Comparison

Touchgrind Skate 2 vs True Surf

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

Head to head
About

Touchgrind Skate 2

Experience realistic skateboarding with intuitive multi-touch controls. Master a vast array of tricks, complete challenges, and compete with friends in various game modes. Unlock new gear and skateparks as you hone your skills.

Highlights
  • Realistic physics and 3D graphics
  • Multi-touch controls
  • Multiple game modes (Training, Competition, Jam Session, S.K.A.T.E)
  • Unlockable skateparks, decks, and gear
  • Video recording and replay functionality
  • Tutorial videos
Features
Read full description

Skate like a pro in the most realistic multi-touch skateboarding game ever! Just like in real skateboarding or fingerboarding, Touchgrind Skate 2 is a game of skill that takes 10 minutes to understand but a lifetime to master. Learn the tricks, complete challenges, and unlock new skateboard parts. Get the highest score in time-limited Competition mode, rip freely and complete challenges in Jam Session mode, challenge your friends in the turn-based multiplayer Game of S.K.A.T.E or export video clips and show off your best lines. True innovative finger controls together with real physics simulation let you pull off tricks like ollies, pop shuvits, kickflips, heelflips, impossibles, powerslides, lip tricks, stalls, drops, 5-0’s, 50-50’s, crooks, tailslides, bluntslides, darkslides etc in endless combinations, or why not do them in nollie, fakie or switch? - Only your skill and imagination set the limit! Get a maximized experience with a real skateboarding feeling - Skate like in real life on your iOS device! FEATURES - Realistic physics and stunning 3D graphics - 4 free roam game modes: Training, Competition, Jam Session, Game of S.K.A.T.E turn-based multiplayer - Tutorial videos - watch and try yourself! - Natural multi-touch controls, evolved from Touchgrind and Touchgrind BMX - Tilted camera view, similar to Touchgrind BMX - Six different skateparks with bowls, ramps, curbs, boxes and over 2.000 meters of rails - Complete the 250 challenges to unlock all skateparks, game modes, decks, wheels, grip tapes and stickers - Record your runs and create replay videos to impress your friends - True skating experience - Game Center achievements and leaderboards - Trick name detection Follow @illusionlabs on Twitter Like us at www.facebook.com/illusionlabs1

About

True Surf

Experience the most authentic surfing simulation with realistic physics and live weather forecasts from Surfline. Master real-time controls, travel to world-famous breaks, and compete in WSL events. Evolve your surfer, build your gear, and chase the perfect wave.

Highlights
  • Realistic physics simulation
  • Live Surfline weather forecasts
  • World-famous surf breaks
  • Real-time touch controls
  • Character progression and customization
  • Board quiver management
  • Live WSL competitions
Features
Currently charting
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Conquer legendary past swells by crushing feat-based missions across a quiver of boards, from the world’s leading shapers, and unlock 34 of the planet's most iconic surf spots. Experience mind blowing realistic wave graphics, driven by True Axis' cutting-edge, real-world physics simulation engine, featuring real-time surf conditions powered by Surfline! True Surf is the Official Game of World Surf League (WSL). REAL TIME CONTROLS Realistic touch based physics enable complete control of your surfer in real time. Use one finger, your thumb or mind surf with two fingers like the Pros. NEW GAMEPLAY: FIRST PERSON BARREL MODE Automatically switch to first person mode when in the barrel. NEW MISSION MODE: Smash feat-based missions across the world’s most iconic breaks to unlock new surf spots! Every victory earns you essential rewards to fuel your career, including Clams, Travel Tickets, and Perfect Storms to boost live conditions. IMPROVED REPLAY GRAPHICS Edit and share POV drainers, pig dog shots in the barrel, and spine-twisting laybacks in the pocket! THE WORLD'S BEST WAVES A huge part of surfing is about chasing the perfect wave and True Surf comes jam-packed with the world's best. Travel the world chasing classic reef breaks with hollow barrels at Pipe in Hawaii, Cloudbreak, Fiji to rolling 'power-curve' breaks at Bells Beach, Australia. Or try to beat the sections at some of the world's fastest point breaks like Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. If BIG waves are your thing then head to Nazare, Portugal and Jaws (Pe-ahi), Hawaii. True Surf has it all including Surf Ranch, the epic man made wave located between farm fields in California’s Central Valley. REAL-TIME CONDITIONS POWERED BY SURFLINE True Surf is powered by real time surf forecasting data from Surfline (experts in marine weather forecasting). Data is updated throughout the day and includes Swell Height, Swell Direction, Wind, Tide and Water Temperature. PERFECT STORM Play god of thunder and boost LIVE swells. WILDLIFE Surf with dolphins, look out for the sharks! COMPETE IN WSL CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR EVENTS Are you ready for the CT? Test your skills in WSL Events and compete against other players from around the world to see if you have what it takes to become a CT champ! CHARACTER & QUIVER Experience apparel and boards from legendary brands including Billabong, Catch Surf, Firewire Surfboards, Pyzel Surfboards, Quiksilver, Roxy, Rusty, Shane, SharpEye Surfboards, Simon Anderson Surfboards, Slater Designs, Stretch Boards, and Vissla. Note: An internet connection is required to access some features. Frequent Flyer (monthly) is a monthly subscription service that enables you unlimited travel to all surf spots in True Surf. Frequent Flyer Monthly cost 2.99 USD/month (or local equivalent) and will be charged on your iTunes Account after purchase and when the subscription renews monthly. Perfect Storm (monthly) is a monthly subscription service that enables you unlimited activations of Perfect Storms at all surf spots in True Surf. Perfect Storms provide a boost to live surf conditions and each activation lasts for 5 minutes. Perfect Storm Monthly cost 2.99 USD/month (or local equivalent) and will be charged on your iTunes Account after purchase and when the subscription renews monthly. Subscriptions will renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to users iTunes account settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Terms of service can be found at https://trueaxis.com/tsfua.html

