# Elemental Sands vs Swarmfall

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Swarmfall at none against Elemental Sands's 32. Swarmfall also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.7 vs 4.2). Elemental Sands's advantage is ratings volume (69 vs 3). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Elemental Sands sells 31 one-off in-app purchases. Swarmfall asks for nothing beyond the download.

Swarmfall holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elemental Sands has 69 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Elemental Sands ships an update every 3 weeks, Swarmfall weekly. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Elemental Sands | Swarmfall |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (69 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elemental-sands/id6474100439/reviews) | **[4.7 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swarmfall/id6798934597/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **69** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 44.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 222 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [TapTide Interactive](https://appshunter.io/developer/1711698136) | [AUSTIN ALLEN NORMAN](https://appshunter.io/developer/6798934599) |

## What reviewers say

### Elemental Sands

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elemental-sands/id6474100439)

Build and automate a magical business empire in a fantasy world. Harness elemental powers to boost production and profits, collect rare items, and expand your reach to become a legendary CEO. This idle clicker game blends strategy with enchanting visuals.

**Highlights:** Build and automate business empire, Harness elemental power for production, Collect magical items and abilities, Increase company valuation and profits, Explore a fantasy world, Strategic management gameplay

**In-app purchases (31)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 24 Gold | $0.99 | one-time |
| Study Bundle | $2.99 | one-time |
| Enduring Study Bundle | $2.99 | one-time |
| Volatile Study Bundle | $2.99 | one-time |
| Scorching Study Bundle | $2.99 | one-time |
| The Water Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| High Tide Event Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| Energy Surge Event Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Vitality Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Lifeblood Event Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| Auto Buy | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Strength Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Heavy Hitters Event Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Nature Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Wild Growth Event Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Electric Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| No Ads Boost | $4.99 | one-time |
| 135 Gold | $4.99 | one-time |
| 310 Gold | $9.99 | one-time |
| Research Bundle | $12.99 | one-time |
| Volatile Research Bundle | $12.99 | one-time |
| Enduring Research Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| Scorching Research Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| Volatile Proficiency Bundle | $24.99 | one-time |
| 740 Gold | $24.99 | one-time |
| Enduring Proficiency Bundle | $29.99 | one-time |
| Scorching Proficiency Bundle | $29.99 | one-time |
| Mastery Bundle | $49.99 | one-time |
| Scorching Mastery Bundle | $49.99 | one-time |
| Volatile Mastery Bundle | $49.99 | one-time |
| 5200 Gold | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Refreshing free-to-play model
- 🎶 Excellent soundtrack
- 👍 Unique currency system
- 👍 Enjoyable idle gameplay
- 👍 Good aesthetic and art style

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐢 Drastic slowdown in progression
- 📉 Slow early game progression
- 📉 Progression feels stagnant
- 📉 Lack of rewarding progression
- 📉 Very slow and lacking features

**Reported bugs**

- Progress lost twice due to account issues
- App fails to load (tuning transmission frequencies)
- Updates bricked progress
- New patch reset sand capacity and spawn rate
- Game is locked with question marks on start

**Requested features**

- Convert excess sand to vials offline
- Increase level cap
- More content and end goals
- Formal suggestion channel (Discord)
- More mechanics in future updates


### Swarmfall

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swarmfall/id6798934597)

Defend your planet in this roguelike where your turrets automatically attack. Focus on strategic menu decisions, upgrading your defenses, and choosing powerful synergies to survive waves of alien creatures. Decide when to bank your earnings or risk it all for greater rewards.

**Highlights:** Automatic turret targeting and firing, Strategic menu-based decision making, Level up and choose from card-based upgrades, Synergies to rewire build behavior, Eight unique turrets with distinct abilities, Eighteen evolutions to fuse turrets, Risk/reward banking system

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Elemental Sands free?

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

### Is Swarmfall free?

Swarmfall is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Elemental Sands or Swarmfall?

Swarmfall is rated higher. Elemental Sands averages 4.2 out of 5 from 69 ratings, while Swarmfall averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.

### Do Elemental Sands or Swarmfall have ads?

Elemental Sands shows ads; Swarmfall does not.

### Which is updated more often, Elemental Sands or Swarmfall?

Elemental Sands ships an update every 3 weeks, and Swarmfall weekly. Most recently, Elemental Sands was updated on October 25, 2026 and Swarmfall on October 25, 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.*