Waggle Words vs Sidewords
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Waggle Words
This word puzzle game challenges players to connect letters within a beehive to form words, clear the board, and achieve high scores through strategic chains and combos. Utilize power-ups to manipulate letters and discover new words. It offers multiple game modes, including an AR experience for compatible devices.
- Strategic word chaining
- Power-up letter manipulation
- Augmented Reality mode
- Multiple game modes (Casual, Speed, Daily)
- Unlimited levels with unique hives
- Game Center leaderboards
- iCloud sync
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Waggle Words is a strategic word search puzzle game set inside a buzzing beehive. Flying letters, swarming tiles, and word chains create an energetic and endlessly replayable experience. Connect letters to form words, clear the board, and multiply your score with powerful chains and combos. Use power-ups to move and transform letters, discover new words, and keep the hive alive. With three distinct game modes plus an Augmented Reality (AR) experience for supported devices, every round brings a fresh challenge. FEATURES - Expanded Dictionary: Over 172,800 recognized English words. - Augmented Reality Mode: For devices with A9 chips (or newer) running iOS 12+ that support ARKit. - Standard Play Mode: Compatible with all devices running iOS 12 or later. - Unlimited Levels: Explore 400 unique hives with limitless letter combinations. - Casual Game: Play at your own pace—each puzzle is unique. - Speed Game: How many words can you create in 90 seconds? - Daily Game: A new downloadable challenge every day. - Game Center: Climb global leaderboards and compare scores. - iCloud Sync: Track progress and stats across your devices.
Sidewords
This app offers a unique blend of logic and word puzzles with no timers or penalties. It provides hundreds of puzzles of varying difficulty, with new ones added daily, and includes a bonus game. Users can customize the color scheme to suit their mood.
- Logic and word puzzle blend
- Hundreds of puzzles
- Daily new puzzles
- Bonus game included
- Customizable color schemes
- No timers or penalties
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Grab a cup of coffee and relax with Sidewords. Sidewords is part logic puzzle, part word game, all original. No timers. No penalties. No pressure. Just you and a good puzzle. Sharpen your mind with hundreds of puzzles, from small and quick, to large and captivating. Plus three new puzzles to do every day! There’s even a bonus game included! Choose a color scheme that fits your mood and environment. Get your morning started with bright colors, or unwind at the end of a long day with a dark theme. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a good puzzle. You deserve your Sidewords time. ----- Critics Are Saying ----- "If you're looking for a truly new word game experience, this is the game to get." - 148Apps "The word and logic elements mashed together create a special experience that I’ve never seen before in a word game" - AppAdvice "If you’re looking for a word game with some unique ideas, go download Sidewords" - AppUnwrapper "Sidewords isn't quite like anything else you've ever played before." - PocketGamer
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Sidewords at 4.7 against Waggle Words's 4.3. Sidewords also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 58%) and ratings volume (295 vs 48). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Waggle Words costs $3.99 and Sidewords $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sidewords holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sidewords has 295 ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Waggle Words's written reviews are positive against 81% of Sidewords's.
Waggle Words ships an update every 3 months, Sidewords every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Waggle Words | Sidewords |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (48 ratings) | 4.7 (295 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 57.7% of reviews | 80.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 48 | 295 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #113 | #84 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 174 MB | 70 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vermont Digital Arts LLC | Milkbag Games |
Customer experience
Waggle Words
Sidewords
Bugs and requests
Waggle Words
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sidewords
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crash when clicking 'share solution'
- Applies unreal words
- Sometimes rejects real words
Requested features
9 requests- Improve tutorial or add clear instructions
- Sync between devices
- Add a scoring system or way to measure excellence
- Allow iPad rotation to landscape
- More puzzles/daily puzzles
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Undo option after tapping a word
- Fix crash when sharing solution
- Algorithm for randomly creating levels
- Ability to rotate iPad in all directions
In-app purchases
Waggle Words
No in-app purchases
Sidewords
No in-app purchases
