Castle Smasher vs Bloons TD 5
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Castle Smasher
Launch boulders from a catapult to destroy enemy castles and conquer the kingdom. This updated version offers three distinct game modes, including challenges, classic arcade, and randomly generated target practice levels. Master the art of stone slinging to free prisoners and plunder treasures.
- Three game modes
- 50 challenge levels
- Classic arcade mode
- Randomly generated target practice
- Catapult upgrades
- Free prisoners and recruit them
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Ready, aim, fire! Load your catapult and SLING BOULDERS at the enemies' castles on a quest to CONQUER the kingdom. Castle Smasher v2 is the NEW and UPDATED version of the original web game that started a whole new sub-genre of catapult games back in 2007. Travel from castle to castle, challenge new tribes and rescue prisoners in this extended version packed with THREE game modes. Can you master the art of stone slinging? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FEATURES: - THREE game modes - 1: "Challenges" - new game mode with 50 LEVELS - 2: "Arcade" - the classic Castle Smasher game - 3: "Target Practice" - another new game mode with RANDOMLY GENERATED levels for maximum replay value - NO IN-APP PURCHASES: Buy once, own forever! - Cool catapult upgrades - Castles jam-packed with treasures and bonus items waiting to be plundered - Prisoners that can be freed and recruited to your army - Rock solid controls - Donut Games' Collectors Icon #02 - And much more... TECH STUFF: - Game Center support - Widescreen support - Universal App (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch support) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy another Donut Games release!
Bloons TD 5
Build towers, choose upgrades, and hire special agents to pop waves of invading balloons. This tower defense game offers extensive replayability with numerous tracks, missions, and challenges.
- Build and upgrade towers
- Hire special agents
- Over 90 tracks
- Online co-op play
- Daily and special challenges
- Boss Bloon events
- Multiple game modes
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Five-star tower defense with unrivaled depth and replayability. Now with rewarded leaderboards for even more fun and challenge! The Bloons are back and this time they mean business! Build awesome towers, choose your favorite upgrades, hire cool new Special Agents, and pop every last invading Bloon! Featuring 2 brand new Towers, cool Special Agents, glorious retina graphics, original Tracks and Special Missions, a whole new tier of Specialty Building upgrades, and the powerful Monkey Lab to further upgrade your towers, Bloons TD 5 delivers hours and hours of fun, challenging play to fans and new players alike. Hours and Hours of Awesome Gameplay: * 90+ Tracks * 21 powerful towers with Activated Abilities and 2 upgrade paths * 10 Special Agents * Online Co-op play * Multi-track Odyssey Challenges * Boss Bloon Special Events * 10 Special Missions * 250+ Random Missions * Daily Challenges * New Bloon enemies - tougher Camos, Regrow Bloons, and the fearsome ZOMG * 50+ Game Center Achievements and Challenges * iCloud Support * 3 different game modes * Freeplay mode after mastering a track * 4 difficulty settings and family-friendly theme so anyone can play And that's just the beginning - regular planned updates will keep Bloons TD 5 fresh, fun, and challenging for many months to come. Now it's time to pop some Bloons! Remember to save to iCloud after each victory or purchase to save your progress. iPad version also available - check out Bloons TD 5 HD for full screen UI awesomeness! https://ninjakiwi.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Castle Smasher at none against Bloons TD 5's 10. Castle Smasher also leads on ads (none vs shown) and price ($1.99 vs $2.99). Bloons TD 5's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 17 months) and ratings volume (99K vs 43). On rating, review sentiment and device support 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
Castle Smasher costs $1.99 and Bloons TD 5 $2.99 up front. Bloons TD 5 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Castle Smasher asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Castle Smasher against 4.8 for Bloons TD 5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bloons TD 5 has 99K ratings behind it against 43, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Castle Smasher's written reviews are positive against 79% of Bloons TD 5's.
Castle Smasher ships an update every 17 months, Bloons TD 5 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Castle Smasher | Bloons TD 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (43 ratings) | 4.8 (99K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.8% of reviews — better | 79.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 43 | 99K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #10 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 151 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Donut Games | Ninja Kiwi |
Customer experience
Castle Smasher
Bloons TD 5
User reviews
Castle Smasher
From 43 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Simple yet engaging
- 👍 Relaxing and fun
- 👍 Great classic mobile game
- 👍 Numerous and well-designed levels
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 💡 Lack of new levels or updates
- 💡 Difficulty scaling could be improved
Bloons TD 5
From 99K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fun and addictive gameplay
- 💎 Excellent value for money
- 🐒 Unique and charming theme
- 🔥 Highly replayable with lots of content
- 🎮 Great for killing time
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔊 Sound/music issues
- 🔌 Performance issues on later rounds
- 🤝 Multiplayer connectivity problems
- 💰 Microtransactions feel intrusive
Bugs and requests
Castle Smasher
Reported bugs
2 issues- Compatibility issues with newer devices
- Freezing or crashing on certain levels
Requested features
5 requests- New levels or level editor
- Multiplayer or competitive modes
- Additional gameplay modes or challenges
- Customization options for catapult/castle
- Ability to save progress and resume later
Bloons TD 5
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent disconnects in multiplayer
- Sound/music not working
- Crashes on high rounds
- Difficulty spikes between levels
Requested features
5 requests- More maps and game modes
- Ability to transfer save data across devices
- Improved multiplayer features (chat, custom maps)
- New tower types and upgrades
- Customization options (skins, etc.)
In-app purchases
Castle Smasher
No in-app purchases
Bloons TD 5
- Tower Unlock All Upgrades$0.99
- Rank Up$0.99
- 500 Monkey Money$0.99
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- Bundle O' Monkey Money$2.99
- Pile O' Monkey Money$2.99
- Pile O' Tokens$4.99
- Pile O' Monkey Money$4.99
- Vault O' Tokens$9.99
- Double Cash Mode$9.99
- Vault O' Monkey Money$19.99
Questions
Is Castle Smasher free?
Is Bloons TD 5 free?
Which has better reviews, Castle Smasher or Bloons TD 5?
Do Castle Smasher or Bloons TD 5 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Castle Smasher or Bloons TD 5?
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