Spirograph Maker vs Cruciverbalist
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spirograph Maker
Easily create intricate spirograph patterns by adjusting gear size and pen color. Explore a variety of designs with this intuitive drawing application.
- Easy spirograph creation
- Adjustable gear size
- Customizable pen color
- Draw various figures
- Intuitive interface
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Create mesmerizing geometric art with a single tap. Released in 2017 with over 110,000 downloads — a math-meets-art tool refined over 9 years. Spirograph Maker turns the timeless mechanical drawing toy into a digital playground for your iPhone and iPad. Choose your gears, pick your colors, and watch hypnotic patterns bloom across the screen — no drawing skill required. WHERE MATH MEETS ART The patterns Spirograph creates aren't accidents — they're governed by GCD/LCM and parametric equations. Watch how the lobe count is determined by n/gcd(n,m), see hypotrochoids and epitrochoids come alive on your screen. A visual companion for middle-school number theory and high-school parametric curves. Whether you're a curious learner, a math enthusiast, or just love beautiful patterns, this is where math becomes mesmerizing. In 2022, this app was acknowledged in an academic paper on algebraic combinatorics — the smoothness criteria for Positroid varieties (Billey & Weaver, arXiv:2207.06508). From a child's toy to cutting-edge mathematical research — that's how deep these patterns go. FOUR GEAR SHAPES Not just circles. Draw with ellipse, rounded triangle (a curve of constant width), and teardrop gears too. Change the gear's shape and the symmetry of the pattern changes with it: circles stay regular, ellipses stretch, triangles beat in threes, teardrops curve organically. A strength slider tunes each shape continuously — from nearly circular to a flat ellipse, or a sharply pointed triangle or teardrop. KEY FEATURES - Auto-draw mode: tap once and beautiful patterns appear on their own - Custom color palette with gradient mode for endless combinations - Adjustable gear shapes and sizes: circle / ellipse / rounded triangle / teardrop, plus tooth count - Save your creations directly to your Photo Library - Share to Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere - Full iPad support — a bigger canvas for finer detail - Light and Dark mode WHY SPIROGRAPH MAKER - A meditative break from a busy day — without leaving your phone - A visual bridge between middle-school math and university geometry - Inspired by the classic Spirograph toy, reimagined for modern iOS - Perfect for parents, students, artists, and math enthusiasts - Works offline, anywhere PERFECT FOR - Winding down before bed - Sparking creativity with kids - A short math meditation anytime - Making one-of-a-kind wallpapers - Sharing unique art on Instagram - A short, calm focus break during your day In Japan, downloads notably spike around the start of new school terms and summer breaks — pointing to a growing use as a learning companion. Pull out your phone, tap once, and watch sacred geometry unfold. Whether you're a designer, a doodler, a student, or just love beautiful patterns, Spirograph Maker is the simplest way to make art that mesmerizes. Free to download. Optional ad-free upgrade available.
Cruciverbalist
Design and build your own crossword puzzles with customizable grid sizes and word lists. Get suggestions for words and phrases to complete your puzzles, then export them in various formats for sharing or submission.
- Customizable grid sizes
- Black square and letter placement
- Word and phrase suggestions
- Import custom word lists
- Export to PDF (blank or formatted)
- No ads or subscriptions
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Write your own crossword puzzles! No ads and no subscriptions. CREATE - Pick a grid size: 5x5, 9x9, 15x15, or 21x21 - Fill in black squares and letters - Receive suggestions for valid words and phrases to complete partially filled rows and columns - A 550,000+ word list of English words, names, and phrases is included to make suggestions, but you can also import your own word list to augment or replace this dictionary SHARE - Export completed puzzles to PDF, either blank with clues to share with friends, or formatted to submit to the New York Times
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cruciverbalist at none against Spirograph Maker's 1. Cruciverbalist also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (73% vs 53%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Spirograph Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cruciverbalist asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Spirograph Maker against 4.4 for Cruciverbalist. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 88 and 33 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of Spirograph Maker's written reviews are positive against 73% of Cruciverbalist's.
Spirograph Maker ships an update fortnightly, Cruciverbalist every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spirograph Maker | Cruciverbalist |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (88 ratings) | 4.4 (33 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.9% of reviews | 72.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 88 — better | 33 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | KYWorks | Miranda Strand |
Customer experience
Spirograph Maker
Cruciverbalist
In-app purchases
Spirograph Maker
- Remove Ads$3.99
Cruciverbalist
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Spirograph Maker free?
Is Cruciverbalist free?
Which has better reviews, Spirograph Maker or Cruciverbalist?
Do Spirograph Maker or Cruciverbalist have ads?
Which is updated more often, Spirograph Maker or Cruciverbalist?
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