Comparison

PROTOCOL vs Tiny Empire

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

Head to head
About

PROTOCOL

Features
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The day dimensional rifts opened, monsters and the Dimension Awakened appeared at the same time. As monsters spread across the world, the government gathered students with dimensional powers and established the Tactical Academy. Become its commander, train your students, and deploy to a city under threat. Control the leader directly and give orders to two fellow agents. Combine their abilities, weapons, and parts to lead a three-person squad. โ€ข Survive the waves of monsters. โ€ข Train distinctive students and build your squad. โ€ข Find powerful combinations, overcome each battle, and protect the city. A two-person indie game. PROTOCOL: Zero Rift

About

Tiny Empire

Features
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Raiders are on the road ten seconds in. Drop a tower, hold the gate, then build the town that pays for the next fight: eight eras from Stone Age huts to a starlit space colony, an army you train yourself, and a treasury that fills while you're away. Every fight is tower defense, and it all plays offline. HOLD THE GATE โ€“ Camps, campaign and Endless Siege are all tower defense: build towers along a winding lane, upgrade them mid-fight, repair the gate between waves, and unleash the Hero Strike when the boss walks in โ€“ The army you train fights beside your towers, deployed by you before each fight โ€“ Every win brings home gold, wood and food for the town RAID THE REBEL CAMPS โ€“ Four rebel camps beyond your walls, from the Rebel Outpost (5 waves) to the Warlord's Hold (8 waves, twice the loot) โ€“ Beat a camp and it regroups on a new road with a new horde โ€“ One camp a day carries a bounty: half again the loot MARCH THE CAMPAIGN โ€“ 24 campaign levels across three regions, each a longer siege than the last, from the Bandit Camp to the Ember Throne โ€“ Three-star a level to unlock its Heroic version: two more waves, a tougher horde, gems on the first clear โ€“ Win a fight and "Next: Campaign" opens the next level in one tap โ€“ Endless Siege: hold as long as you can, beat your best wave, and get paid gold and gems for the run RULE 8 ERAS โ€“ Advance from the Stone Age through Castle, Gunpowder, Discovery, Industrial and Modern into a neon-lit Information city and a starlit Space colony โ€“ Every era transforms your whole town: buildings, walls, units, even the sky โ€“ Offline earnings: your empire keeps producing while you're gone BUILD YOUR EMPIRE โ€“ Place and upgrade Gold Mines, Sawmills, Farms, Quarries, Storehouses, Barracks and your Town Hall โ€“ A living base: waving banners, chimney smoke, a shimmering moat, grazing sheep โ€“ Research tree, resource market, idle expeditions, daily quests and kingdom events โ€“ Conquest: gather, build a town and beat a rival army. Leave mid-match and pick it up where you left off COMMAND A REAL ARMY โ€“ Eight troop types to train: Soldiers, Pikemen, Archers, Cavalry, Catapults, Skirmishers, Scout Cavalry and Priests, every one of them adding to your company's strength in the Arena โ€“ Four of them take the field beside your towers: Soldiers, Pikemen, Archers and Cavalry โ€“ A leveling Commander with a skill tree CLIMB THE ARENA Five ranked battles a day against rival companies, from Raw Recruits to the Grandmaster's Host. Every win moves your rating - climb from Bronze through Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond to Grandmaster. Seasons close every two weeks and pay gems for the tier you finish at. COME BACK FOR MORE โ€“ A 7-day login track: log in 7 days in a row and day 7 pays a free hero summon โ€“ Chief levels, achievements, battle pass, unit veterancy โ€“ Prestige: rebirth for permanent, stacking empire bonuses PLAY IT YOUR WAY Like idle games? Set your economy running, close the app, and come back to a fuller treasury. Like tower defense? Raid a camp or jump into the campaign and route the lane your way. Like kingdom and city builders? Take your time: eight eras of buildings, walls and research are waiting. PLAYS OFFLINE No signal needed. Build, raid and defend on a plane, on the train, or anywhere the bars run out. FREE TO PLAY Tiny Empire is free to download, with optional in-app purchases and ads. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nm-games-privacy.carrd.co

Screenshots

PROTOCOL4 screens
Tiny Empire4 screens

Verdict

The call

PROTOCOL and Tiny Empire are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters โ€” price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. PROTOCOL sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Tiny Empire sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PROTOCOL ships an update every 3 days, Tiny Empire every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
PROTOCOL versus Tiny Empire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPROTOCOLTiny Empire
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days โ€” betterEvery 5 days
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size259 MB131 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperSungGwon HanNoah Miller

In-app purchases

10 purchases

PROTOCOL

One-time10
  • Beginner Package 1$0.99
  • Sale Package 3$1.99
  • Sale Package 1$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Sale Package 2$4.99
  • Beginner Package 2$4.99
  • Remove Ad$5.99
  • Daily Special Mission Ticket$7.99
  • Mission Energy Booster (30 Days)$9.99
  • Stage Pass$9.99
  • Beginner Package 3$14.99
6 purchases

Tiny Empire

Subscriptions2
  • Empire Pass Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Empire Pass Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time4
  • Starter Pack$1.99
  • Resource Pack$1.99
  • Battle Pass Premium$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Gold Pass$4.99

Questions

Is PROTOCOL free?
PROTOCOL is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tiny Empire free?
Tiny Empire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PROTOCOL or Tiny Empire have ads?
Both PROTOCOL and Tiny Empire show ads.
Which is updated more often, PROTOCOL or Tiny Empire?
PROTOCOL ships an update every 3 days, and Tiny Empire every 5 days. Most recently, PROTOCOL was updated on October 30, 2026 and Tiny Empire on October 31, 2026.

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