# Arcane Tower vs Chess Defence

The clearest difference is price: Chess Defence at Free against Arcane Tower's $1.99. Chess Defence also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Arcane Tower's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Chess Defence is free to download; Arcane Tower costs $1.99 up front. Chess Defence sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Arcane Tower asks for nothing beyond the download.

Arcane Tower ships an update every 3 weeks, Chess Defence weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Arcane Tower | Chess Defence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcane-tower/id953806566/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **5** | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 7 MB | 117 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Diego Cathalifaud](https://appshunter.io/developer/570089925) | [ERDI ACAR](https://appshunter.io/developer/1798887281) |

## What reviewers say

### Arcane Tower

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcane-tower/id953806566)

Embark on a challenging roguelike adventure as a brave wizard. Explore randomly generated maps, compete in daily challenges with global leaderboards, and learn from top player replays to defeat evil and uncover ancient secrets.

**Highlights:** Randomly generated maps, Challenging roguelike mechanics, Daily challenge mode, Global leaderboards, Watch top player replays, Single-player adventure

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Chess Defence

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-defence-tower-defense/id6779569006)

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Handful of Gems | $0.99 | one-time |
| Gem Pouch | $4.99 | one-time |
| Gem Bucket | $9.99 | one-time |
| Royal Hero Bundle | $9.99 | one-time |
| Legendary Chest | $14.99 | one-time |
| Gem Vault | $14.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Arcane Tower free?

Arcane Tower costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Chess Defence free?

Chess Defence is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Arcane Tower or Chess Defence have ads?

Chess Defence shows ads; Arcane Tower does not.

### Which is updated more often, Arcane Tower or Chess Defence?

Arcane Tower ships an update every 3 weeks, and Chess Defence weekly. Most recently, Arcane Tower was updated on November 1, 2026 and Chess Defence on October 28, 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.*