Comparison

Crosswords With Friends vs PuzzleLeaf

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

Head to head
About

Crosswords With Friends

Engage your mind with daily crossword puzzles featuring current pop culture and news themes. Compete with friends, climb leaderboards, and collect badges through weekly challenges and themed puzzle packs. Offers mini and midi puzzles alongside daily themed crosswords.

Highlights
  • Daily themed crossword puzzles
  • Mini and midi puzzle options
  • Weekly challenges and rewards
  • Leaderboard competition with friends
  • Puzzle packs with themed collections
  • Helpful hint system
Read full description

From the team that brought you Words With Friends comes Crosswords With Friends - the first daily crossword puzzle that’s written for today’s world! Test your brain power with a new puzzle every day that’s relevant to entertainment, pop culture, and sports news happening NOW! Enjoy fresh puzzles daily with a new themes every day of the week - Movie Monday, TV Tuesday, Wayback Wednesday, Top 40 Thursday, Sports Fan Friday, Smartypants Saturday, and Sunday Funday! Crosswords With Friends presents the world’s BEST crosswords for you 365 days a year. Led by co-editors Trip Payne (co-star of the crossword documentary Wordplay) and Amy Reynaldo (author of How to Conquer the New York Times Crossword), our daily crosswords are created by some of the world’s most published crossword writers. Get ready for a top-notch crossword experience! Game Features - English Only Game CROSSWORDS WRITTEN BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS Exercise your brain and expand your vocabulary by solving crossword puzzles created by crossword champions and writers from top newspapers! FUN PUZZLE THEMES 7-DAYS A WEEK Play a new crossword every day, and enjoy unique, fun themes! Access thousands of additional puzzles in the calendar archives! MINI AND MIDI PUZZLES Play free daily mini and midi crossword in addition to the themed crossword! CLIMB THE LEADERBOARD Challenge your friends and check the leaderboard to see who solved the daily puzzle the fastest! COMPLETE WEEKLY CHALLENGES Test yourself with new goals each week to earn great rewards and collect badges as you go! COLLECT PUZZLE PACKS Movie buffs, sports fanatics and nerds of all kinds, rejoice! Add a pack of 5 themed puzzles to your collection. Solve them all to collect badges and become the ultimate crossword master. HELPFUL HINTS WHEN YOU NEED THEM Stuck on a word? Use hints to move ahead faster. Playing Crosswords With Friends challenges your brain, improves your pop culture knowledge, and lets you compete with friends. Download and play the all new Crosswords With Friends! VIP Subscription ------------------------------------ VIP Subscription allows you get the below exclusive benefits every week: • Free Archived Puzzles Daily • No Ads Use of this application is governed by Zynga’s Terms of Service, found at https://www.take2games.com/legal. https://www.take2games.com/privacy

About

PuzzleLeaf

Read full description

One satisfying shift can bring a word together—and move another out of place. PuzzleLeaf is a spatial word puzzle about finding the right arrangement. Swipe a whole row or column, let the letters wrap around the edge, and line up every target word at the same time. The words are given; the pleasure is discovering how they fit. A JOURNEY OF 1,000 PUZZLES Explore a mix of 4×4 and five-letter 5×5 boards across ten beautifully illustrated destinations. Follow your progress in the Travel Journal, revisit puzzles you have earned, and return to your saved journey. With iCloud available, sync puzzle progress, committed moves and undo history across your iPhone and iPad using the same Apple Account. Check save status and compare saved attempts in Settings > Saved progress. Hints remain on each device. A HELPFUL NUDGE Start with five hints. A hint highlights one useful shift on your current board, leaving the move to you. You can also choose to watch an available rewarded ad to earn one more hint. PLAY AT YOUR PACE No lives, energy meters, or gameplay timer. Undo and restart are always free. Play the bundled puzzles offline and take as much time as you like. MADE FOR IPHONE AND IPAD Move letters with swipes or movement buttons. Adjust sound effects and haptics in Settings, with support for larger text and Reduce Motion. PuzzleLeaf is free to download. Automatic ads may appear between levels. The optional one-time Remove Automatic Ads purchase prevents automatic ads; optional ads for extra hints remain your choice. No subscription is required, and the purchase does not unlock puzzles or change progression. Ads and purchases require an internet connection. Game Center is optional in Settings and works separately from iCloud saved progress. Good Five Games. Time well played.

Screenshots

Crosswords With Friends4 screens
PuzzleLeaf2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PuzzleLeaf at every 4 days against Crosswords With Friends's every 2 weeks. Crosswords With Friends's advantage is chart position (#21 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Crosswords With Friends sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and PuzzleLeaf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crosswords With Friends ships an update every 2 weeks, PuzzleLeaf every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Crosswords With Friends versus PuzzleLeaf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosswords With FriendsPuzzleLeaf
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (63K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings63K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size302 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZynga Inc.Jonathan Van Horn

Bugs and requests

Crosswords With Friends

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Coins disappearing without explanation
  • Inability to claim earned badges
  • Inconsistent tournament scoring
  • Ads not properly rewarding coins

Requested features

5 requests
  • Easier way to earn free coins
  • More international/global content
  • Option to disable ads for a fee
  • Ability to play past puzzles without paying
  • Improved stability and performance

PuzzleLeaf

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Crosswords With Friends

Subscriptions3
  • Subscription Pack Trial14 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Subscription Pack$5.991 Month
  • Subscription VIP Bundle$9.991 Month
One-time7
  • 300 Coin Pack$2.99
  • New Player Special 1!$2.99
  • 550 Coin Pack$4.99
Show 4 more
  • 1150 Coin Pack$9.99
  • Bundle - 1150 Coins, 19 Hints$11.99
  • 2400 Coin Pack$19.99
  • 6250 Coin Pack$49.99
1 purchases

PuzzleLeaf

One-time1
  • Remove Automatic Ads$4.99

Questions

Is Crosswords With Friends free?
Crosswords With Friends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PuzzleLeaf free?
PuzzleLeaf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Crosswords With Friends or PuzzleLeaf have ads?
Both Crosswords With Friends and PuzzleLeaf show ads.
Which is updated more often, Crosswords With Friends or PuzzleLeaf?
Crosswords With Friends ships an update every 2 weeks, and PuzzleLeaf every 4 days. Most recently, Crosswords With Friends was updated on November 12, 2026 and PuzzleLeaf on October 31, 2026.

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