Comparison

Space Borders vs Star Traders

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

Head to head
About

Space Borders

Command a fleet of starships in a real-time strategy war against hostile aliens. Build your armada, harvest resources, and use tactical formations and superweapons to protect Earth and its colonies from annihilation.

Highlights
  • Real-time strategy gameplay
  • Build and customize fleet (15 ship types)
  • Resource harvesting and upgrades
  • Tactical ship formations
  • Superweapons and special powers
  • Campaign, Survival, and Sandbox modes
Features
Read full description

Command massive star ships in a large-scale war, against a powerful alien force! Put your tactical skills to work and protect humanity and Earth from certain annihilation. Space Borders is a 2D space RTS game, which features lots of gameplay depth, colorful graphics, cool special effects & a great overall atmosphere. _________________ GAMEPLAY • Real-time strategy (RTS) • Build up your fleet by choosing from 15 different types of ships (with unique abilities) • Harvest resources to buy new ships, power-ups and upgrade your mothership • Protect friendly ships and stations from attacks & ambushes • Create custom formations of fighters, destroyers, carriers & support vessels • Coordinate your ships to gain tactical advantages in difficult situations • Use superweapons to destroy large clusters of enemies • Distract the enemy with special powers • and much more... FEATURES • Great visual effects • 3D audio for realistic sound effects (headphones required) • Wide variety of battleships (fighters, carriers, destroyers & more) • Unrestricted camera freedom • Ambient space soundtracks • Training mission • Campaign Mode (8 missions) • Survival Mode (endless play) • Deep Space Mining mode (resource booster) • Sandbox Mode • Conquest Mode (add-on) PLOT In the late 23rd century humans have populated most of Earth. Troubled by the poor quality of life and the excessive amount of damage inflicted on Earth, they decide to plant new colonies on distant planets. The Earth military (EDF or Earth Defense Fleet) is in charge of organizing and carrying out this immense project. During the colonization, the EDF encounters a new life form, which turns out to be extremely hostile. Multiple attacks on EDF key installations, as well as on a research ship, force the EDF to improvise new strategies for a full evacuation. You are a high ranking officer of the EDF, who is in the midst of all the action. Make sure you all get back home to Earth safe & sound. _________________ SPACE BORDERS ONLINE • spaceborders.proboards.com - submit feedback, feature requests & more • facebook.com/spacebordersapp - receive the latest news about Space Borders • http://spaceborders.proboards.com/thread/260/ - Conquest Mode FAQ THANK YOU Thank you all for supporting Space Borders with reviews, ratings, ideas for new features and a lot more. This game is truly powered by its fans! Check out the links above and be part of it. _________________ SPECIAL CREDITS • Space Borders is powered by the Sparrow Framework.

About

Star Traders

Command your own starship and crew in a vast, procedurally generated open universe. Forge your path as a pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, or explorer, influencing factions and shaping your crew through your choices in this epic sci-fi RPG.

Highlights
  • Open universe exploration
  • Multiple captain careers (26 jobs)
  • Spaceship customization (350+ upgrades)
  • Crew assembly and talent management
  • Dynamic narrative and faction influence
  • Crew molding based on player choices
  • Varied difficulty options including permadeath
Features
Read full description

You are the captain of a starship venturing through a massive open universe. Customize your crew and take command at the helm of your very own ship as you explore a galaxy torn apart by internal strife, alien threats, and political intrigue. Command your ship and crew as a space pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more in Star Traders: Frontiers – an epic space RPG from Trese Brothers Games. Venture forth into a massive open universe, rich with adventure and the lore of the Star Traders. Choose your path by assembling and commanding your custom crew and spaceship in a constantly evolving galaxy torn by internal strife, political intrigue, and alien threats. Will you fly as a pirate terrorizing shipping lanes, join the solar wars as a military captain, or track targets across the stars as a fearsome bounty hunter? - Explore a rich, open universe: Discover endless procedurally-generated galactic maps, meet unique characters, and take on enemies to conquer the galaxy! - Become an intergalactic captain: Take on the role of a spy, smuggler, explorer, pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more (26 jobs total)! - Customize your own spaceship: Choose from more than 350 upgrades and 45 ship hulls to build your very own vessel to venture across the vast reaches of space. - Assemble and tailor a loyal crew: Assign talents and equip specialized gear for every spaceship crew member. - Experience an ever-changing narrative: Decide to make friends or foes with other factions and influence political, economic, and personal vendettas. - Mold the crew by your choices: As you make decisions and set the tone for your ship, your crew will grow and change to match. Destroy enemy ships with all hands on deck and your crew will become more bloodthirsty and savage. Explore distant worlds and loot dangerous wastelands and your crew will become intrepid and clever ... or scarred and half-mad. - Varied Difficulty Options! play with save slots to try out different builds or storylines or turn on character permadeath and enjoy classic roguelike experience - Achievement Unlocks: accomplish story and challenge goals to unlock additional optional (but not better) content like new starting ships and new starting contacts First there was the Exodus – when survivors of a great war left the ruins of the Galactic Core behind in search of a new home in the stars. Scattered worlds were claimed on the fringe of the galaxy. Each pocket of survivors held on to an isolated set of worlds while trying to rebuild under the great law of Shalun. Three centuries later, technology has brought them back together again. Discovery of the hyperwarp has bridged what was once an unimaginable distance between far-flung colonies, long-lost families, and political factions. With that reunification has come great economic prosperity. The hyperwarp reestablished the transportation of cargo, goods, and technologies between the quadrants – but it has also brought great strife. Political rivalries have been rekindled, blood has been shed in age-old feuds, and the fires of war have been stoked. Amidst the political infighting, a ruthless revolution is rising – and the fervent explorers of the hyperwarp have awoken something that was better left asleep. Our very first game, Star Traders RPG, took hundreds of thousands of gamers on an interstellar adventure. Star Traders’ success and overwhelmingly positive reception helped to launch Trese Brothers Games. It was the adventures of our community’s star-crossed captains that put us on a trajectory to share more of our worlds, ideas, and dreams. We set out to capture the loneliness, bravery, and camaraderie of people living together in a spaceship sailing across the stars. It is with great pride that after releasing four other games in the Star Traders universe, we’ve created a sequel to the original Star Traders RPG. Step onto the bridge of your starship, take to the stars, and create your own story in Star Traders: Frontiers.

