Comparison

HexTowerDefense vs Archmage Idle

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

Head to head
About

HexTowerDefense

Engage in strategic tower defense on a hexagonal grid. Master placement, range, and timing across 50 campaign levels, daily challenges, and a community workshop. Enjoy a retro aesthetic with no energy timers and limited ads.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal grid placement
  • 50 handcrafted campaign levels
  • Daily challenges and endless mode
  • Community Workshop for sharing layouts
  • Eight tower types
  • Retro neon aesthetic
Features
Read full description

Place towers. Hold the line. HexTowerDefense is a minimalist tower defense game built around a hexagonal grid. Every placement decision matters — angles, range, and timing are yours to control. Three ways to play Campaign — 50 handcrafted levels with Normal, Hard, Veteran & Nightmare difficulty. Earn up to 3 stars per level. Challenges — Daily run, Endless mode, invisible enemies, and more. Complete daily challenges to earn Workshop Tokens. Sandbox — Build freely, experiment, validate your layout, then share it with the world through the Community Workshop. Community Workshop Browse boards submitted by other players, download and test them, rate your favorites, and submit your own for review. Eight tower types, endless possibilities Neon-on-black retro aesthetic. No energy timers. Limited ads.

About

Archmage Idle

An idle RPG where you train skills to empower wizards and manage resources. Your guild continues to work and gather resources even when you are offline, allowing for continuous progression.

Highlights
  • Interconnected skill system
  • Recruit and train wizards
  • Elemental hex map combat
  • Resource management
  • Offline progression
  • Item collection
Features
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Train Skills. Recruit Wizards. Conquer Foes. An idle/incremental RPG with deeply interconnected skills. Your skills feed the frontlines: Attunement, Summoning, and Sigilry power your wizards as they fight across an elemental hex map. Your skills feed the supply lines: Research, Runecrafting, Alchemy, Mercantile, and Scavenging keep the resources flowing. And skills you won't find anywhere else, like Chronomancy, Diplomacy, and Appraisal, tie it all together. Burn Runes in the Runic Cauldron. Train wizards at the Academy. Sell surplus goods on the Bazaar. Collect hundreds of items that fuel both your skilling and your combat. Your guild keeps working while you're offline.

Screenshots

HexTowerDefense4 screens
Archmage Idle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: HexTowerDefense at none against Archmage Idle's shown. HexTowerDefense also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Archmage Idle's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days) and ratings volume (72 vs 4). On price, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. HexTowerDefense sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Archmage Idle sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HexTowerDefense holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Archmage Idle has 72 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HexTowerDefense ships an update every 10 days, Archmage Idle every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
HexTowerDefense versus Archmage Idle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHexTowerDefenseArchmage Idle
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.5 (72 ratings)
Positive reviews—76.9% of reviews
Number of ratings472 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#168 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB372 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaxime HussenetTopCog LLC

In-app purchases

4 purchases

HexTowerDefense

One-time4
  • x2/x4 Speed$1.99
  • Remove Ads$3.99
  • Gotta Go Faster$4.99
Show 1 more
  • All-in-One$4.99
9 purchases

Archmage Idle

One-time9
  • Time Warp$0.99
  • VIP 1 - Apprentice Patron$2.99
  • Remove Ads + XP Boost$4.99
Show 6 more
  • VIP 2 - Adept Patron$4.99
  • Animus Augment$9.99
  • Time Warp x10$9.99
  • VIP 3 - Mage Patron$9.99
  • VIP 4 - Grandmage Patron$14.99
  • VIP 5 - Archmage Patron$19.99

Questions

Is HexTowerDefense free?
HexTowerDefense is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Archmage Idle free?
Archmage Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HexTowerDefense or Archmage Idle?
HexTowerDefense is rated higher. HexTowerDefense averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Archmage Idle averages 4.5 from 72 ratings.
Do HexTowerDefense or Archmage Idle have ads?
Archmage Idle shows ads; HexTowerDefense does not.
Which is updated more often, HexTowerDefense or Archmage Idle?
HexTowerDefense ships an update every 10 days, and Archmage Idle every 3 days. Most recently, HexTowerDefense was updated on October 24, 2026 and Archmage Idle on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons