Comparison

Words in Progress vs Crossword Explorer+

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

Head to head
About

Words in Progress

Engage in a unique word-crafting puzzle game by combining letters to form words. Test your skills in an endless single-player mode or challenge others in asynchronous multiplayer matches. Enjoy a clean design and a steady learning curve suitable for all ages.

Highlights
  • Unique word game mechanics
  • Single player endless mode
  • Asynchronous multiplayer mode
  • Long and steady learning curve
  • Clean, cozy, and crisp design
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Enjoy our word crafting puzzle joy that never wears off! Combine letters to create words and choose your playstyle: take big risks for huge rewards, or carefully plan your way through hours of create-a-word fun! Face the mysterious Fridge in our brand new Story Mode, survive as long as you can in Endless mode, climb the Daily leaderboard or play against others in Multiplayer! Words in Progress offers: - A unique new word game - Single Player Story Mode - Single Player Endless mode - Multiplayer asynchronous Mode - A long and steady learning curve - Clean, cozy and crisp design - Fun for players of all ages - Multi-language gameplay and support In Words in Progress, the game begins with seven letters stacked vertically on the screen. Your goal is to combine these letters into words. Whenever you move a letter to another row to build a word, its empty spot is instantly replaced with a new letter from your pile. After submitting a word, new letters are added again, keeping the puzzle constantly evolving. How many words can you make? Enjoy a variety of game modes for both solo players and online multiplayer fans. Play casually for fun and learning, or compete against others and climb the ranks! In our latest Story Mode you follow our hero as they try to deal with a mysterious fridge that keeps haunting their dreams night after night. You can progress through more than 45 handcrafted levels, each featuring up to 3 stars to earn for players looking to fully master every challenge. In Single Player Endless Mode, the goal is to stay in the game as long as you can. Keep your letter pile from running out by completing challenges of varying word lengths. But beware: if you can’t keep up, it’s game over! Our Daily Challenge lets you compete against players around the world in the exact same game. How many points can you score? Climb the Daily Leaderboards and prove your skills. Remember: if today isn’t your day, there’s always another challenge waiting tomorrow! In Multiplayer Mode, you and your opponent each start with 40 letters. Do you take the risk of adding letters to words still in progress, aiming for a long word but risking an incomplete or invalid one? Or do you play it safe by “cashing in” shorter, valid words? A smart strategy is key if you want to outscore your opponent and claim victory!

About

Crossword Explorer+

Engage your mind with daily crossword puzzles and trivia. Access thousands of puzzles with new themes each day to expand your vocabulary and general knowledge. Play anytime, anywhere on your iOS device.

Highlights
  • Daily new puzzles
  • Thousands of puzzles available
  • Variety of daily themes
  • Hints for difficult words
  • Vocabulary and general knowledge improvement
Features
Read full description

Keeping your mind sharp and active these days is hard with so many distractions to make you lose focus. Sitting down and solving a crossword is a time-tested formula to ensure that your brain stays active while you have a lot of fun answering questions on your favorite topics. With a different theme each day of the week, there is just the right amount of variety to satisfy all kinds of interests! With Crossword Explorer+, you will have access to thousands of puzzles, right on your iOS device, so that you can play your favorite crosswords when you want, wherever you want! As you solve more and more of our crosswords, your vocabulary and general knowledge will grow by leaps and bounds! In no time, you will become a master crossword solver while having tons of fun! What does Crossword Explorer+ offer? - Fun puzzles for everyone - A new puzzle every day, 365 days a year - Hints to get you past those obscure words - Bragging rights for your ever-improving general knowledge and vocabulary What are you waiting for? Download Crossword Explorer+ right now, join thousands of crossword enthusiasts and see why everyone is hooked! Write back to us with any issues or suggestions, we are all ears! Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: https://playsimple.in/privacy_aa

Screenshots

Words in Progress4 screens
Crossword Explorer+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Words in Progress at 59% against Crossword Explorer+'s 22%. Words in Progress also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and device support (5 vs 3). Crossword Explorer+'s advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crossword Explorer+ holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.7K and 2.3K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of Words in Progress's written reviews are positive against 22% of Crossword Explorer+'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Words in Progress ships an update every 5 weeks, Crossword Explorer+ every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Words in Progress versus Crossword Explorer+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWords in ProgressCrossword Explorer+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.7K ratings)4.9 (2.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.2% of reviews — better22.4% of reviews
Number of ratings1.7K2.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.513.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size391 MB266 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGamious B.V.PlaySimple Games Pte Ltd

Customer experience

Words in Progress

All ratings1,717 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral5.3%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews120 reviews
Positive59.2%
Neutral17.5%
Negative23.3%

Crossword Explorer+

All ratings2,320 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral0.6%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews388 reviews
Positive22.4%
Neutral19.8%
Negative57.7%

User reviews

Words in Progress

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🧠 Good brain exercise
  • ⚡ Addictive gameplay
  • 🎨 Interesting concept
  • 🆕 Clever and new

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Faulty and unreliable
  • 🤔 Poor dictionary and word acceptance
  • 🤯 Frustrating when words are rejected
  • 🤦‍♂️ Clumsy and unintuitive controls
  • 🔥 Overheats device

Crossword Explorer+

From 2.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Relaxing and fun gameplay
  • 🚀 Smooth and intuitive controls
  • 💡 Bite-sized crossword puzzles

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Puzzles too easy and repetitive
  • 📍 Heavily US-centric content
  • 🔍 Lack of difficulty options or progression
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes reported

Bugs and requests

Words in Progress

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Authentication errors
  • Challenges not working properly
  • Scores not showing up
  • Screentime limit error
  • Blank tiles not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add undo/shuffle button
  • Improve dictionary and word acceptance
  • Provide word lookup/submission feature
  • Add difficulty settings and game modes
  • Improve UI and controls

Crossword Explorer+

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Black screen on startup
  • Incorrect answers and spelling errors
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add difficulty settings or skip easy levels
  • Improve crossword variety and reduce repetition
  • Optimize for landscape mode on iPad
  • Implement cloud save/sync across devices

In-app purchases

None

Words in Progress

No in-app purchases

None

Crossword Explorer+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Words in Progress free?
Words in Progress is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crossword Explorer+ free?
Crossword Explorer+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Words in Progress or Crossword Explorer+?
Crossword Explorer+ is rated higher. Words in Progress averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Crossword Explorer+ averages 4.9 from 2.3K ratings.
Do Words in Progress or Crossword Explorer+ have ads?
Neither Words in Progress nor Crossword Explorer+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Words in Progress or Crossword Explorer+?
Words in Progress ships an update every 5 weeks, and Crossword Explorer+ every 3 months. Most recently, Words in Progress was updated on September 23, 2026 and Crossword Explorer+ on September 23, 2026.

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