Comparison

Warstack vs HIVE

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

Head to head
About

Warstack

Features
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Build your squad, master the grid, and lead your army to victory! Every move counts! Swipe and place colorful units on the grid, combine matching colors, and merge them into stronger, higher-tier fighters! Every placement can shape the outcome of the battle! GAME FEATURES: โ€ข Swipe and place units on a tactical grid! โ€ข Merge matching colors into higher-tier fighters! โ€ข Make strategic decisions with a limited number of moves! โ€ข Create powerful combinations and squad formations! โ€ข Battle through challenging waves of enemies! โ€ข Strengthen your army as the difficulty increases! โ€ข Complete worlds and face new tactical challenges! โ€ข Enjoy simple controls with satisfying strategic depth! Plan your moves, merge your units, and conquer every battlefield in Warstack: Merge Squad!

About

HIVE

Features
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HIVE is a tactical tower defense game where you grow living towers, deploy troop cards and hold your Nest against waves of Lattice machines. Plan your defense on handcrafted lanes, adapt to every wave and turn the swarm into an unbreakable wall. GROW LIVING TOWERS Drag towers onto sockets along the lane and evolve them through three tiers. Acid Spitters shoot down aircraft, Frenzy Maws shred anything up close, Venom Pods slow whole packs and Burst Mortars flatten them from range. Nine tower types, each with its own role, range and tier 3 special. DEPLOY YOUR TROOPS Drag troop cards straight onto the battlefield. Send skitter swarms to harass the flanks, brute packs to crack shields, or summon beasts like the Pyre Wyrm, Storm Jelly and Basalt Golem. Brood energy refills over time, so every card is a decision. BUILD YOUR BATTLE DECK Pick six towers and four troop cards before each defense. Balance area control, single target, defense and utility, cover ground and air, and keep your hive capacity in check. CONQUER THE CAMPAIGN Fight across sectors of five defenses each, choose your route at every fork, and face a Fortress Commander at the end of each sector. Earn stars, claim sector relics and unlock new towers and troops as you go. EVOLVE THE HIVE Invest biomass in tower mastery and permanent research, unlock Nest skins and Nest defenses, and complete daily and weekly quests, milestones and challenges for extra rewards. EVERY WAVE IS A PUZZLE Call waves early for bonus biomass, speed up to 2x when the lane is locked down, and pinch to zoom and drag to scout the whole map. Aircraft, armored troops and commanders all demand a different answer. Quick landscape sessions, responsive touch controls, striking science-fiction visuals and no required online account.

Screenshots

Warstack4 screens
HIVE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Warstack at none against HIVE's 6. HIVE's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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. HIVE sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Warstack asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Warstack ships an update fortnightly, HIVE every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Warstack versus HIVE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWarstackHIVE
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size139 MB179 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperBrew GamesJonathan Rycx

In-app purchases

None

Warstack

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

HIVE

One-time6
  • 500 Cores$1.99
  • 1,200 Cores$3.99
  • Starter Pack$4.99
Show 3 more
  • 2,600 Cores$7.99
  • Remove Ads$9.99
  • 5,500 Cores$14.99

Questions

Is Warstack free?
Warstack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HIVE free?
HIVE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Warstack or HIVE have ads?
Both Warstack and HIVE show ads.
Which is updated more often, Warstack or HIVE?
Warstack ships an update fortnightly, and HIVE every 3 days. Most recently, Warstack was updated on October 25, 2026 and HIVE on October 26, 2026.

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