Best Value Tower Defense Games Under $40

The Tower Defense games on Steam games under $40 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. 1GemCraft - Chasing Shadows$0.04/1hr
  2. 2Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)$0.06/1hr
  3. 3Rock 'N' Roll Defense$0.09/1hr
  4. 4Kingdom Two Crowns$0.09/1hr
  5. 5Stronghold HD (2012)$0.10/1hr
  6. 6最后的仙门 The last Practice Sect$0.10/1hr
  7. 7The Last Spell$0.12/1hr
  8. 8Dungeon Defenders$0.16/1hr
  9. 9Mindustry$0.16/1hr
  10. 10Rusted Warfare - RTS$0.19/1hr
  11. 11Kingdom: New Lands$0.19/1hr
  12. 12Warpips$0.20/1hr
  13. 13Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense$0.21/1hr
  14. 14Bloons TD 6$0.22/1hr
  15. 15Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition$0.23/1hr
  16. 16Dome Keeper$0.23/1hr
  17. 17Bad North: Jotunn Edition$0.27/1hr
  18. 18Cluckmech Oasis$0.33/1hr
  19. 19Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense$0.36/1hr
  20. 20Yet Another Zombie Defense HD$0.36/1hr
  21. 21They Are Billions$0.38/1hr
  22. 22Tower Dominion$0.39/1hr
  23. 23The Front$0.41/1hr
  24. 24Kingdom Rush - Tower Defense$0.44/1hr
  25. 25METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED$0.44/1hr
  26. 26Progressbar95$0.47/1hr
  27. 27Kingdom Eighties$0.49/1hr
  28. 28Craft The World$0.49/1hr
  29. 29The Riftbreaker$0.53/1hr
  30. 30Wall World$0.54/1hr
  31. 31Kingdom Rush Vengeance - Tower Defense$0.56/1hr
  32. 32Bloons TD 5$0.57/1hr
  33. 33Nordhold$0.58/1hr
  34. 34Castle Story$0.59/1hr
  35. 35Age of Darkness: Final Stand$0.62/1hr
  36. 36Heretic's Fork$0.66/1hr
  37. 37Ship of Fools$0.66/1hr
  38. 38Artisan TD$0.70/1hr
  39. 39Dungeon of the ENDLESS$0.71/1hr
  40. 40Stronghold: Definitive Edition$0.74/1hr
  41. 41Kingdom Rush Origins - Tower Defense$0.76/1hr
  42. 42Thronefall$0.77/1hr
  43. 43Orcs Must Die!$0.80/1hr
  44. 44Diplomacy is Not an Option$0.83/1hr
  45. 45Night of the Dead$0.86/1hr
  46. 46Starship Troopers: Terran Command$0.87/1hr
  47. 47Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap$0.89/1hr
  48. 48Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD$0.90/1hr
  49. 49Orcs Must Die! 2$0.91/1hr
  50. 50Emberward$1.06/1hr
  51. 51Border Pioneer$1.09/1hr
  52. 52Ultimate Zombie Defense$1.12/1hr
  53. 53METAL GEAR SURVIVE$1.18/1hr
  54. 54Orcs Must Die! 3$1.39/1hr
  55. 55X-Morph: Defense$1.67/1hr
  56. 56Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess$1.83/1hr
  57. 57Rock of Ages$2.05/1hr
  58. 58Ratropolis$2.08/1hr
  59. 59Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville$2.28/1hr
  60. 60Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder$2.55/1hr

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.