Comparison

Typeshift vs Crossgrams

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

Head to head
About

Typeshift

This word puzzle game challenges you to unscramble letters within stacked words to form new words in the center row. It offers daily challenges with global leaderboards and special clue-based puzzles. Unlock additional content and remove ads with in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Anagram and word search mechanics
  • Shift letter columns to spell words
  • Daily challenges with leaderboards
  • Special clue puzzles
  • Unlockable puzzle packs
  • Themes and statistics
Features
Read full description

From the creator of SpellTower, comes a new and completely original word game! Anagrams meets Word Search, with a sprinkle of Crosswords. Typeshift is the modern anagram puzzle; re-imagined from the ground up, combining wordplay, modern game design, and a mobile-first approach. In most anagram games, you search for new combinations within a single word, but in Typeshift, you search within three to five words stacked & scrambled up together. Shift columns of letters up and down as you try to spell words in the center row. Play continues until you have used all letters in a puzzle at least once. Special Clue Puzzles combine Crosswords with Anagrams as you match clever clues provided by Typeshift's various puzzle authors. - Daily Word Game Play with Global Leaderboards - Typeshift features a free daily challenge with global leaderboards. The easiest challenge for the week appears on Monday, and progressively more challenging puzzles build throughout the week. Compare your fastest Typeshift daily solving times with players around the globe! ------WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING "Addictive and edifying, like popping a special kind of bubble wrap that expands your vocabulary.” - The Verge "Typeshift is a unmissable entry to the [word] genre." Gold Award. - Pocket Gamer "Typeshift is f*cking awesome" - Giant Bombcast "The Word Puzzle Game You've Been Waiting For" - Waypoint "Well worth your time" - Sixcolors ------WHATS IN THE “BOX”? Typeshift comes with over a hundred free puzzles, with more coming soon, plus new free daily puzzles every day. Additional puzzle packs may be purchased in-app. Purchasing any puzzle pack removes ads, and unlocks themes & detailed statistics. ------A WORD FROM THE DEVELOPER Typeshift continues my quest to re-imagine classic newspaper games in the digital era. Where SpellTower tackled word search and Really Bad Chess handled chess puzzles, Typeshift re-examines Anagrams and Crosswords. Typeshift has been a joy to develop, and I hope you have as much fun playing it as I had making it. As always, thanks so much for your support! -zach

About

Crossgrams

This word puzzle game combines anagrams and crosswords with Sudoku-like logic. Solve puzzles by dragging letters to unscramble words, using solved letters as clues for others. Enjoy a variety of puzzle sizes, from quick challenges to extended brain teasers.

Highlights
  • Anagram and crossword puzzle hybrid
  • Drag-and-drop letter unscrambling
  • Solved letters provide clues
  • Variety of puzzle sizes
  • Daily free puzzle
  • Additional puzzle packs available
Features
Read full description

Crossgrams is a new kind of word puzzle which mixes anagrams with crosswords (and has a pinch of Sudoku). It's simple, challenging, and extremely addictive. To unscramble each puzzle, just drag letters left and right (never up or down), but watch out: it's not as easy as it seems! Each letter you solve and pin in place is a new clue for the surrounding words. Puzzles range from bite-sized fun to brain-busters you can spend a whole afternoon chipping away at, just like a weekend crossword puzzle. About in-app purchases: Crossgrams is free, and contains no ads. It comes with two free sample puzzle packs, and a daily puzzle which is always free. Purchases come in the form of additional larger puzzle packs (plus one for color themes). After careful consideration, our small indie team simply didn't want to make a game filled with ads and distractions. We hope you'll enjoy Crossgrams enough to purchase some packs so we can afford to add more puzzles, and that you'll help us spread the word about the game!

Screenshots

Typeshift4 screens
Crossgrams4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crossgrams at 5.0 against Typeshift's 4.3. Crossgrams also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 49%) and ads (none vs shown). Typeshift's advantage is ratings volume (497 vs 21). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Typeshift sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Crossgrams sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crossgrams holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Typeshift has 497 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of Typeshift's written reviews are positive against 87% of Crossgrams's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Typeshift ships an update every 6 weeks, Crossgrams every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Typeshift versus Crossgrams: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTypeshiftCrossgrams
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (497 ratings)5.0 (21 ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.3% of reviews86.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings497 — better21
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB46 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperZach GageNevercenter Ltd. Co.

Customer experience

Typeshift

All ratings497 ratings
Positive80.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews211 reviews
Positive49.3%
Neutral17.5%
Negative33.2%

Crossgrams

All ratings21 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%

Bugs and requests

Typeshift

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzle timer inaccuracies
  • Purchased content not restoring properly
  • Letters not registering correctly
  • Puzzles not displaying properly on some devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More clue puzzles and puzzle packs
  • Option to reset/replay completed puzzle packs
  • Sync progress across devices
  • Support for British/Australian English
  • Built-in dictionary with better word definitions

Crossgrams

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Typeshift

One-time10
  • Chocolate Puzzle Pack$0.99
  • Peppermint Puzzle Pack$0.99
  • Pecan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Walnut Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Parmesan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Umami Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Pistachio Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Starter Bundle$1.99
  • Sophomore Bundle$1.99
  • Gumshoe Clue Bundle$3.99
6 purchases

Crossgrams

One-time6
  • Color Themes$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 2$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 1$0.99
Show 3 more
  • Minis Pack 1$0.99
  • Challenge Pack 1$1.99
  • Challenge Pack 2$1.99

Questions

Is Typeshift free?
Typeshift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crossgrams free?
Crossgrams is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Typeshift or Crossgrams?
Crossgrams is rated higher. Typeshift averages 4.3 out of 5 from 497 ratings, while Crossgrams averages 5.0 from 21 ratings.
Do Typeshift or Crossgrams have ads?
Typeshift shows ads; Crossgrams does not.
Which is updated more often, Typeshift or Crossgrams?
Typeshift ships an update every 6 weeks, and Crossgrams every 2 weeks. Most recently, Typeshift was updated on October 16, 2026 and Crossgrams on October 4, 2026.

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