Comparison

Crossword vs Codewords Pro

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

Head to head
About

Crossword

Engage with a vast collection of American-style crosswords, featuring adjustable grid sizes and difficulty levels. Enjoy unlimited on-the-fly generated puzzles and utilize helpful tools like validation and a built-in solver. Supports multiple languages and spelling preferences for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Adjustable grid zoom and movement
  • Multiple grid sizes and difficulty levels
  • On-the-fly grid generation for unlimited play
  • Thousands of straight and general knowledge clues
  • US/UK English spelling options
  • Built-in crossword solver and hints
  • Crosswords in French, German, and Dutch
Features
Read full description

Play a large range of crosswords. All use the usual American style grids, such as is used in the NY Times, USA Today and many other newspapers Note that all the answers and clues use US English spellings, and that the general knowledge clues are tailored for US players. Features: • You can zoom in & out of the grid, and move around, making it possible to play larger grids even on smaller screens • There is a large range of built in grids, from sizes 11x11, 13x13 and 15x15 at different difficulty levels. Most have just 16% black squares, per the standard definition • In addition a new grid of sizes up to 8x8 can be generated on-the-fly by the app, meaning unlimited games to play • Many 1000's of clues, both straight and general knowledge • Choose between US or UK English spellings • General knowledge questions tailored to your country (currently US, UK, Australia and Canada) • Ability to save and reload games, so several games can be played at the same time • Numerous aids in case you get stuck, e.g. validate word/letter, reveal word and even a built-in crossword solver to show potential matches • Easily flip between different crosswords, just like a crossword puzzle book • Also includes crosswords in French, German and Dutch

About

Codewords Pro

Engage in a unique word puzzle game where numbers replace letters. Solve hundreds of free puzzles or tackle two new daily challenges. Customize your experience with various difficulty levels, grid styles, and language options.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of free puzzles
  • Two daily puzzles
  • Multiple difficulty levels
  • Various grid styles
  • Multiple languages
  • Customizable settings
  • VoiceOver compatibility
Features
Read full description

Codewords Pro is an app to play Codewords, a popular word game similar to crosswords. It features several hundred free puzzles as well as 2 daily puzzles. Codewords puzzles are similar to crosswords, but instead of clues, each letter has been replaced by a number from 1 to 26, and you need to figure out which letter each number represents. Features : - Several levels of difficulty, from beginner to very hard - A mix of grid styles : american, french, italian, ... (the difference is in the way the black squares are placed) - 2 new puzzles every day - Several languages available - Many settings to customize the features and the look and feel of the grid - Playable with VoiceOver

Screenshots

Crossword4 screens
Codewords Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Codewords Pro at 4.8 against Crossword's 4.4. Codewords Pro also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 70%). Crossword's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Crossword sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and Codewords Pro sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Codewords Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 150 and 259 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Crossword's written reviews are positive against 88% of Codewords Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword ships an update every 5 months, Codewords Pro every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Crossword versus Codewords Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosswordCodewords Pro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (150 ratings)4.8 (259 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews87.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings150259 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size101 MB35 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperHavosEmmanuel Mathis

Customer experience

Crossword

All ratings150 ratings
Positive89.3%
Neutral6.0%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral13.3%
Negative16.7%

Codewords Pro

All ratings259 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive87.6%
Neutral9.3%
Negative3.1%

Bugs and requests

Crossword

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Codewords Pro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • VoiceOver not working as expected
  • Cannot reset the grid
  • Incorrect display of letters/numbers with VoiceOver

Requested features

6 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • English version of the app
  • Option to remove ads with purchase
  • Synchronization between devices (iPad/iPhone)
  • More grids available
Show 1 more
  • Provide solutions the following day

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Crossword

Subscriptions1
  • Supporter (no ads)$4.991 Year
One-time4
  • Stack of 1300 Coins$0.99
  • Stack of 3000 Coins$1.99
  • Stack of 8000 coins$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Stack of 20000 Coins$9.99
16 purchases

Codewords Pro

One-time16
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 4$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 5$1.99
Show 13 more
  • Intermediate Puzzles - Vol. 4$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 6$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 7$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 8$1.99
  • Hard Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Intermediate Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Hard Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Intermediate Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 7$1.99
  • All-Access Pass$9.99

Questions

Is Crossword free?
Crossword is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Codewords Pro free?
Codewords Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crossword or Codewords Pro?
Codewords Pro is rated higher. Crossword averages 4.4 out of 5 from 150 ratings, while Codewords Pro averages 4.8 from 259 ratings.
Do Crossword or Codewords Pro have ads?
Both Crossword and Codewords Pro show ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword or Codewords Pro?
Crossword ships an update every 5 months, and Codewords Pro every 3 months. Most recently, Crossword was updated on September 22, 2026 and Codewords Pro on September 29, 2026.

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