# Balatro vs Cat Towers

The clearest difference is price: Cat Towers at Free against Balatro's $9.99. Cat Towers also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 81%) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 8 days). Balatro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Cat Towers is free to download; Balatro costs $9.99 up front. Cat Towers sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Balatro asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Balatro against 5.0 for Cat Towers. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro has 108K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Balatro's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cat Towers's.

Balatro ships an update every 8 days, Cat Towers every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Balatro | Cat Towers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [5.0 (108K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balatro/id6502453075/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cat-towers/id6763451823/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **108K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 81.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 94 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Playstack Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1133080356) | [Praxticus Mobile Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1155766939) |

## What reviewers say

### Balatro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balatro/id6502453075)

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Paid · Card, #3 Top Paid · Strategy, #7 Top Paid · Games, #11 Top Paid, #105 Top Grossing · Card, #149 Top Grossing · Strategy (US App Store)

This game blends poker and solitaire mechanics with unique rule-bending twists. Build powerful poker hands, discover game-changing Joker cards, and create exciting combos to defeat challenging Boss Blinds. Explore different decks and game modes for endless replayability.

**Highlights:** Poker and Solitaire hybrid gameplay, Rule-bending mechanics, Collect over 150 unique Joker cards, Create powerful combos, Campaign and challenge modes, Pixel art visuals

**Features:** Game Controller support, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Addictive gameplay
- 💎 Unique and compelling mechanics
- 👍 Easy to learn, hard to master
- 🎨 Charming pixel art and music
- 💰 Great value for money

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and save issues
- 🔍 Small text and UI elements
- 🔋 Battery draining
- 🔇 No background music support

**Reported bugs**

- Unlocks and achievements not registering properly
- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
- Joker and card interactions not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Cloud save sync across devices
- Portrait mode option
- Customizable UI and accessibility settings


### Cat Towers

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cat-towers/id6763451823)

Defend your feline friends from waves of monsters by strategically placing towers and recruiting unique cat defenders. Unleash powerful abilities and use device tilt controls to navigate the battlefield and protect your tower.

**Highlights:** Strategic tower placement, Recruit unique cat defenders, Unleash devastating abilities, Tilt-to-move controls, Collect coins for upgrades, Seasonal content updates

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

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2000 Coins | $0.99 | one-time |
| 7500 Coins | $2.99 | one-time |
| 15,000 Coins | $4.99 | one-time |
| 40,000 Coins | $9.99 | one-time |
| 100,000 Coins | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Balatro free?

Balatro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Cat Towers free?

Cat Towers is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Balatro or Cat Towers?

Cat Towers is rated higher. Balatro averages 5.0 out of 5 from 108K ratings, while Cat Towers averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Balatro or Cat Towers have ads?

Cat Towers shows ads; Balatro does not.

### Which is updated more often, Balatro or Cat Towers?

Balatro ships an update every 8 days, and Cat Towers every 2 days. Most recently, Balatro was updated on November 7, 2026 and Cat Towers on October 31, 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.*