Comparison

Cell Expansion Wars vs Strain

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

Head to head
About

Cell Expansion Wars

Engage in strategic cellular warfare with simple controls. Defend your cells, counterattack enemy territory, and utilize unique abilities like multiplying tentacles and healing allies. Explore mini-games and compete on leaderboards.

Highlights
  • Simple controls
  • Line multiplying cells
  • Attacking and defensive cells
  • Supportive items
  • Unique mini-games
  • Achievements and leaderboards
Features
Read full description

With the simplest control, players can operate various strategies (Attack, Defense, Heal). Defend your cells from enemy attacks then counterattack to take control of enemies' cells. [Features] - Easy controls - With line multiplying cells, Players can stretch more tentacles. - Attacking cells can give more damage to enemies. - Defensive cells can regain the health of allies cells. - Various supportive items that help players - Various and unique mini-games. - 16 languages supported. - Achievement& leaderboard supported. - Tablet PC devices supported. Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/mobirixplayen YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/mobirix1

About

Strain

Features
Read full description

Spread your strain. Infect every cell. Conquer the host. Strain is a fast, gorgeous strategy game played in bite-sized matches. Tap your cells and swipe to send swarms. Capture neutral cells to grow faster, overwhelm rival strains and finish the job before the immune response wipes you out. EASY TO PLAY, HARD TO MASTER • Tap to select, swipe to send. Matches take just a few minutes • Reactors replicate twice as fast, bunkers resist capture, relays fling swarms across the map • Dodge antibodies that eat your units in transit A LONG CAMPAIGN • Dozens of hand-tuned strains with smarter, perk-powered rivals • Boss hosts every five levels • Rank up from Spore to Pandemic and unlock permanent perks POWER UP & CUSTOMIZE • Pre-match boosts like Adrenal Shot and Time Dilation • Mid-match injections to stall rivals or surge your cells • Colors, cell spines and wave trails to make your strain unique PLAY ANYWHERE • Daily rewards and missions • Works fully offline, no account needed Strain is free to play. Optional in-app purchases are available for Plasma and the Founder Pack.

Screenshots

Cell Expansion Wars4 screens
Strain4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Strain at none against Cell Expansion Wars's shown. Strain also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 5 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Cell Expansion Wars sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Strain sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cell Expansion Wars ships an update every 5 weeks, Strain daily. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cell Expansion Wars versus Strain: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCell Expansion WarsStrain
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (1.7K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews59.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.7K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size154 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMOBIRIXWisdom Entertainment LTD

Bugs and requests

Cell Expansion Wars

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Freezing issues
  • Disappearing cell connections
  • Unfair level scaling
  • Crashes at certain levels

Requested features

4 requests
  • Level editor
  • Multiplayer mode
  • Rewards for completing levels
  • Better progression system

Strain

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Cell Expansion Wars

One-time6
  • 300 Gold item$2.99
  • 500 Gold item$4.99
  • 1100 Gold item$9.99
Show 3 more
  • 3600 Gold item$29.99
  • 6500 Gold item$49.99
  • 15000 Gold item$99.99
4 purchases

Strain

One-time4
  • Vial of Plasma$1.99
  • Flask of Plasma$4.99
  • Founder Pack$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Tank of Plasma$9.99

Questions

Is Cell Expansion Wars free?
Cell Expansion Wars is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Strain free?
Strain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cell Expansion Wars or Strain have ads?
Cell Expansion Wars shows ads; Strain does not.
Which is updated more often, Cell Expansion Wars or Strain?
Cell Expansion Wars ships an update every 5 weeks, and Strain daily. Most recently, Cell Expansion Wars was updated on October 24, 2026 and Strain on October 26, 2026.

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