Best Value Strategy Games Under $5

The Strategy games on Steam games under $5 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.

All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG

By price

Any priceUnder $5Under $10Under $20Under $40
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1BidKing$0.01/1hr
  2. 2shapez$0.03/1hr
  3. 3Cookie Clicker$0.04/1hr
  4. 4FTL: Faster Than Light$0.06/1hr
  5. 5Wall World$0.07/1hr
  6. 6Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete$0.08/1hr
  7. 7Rock 'N' Roll Defense$0.09/1hr
  8. 8Company of Heroes 2$0.09/1hr
  9. 9Rising Storm 2: Vietnam$0.10/1hr
  10. 10最后的仙门 The last Practice Sect$0.10/1hr
  11. 11Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2$0.10/1hr
  12. 12Talisman: Digital Classic Edition$0.10/1hr
  13. 13Company of Heroes$0.12/1hr
  14. 14Anno 1404 - History Edition$0.12/1hr
  15. 15Iratus: Lord of the Dead$0.13/1hr
  16. 16Beholder$0.15/1hr
  17. 17Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun$0.15/1hr
  18. 18Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War$0.15/1hr
  19. 19Do Not Feed the Monkeys$0.16/1hr
  20. 20Natural Selection 2$0.16/1hr
  21. 21Unity of Command II$0.18/1hr
  22. 22Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition$0.19/1hr
  23. 23Warpips$0.19/1hr
  24. 24Easy Red 2$0.20/1hr
  25. 25Frostpunk$0.21/1hr
  26. 26Town of Salem$0.21/1hr
  27. 27Rusted Warfare - RTS$0.21/1hr
  28. 28The Battle of Polytopia$0.23/1hr
  29. 29Endzone - A World Apart$0.23/1hr
  30. 30Your Only Move Is HUSTLE$0.24/1hr
  31. 3120 Minutes Till Dawn$0.24/1hr
  32. 32Streamer Life Simulator$0.24/1hr
  33. 33Outpath$0.25/1hr
  34. 34Adorables$0.27/1hr
  35. 35Necroking$0.29/1hr
  36. 36Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager$0.30/1hr
  37. 37Game Dev Tycoon$0.31/1hr
  38. 38Totally Accurate Battle Simulator$0.31/1hr
  39. 39Yes, Your Grace$0.39/1hr
  40. 40Turmoil$0.43/1hr
  41. 41Nubby's Number Factory$0.44/1hr
  42. 42Gladiator Guild Manager$0.48/1hr
  43. 43Beholder: Conductor$0.53/1hr
  44. 44ISLANDERS$0.53/1hr
  45. 45House of Detention$0.65/1hr
  46. 4660 Seconds! Reatomized$0.68/1hr
  47. 47Nodebuster$0.68/1hr
  48. 48Feign$0.69/1hr
  49. 49Master Healer Kale with useless party$0.76/1hr
  50. 50THE GAME OF LIFE 2$0.77/1hr
  51. 51Cardboard Town$0.82/1hr
  52. 52Russian Life Simulator$0.87/1hr
  53. 5360 Parsecs!$0.97/1hr
  54. 54Mister Furry: Hot Muscles$1.01/1hr
  55. 55Minami Lane$1.14/1hr
  56. 56Pacify$1.20/1hr
  57. 57Dice People$1.25/1hr
  58. 58Kabuto Park$1.52/1hr
  59. 59RUSSIAPHOBIA$1.61/1hr
  60. 60Ultimate Zombie Defense$1.92/1hr
  61. 61SUMMERHOUSE$2.05/1hr
  62. 62Achievement Clicker$2.97/1hr

How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.