Control Tower vs Elite Space Trader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Control Tower
Guide aircraft to safe landing zones and prevent collisions by drawing flight paths. This strategy game requires quick reflexes and careful planning to manage air traffic and achieve high scores.
- Guide aircraft to landing zones
- Draw flight paths
- Classic game mode
- Online high scores
- Achievements
- Addictive gameplay
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Take control of the skies and feel the rush of bringing every flight home safely. Draw a line with your finger and watch planes, jets, helicopters and seaplanes follow it to their runway or helipad. You'll get it in seconds, and the busier the sky gets, the sharper you become. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT • Play in seconds: just draw a line, your aircraft does the rest • Never get bored: 6 unique airports, from a sunny coastline to a polar research base • Pull off daring landings: touch down on an aircraft carrier drifting with the tide • Relax in beauty: switch anytime between crisp Classic art and a hand-painted world • Feel the rush: traffic keeps building until only the sharpest controllers survive • Prove you're the best: 19 achievements and a best score on every airport • Play your way: fast-forward when it's calm, choose dotted or dashed flight paths • Play in your language: fully translated into 51 languages • Made for your screen: looks great on every iPhone and iPad Quick to start and hard to put down. Perfect for a coffee break or a long flight. 51 LANGUAGES English, Српски, Srpski, Русский, Українська, Deutsch, Español, Português (PT), Português (BR), Polski, Čeština, Français, Suomi, Română, Ελληνικά, Svenska, Italiano, Slovenčina, Magyar, Dansk, Nederlands, Slovenščina, Türkçe, Eesti, Indonesia, Melayu, Filipino, Norsk, Lietuvių, العربية, فارسی, Afrikaans, Latviešu, বাংলা, 繁體中文, 简体中文, עברית, 한국어, Български, Català, Íslenska, ไทย, Tiếng Việt, हिन्दी, తెలుగు, தமிழ், اردو, नेपाली, Esperanto, O‘zbek, 日本語
Elite Space Trader
Engage in a 2D space trading and combat simulation. Navigate between star systems, evade pirates, and raid ships for cargo while evading law enforcement. Choose your path between good and evil.
- 2D space trading
- Space combat
- Pirate evasion
- Ship boarding
- Cargo theft
- Choice of good or evil path
- Touch controls
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Elite Space Trader is a 2d space trading and fighting game. Travel to different star systems, while avoiding pirates. Or board over ships and steal their cargo, but watch out for the police. You get to choose which path you will go down, good or evil. Control your ship by holding the screen, or shoot by touching the screen.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Control Tower at Free against Elite Space Trader's $0.99. Control Tower also leads on rating (4.2 vs 1.0) and review sentiment (39% vs 0%). Elite Space Trader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On 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
Control Tower is free to download; Elite Space Trader costs $0.99 up front. Control Tower sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Elite Space Trader asks for nothing beyond the download.
Control Tower holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Control Tower has 193 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Control Tower's written reviews are positive against 0% of Elite Space Trader's.
Control Tower ships an update every 7 months, Elite Space Trader every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Control Tower | Elite Space Trader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (193 ratings) — better | 1.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 39.4% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 193 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months — better | Every 29 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 0 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 4 SAVE SOFT DOO NOVI SAD | JOhn Lyons |
Customer experience
Control Tower
Elite Space Trader
Bugs and requests
Control Tower
Reported bugs
11 issues- Planes spawn on screen edges and cannot be controlled
- App crashes when submitting scores
- App freezes mid-game with no save function
- Touch input delay and unresponsive controls
- Planes crash due to uncontrollable border spawns
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- Screen scaling issues on newer iPhone models
- Ad banner causes crashes when displaying
- Controls flip upside down (orientation bug)
- Pause function does not work properly
- Game won't load or start properly
- Planes don't respond to drawn flight paths
Requested features
9 requests- New maps and levels
- Restore original Flight Control game
- Better sound design and music
- Improved plane graphics and visual clarity
- Tutorial for new players
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- Faster plane spawn rates
- Multiple free levels instead of just one
- Option to disable ads with one-time payment
- Full-screen support for modern devices
Elite Space Trader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Control Tower
- Unlock FULL game$0.99
- Control Tower Pro$2.99
Elite Space Trader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Control Tower free?
Is Elite Space Trader free?
Which has better reviews, Control Tower or Elite Space Trader?
Do Control Tower or Elite Space Trader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Control Tower or Elite Space Trader?
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