scanned in. Take command of American forces and hold the line across America. STORY CAMPAIGN - 6 MISSIONS • Mission 1: Crossing the Rio Grande - stop them at the southern border • Mission 2: Remember the Alamo! • Mission 3: Mighty Mississip' - hold the river • Mission 4: The Siege of St. Louis - defend the secrets hidden below the Gateway Arch • Mission 5: Marine One Down - the President is down in Nashville. Save him! • Mission 6: Escape - crush the tank brigade fleeing to the Atlantic Plus 3 Skirmish maps for quick play: Beginners Field (Easy), Two Rivers (Medium), Surrounded (Hard). BUILD YOUR DEFENSE • Marine - cheap, fast rapid-fire infantry • Pillbox - tough fortified gunner • Landmine - hidden one-shot boom • Artillery - long-range shells • Rocket Launcher - massive splash damage HOLD BACK THE WAVE Conscripts, Jeeps, Tanks, and Rocket Trucks that shoot back. Earn gold for every kill, build fast, and hold the line. MADE FOR ON-THE-GO RTS • Full campaign + skirmish - hours of play • Quick sessions, perfect for mobile • Landscape play with touch, mouse, and gamepad menu support • Free to play with Premium upgrade to unlock all maps and remove ads Get your RTS fix on the go. Stop the Red Wave! Includes Fireworks music composition by Sujin Wonglakorn. Includes various musical compositions by Espilan.
Trenchfront
Lead your army in tactical real-time battles across a contested battlefield. Capture trenches, deploy diverse units, and call in support to achieve victory. Progress through campaigns, challenges, and unlock commanders with unique abilities.
- Tactical real-time battles
- Campaign missions and survival
- Diverse unit deployment
- Commander progression
- Seasons, events, and challenges
- Roguelike upgrades
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Trenchfront is a tactical strategy and survival game for iPhone. Lead your army across a contested battlefield, capture trenches, and decide when each formation should hold, advance, or launch an assault. Deploy infantry, assault troops, machine-gun teams, snipers, medics, engineers, artillery, and tanks. Every unit has distinct strengths, weaknesses, costs, and battlefield roles. Call in air strikes, artillery, smoke, and reinforcements at the right moment. CAMPAIGN AND OPERATIONS Fight mission by mission across the frontline map. Different theaters, objectives, and difficulty levels demand new tactics. Replay completed operations for higher ratings and additional rewards. TACTICAL TRENCH COMMANDS Captured trenches provide cover and are commanded individually. Hold a position, advance in formation, or risk a faster assault with reduced protection. COMMANDERS AND PROGRESSION Choose a commander with a distinct specialization and active ability. Earn player and commander XP, rise through command ranks, complete assignments, and improve your economy, infantry, armor, defense, and support. SEASONS, EVENTS, AND CHALLENGES Daily and weekly challenges provide clear battle objectives. Recurring events and seasonal reward tracks offer additional goals. Optional Premium and DLC content is presented clearly in the store and supports purchase restoration. FEATURES • Tactical real-time battles across five frontline positions • Campaign missions and survival high scores • Distinct maps and selectable difficulty levels • Infantry, armor, and special support abilities • Commanders with roles, abilities, and rank progression • Roguelike field upgrades and synergies • Season pass, events, and challenges • English and German localization • No player account required
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Trenchfront at 100% against Red Wave TD's 50%. Trenchfront also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 22 months). Red Wave TD's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Red Wave TD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Trenchfront sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Trenchfront holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Wave TD has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Red Wave TD's written reviews are positive against 100% of Trenchfront's.
Red Wave TD ships an update every 22 months, Trenchfront every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Red Wave TD | Trenchfront |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 148 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Brandon Stecklein | PHILIP GRABNER |
Customer experience
Red Wave TD
Trenchfront
In-app purchases
Red Wave TD
- Red Wave Premium$1.99
Trenchfront
- Elite Commanders Pack$2.99
- Season 12: Iron Front Premium$3.99
- Season 13: Winter War Premium$3.99
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- Season 14: Pacific Storm Premium$3.99
- Season 15: Desert Spearhead Premium$3.99
- Season 16: Fog of War Premium$3.99
- Season 17: Steel Resolve Premium$3.99
- Season 18: Spring Offensive Premium$3.99
- Season 19: Fortress Europe Premium$3.99
- Historical Campaign Pack$5.99
Questions
Is Red Wave TD free?
Is Trenchfront free?
Which has better reviews, Red Wave TD or Trenchfront?
Do Red Wave TD or Trenchfront have ads?
Which is updated more often, Red Wave TD or Trenchfront?
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