Screenshots

Touchgrind Skate 24 screens
True Surf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: True Surf at none against Touchgrind Skate 2's shown. True Surf also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and rating (3.9 vs 3.5). Touchgrind Skate 2's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 3.4K). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Touchgrind Skate 2 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and True Surf sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

True Surf holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13K and 3.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Touchgrind Skate 2's written reviews are positive against 61% of True Surf's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Touchgrind Skate 2 ships an update every 4 months, True Surf fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Touchgrind Skate 2 versus True Surf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTouchgrind Skate 2True Surf
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (13K ratings)3.9 (3.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews60.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better3.4K
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#97#73 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size471 MB211 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIllusion LabsTrue Axis

Customer experience

Touchgrind Skate 2

All ratings12,887 ratings
Positive61.4%
Neutral6.0%
Negative32.5%
Written reviews1,580 reviews
Positive54.8%
Neutral12.5%
Negative32.7%

True Surf

All ratings3,441 ratings
Positive68.2%
Neutral10.6%
Negative21.2%
Written reviews1,131 reviews
Positive60.7%
Neutral17.0%
Negative22.3%

User reviews

Touchgrind Skate 2

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Great graphics and physics
  • 🕹️ Realistic skateboarding controls
  • 🏆 Challenging and rewarding gameplay
  • 🔥 Addictive and fun
  • 💯 Excellent for skaters and non-skaters

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive to unlock additional maps
  • 🤔 Confusing trick mechanics (e.g., kickflips/heelflips)
  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited free content

True Surf

From 3.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌊 Realistic wave physics and graphics
  • 🤙 Fun and addictive gameplay
  • 🔥 Best surfing game on mobile
  • 👍 Intuitive controls once learned
  • 🌍 Variety of real-world surf spots

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for boards and upgrades
  • 🐢 Extremely slow progression and leveling up
  • 🤯 Inconsistent and unreliable scoring system
  • 🌊 Lack of consistently good waves at many locations
  • 🔋 Battery draining issues

Bugs and requests

Touchgrind Skate 2

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent trick registration
  • Occasional board freezing and spawning issues
  • Replay camera problems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to customize trucks, wheels, and griptape
  • Unlockable maps through challenges or progression
  • Multiplayer modes (e.g., SKATE, online competitions)
  • Manual tricks and more grind options
  • Community-created maps and sharing
Show 1 more
  • More frequent updates and new content

True Surf

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Waves not generating properly at Surf Ranch
  • Progression resets and lost progress
  • Inability to travel to desired surf spots

Requested features

5 requests
  • First-person camera mode
  • Customizable boards and characters
  • Competitive multiplayer mode
  • Career mode with challenges and sponsorships
  • Ability to create and share custom surf spots

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Touchgrind Skate 2

One-time10
  • The Car Park$2.99
  • The Factory$2.99
  • Playground$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Space dock$2.99
  • Special board$2.99
  • Mega Ramp$2.99
  • The Office$2.99
  • Special Board - Big pack$6.99
  • Mega Deal$6.99
  • Ultra Deal$7.99
7 purchases

True Surf

Subscriptions2
  • Perfect Storm (monthly)$2.991 Month
  • Frequent Flyer (monthly)$2.991 Month
One-time5
  • Handful of Clams$0.99
  • Bag of Clams$7.99
  • Chest of Clams$28.99
Show 2 more
  • Boatload of Clams$49.99
  • Sea of Clams$99.99

Questions

Is Touchgrind Skate 2 free?
Touchgrind Skate 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is True Surf free?
True Surf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Touchgrind Skate 2 or True Surf?
True Surf is rated higher. Touchgrind Skate 2 averages 3.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while True Surf averages 3.9 from 3.4K ratings.
Do Touchgrind Skate 2 or True Surf have ads?
Touchgrind Skate 2 shows ads; True Surf does not.
Which is updated more often, Touchgrind Skate 2 or True Surf?
Touchgrind Skate 2 ships an update every 4 months, and True Surf fortnightly. Most recently, Touchgrind Skate 2 was updated on October 20, 2026 and True Surf on October 20, 2026.
Which is more popular, Touchgrind Skate 2 or True Surf?
Touchgrind Skate 2 currently peaks at #97 in the App Store charts, and True Surf at #73. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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