# Mars vs Dead Wake

The clearest difference is update cadence: Dead Wake at every 3 days against Mars's every 2 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Mars sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Dead Wake sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Mars ships an update every 2 months, Dead Wake every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mars | Dead Wake |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (26 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **26** | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 2.6 GB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Stefan Nyul](https://appshunter.io/developer/1458927523) | [Logan Voss](https://appshunter.io/developer/1813258380) |

## What reviewers say

### Mars

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524)

Engage in a scientific simulation of establishing a Mars colony. Manage a small group of settlers, research technologies, and build a thriving settlement from a single module. Compete with other human-controlled colonies for success on the Red Planet.

**Highlights:** Scientific Mars settlement simulation, Research and development of technologies, Exploration of the Red Planet, Building and managing specialized structures, Managing settler types and life cycles, 3D view of settlement and Mars surface, Offline playability

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Logistics contract | $0.99 | one-time |
| MAA Gold Membership | $1.99 | one-time |
| Sponsors contract | $2.99 | one-time |


### Dead Wake

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dead-wake/id6801930502)

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Advertisements | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mars free?

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

### Is Dead Wake free?

Dead Wake is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Mars or Dead Wake have ads?

Both Mars and Dead Wake show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mars or Dead Wake?

Mars ships an update every 2 months, and Dead Wake every 3 days. Most recently, Mars was updated on October 5, 2026 and Dead Wake on October 14, 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.*