Screenshots

Space Borders4 screens
Star Traders4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Star Traders at none against Space Borders's 1. Star Traders also leads on chart position (#66 vs unranked) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Space Borders's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $6.99) and review sentiment (91% vs 73%). On rating, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Space Borders costs $1.99 and Star Traders $6.99 up front. Space Borders sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Star Traders asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Space Borders against 4.6 for Star Traders. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 167 and 674 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Space Borders's written reviews are positive against 73% of Star Traders's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Space Borders ships an update every 2 months, Star Traders every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Space Borders versus Star Traders: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpace BordersStar Traders
Price$1.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.7 (167 ratings) — better4.6 (674 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better73.0% of reviews
Number of ratings167674 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#66 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB316 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAmasis BrauchTrese Brothers

Customer experience

Space Borders

All ratings167 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews110 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.5%

Star Traders

All ratings668 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral2.7%
Negative8.5%
Written reviews222 reviews
Positive73.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative20.3%

User reviews

Space Borders

From 167 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Excellent RTS gameplay mechanics
  • 💰 No pay-to-win or microtransactions
  • 🎨 Charming 2D graphics and visual style
  • ⚙️ Deep fleet customization options
  • 📱 Works smoothly on older devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes during missions
  • 💾 No save/checkpoint system for long missions
  • 🎨 Cartoony graphics in newer versions
  • 🤖 Poor AI behavior
  • ⏱️ Missions are very long without breaks

Star Traders

From 674 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Impressive depth and complexity
  • 🌍 Vast open-world with endless possibilities
  • 🔍 Engaging story and lore
  • 🤖 Diverse gameplay options (trading, exploration, combat, etc.)
  • 🕹️ Satisfying ship and crew management

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Steep learning curve, lacks clear tutorials
  • 🔍 Repetitive or tedious aspects in late game
  • 📱 UI/UX issues on smaller mobile devices
  • 🎲 Frustrating RNG elements and difficulty spikes
  • 🔒 Lack of cloud save functionality

Bugs and requests

Space Borders

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App crashes mid-mission with no progress recovery
  • Save file corruption and rollback after updates
  • Mission failure without clear cause or visibility
  • Resource disappearance between campaign episodes
  • Harvester ships launching into enemy fire
Show 6 more
  • Ships spinning uncontrollably when near targets
  • Occasional lag with action controls
  • Controls requiring multiple inputs to register
  • Crashes on iOS 11 with iPhone 7
  • Game-breaking resource management allowing soft-lock
  • End-mission crashes before hyperspace exit

Requested features

19 requests
  • Multiplayer or online gameplay
  • Sequel or major expansion
  • Additional campaign missions and episodes
  • More ship types and varieties
  • More turret and weapon options
Show 14 more
  • Larger fleet size capacity
  • Cloud save/iCloud synchronization
  • Checkpoint system for long missions
  • Ability to save and place destroyed ship debris in sandbox
  • 3D graphics upgrade
  • Larger maps and scaled battles
  • Local multiplayer support
  • Drones and sentry gun units
  • Base building mechanics
  • Planet-based gameplay
  • Larger hangar sizes
  • More varied campaign storylines
  • Speed-up options accessible from play screen
  • Ability to unlock sandbox mode without beating conquest

Star Traders

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crew combat screen UI issues causing accidental input
  • Reputation/faction system bugs leading to unexpected outcomes
  • Crashes and freezes when navigating certain screens
  • Inconsistent behavior with ship component upgrades

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize ship colors and appearances
  • Option to command/control multiple ships as a fleet
  • More end-game content and progression systems
  • Improved UI scaling and optimization for larger screens
  • Cloud save/sync functionality across devices

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Space Borders

One-time1
  • Conquest Mode$1.99
None

Star Traders

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Space Borders free?
Space Borders costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Star Traders free?
Star Traders costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Space Borders or Star Traders?
Space Borders is rated higher. Space Borders averages 4.7 out of 5 from 167 ratings, while Star Traders averages 4.6 from 674 ratings.
Do Space Borders or Star Traders have ads?
Neither Space Borders nor Star Traders shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Space Borders or Star Traders?
Space Borders ships an update every 2 months, and Star Traders every 3 weeks. Most recently, Space Borders was updated on November 1, 2026 and Star Traders on November 6, 2026.

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