Comparison

Dot vs Pathwords

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

Head to head
About

Dot

Connect numbered dots in ascending order to reveal intricate, colorful images. This advanced adaptation of classic dot-to-dot puzzles offers hundreds of dots per image and includes helpful tools for a satisfying artistic experience.

Highlights
  • Connect numbered dots to reveal pictures
  • High-quality color images
  • Puzzles up to 1200 dots
  • Weekly bonus puzzles
  • Zoom, pan, and undo/redo
  • Progress previews
Features
Read full description

Connect all dots to reveal a beautiful color picture! Each puzzle consists of a collection of color dots with clues next to each dot. The object is to reveal a hidden picture by connecting the dots in ascending order and according to their color starting with 1 and ending with the highest number. Dot-a-Pix are an advanced adaptation of the classic dot-to-dot puzzles which provide high quality color pictures when solved. Starting with dozens and going up to several hundreds of dots, Dot-a-Pix puzzles create beautiful detailed pictures and provide the satisfaction as if you drew them yourself. The game features a Bring to Focus button to help locate the active dot, and an option to instantly move the active dot to any number for faster solving. To help see the puzzle progress, graphic previews in the puzzle list show the progress of all puzzles in a volume as they are being solved. A Gallery view option provides these previews in a larger format. For more fun, Dot-a-Pix includes a Weekly Bonus section providing an extra free puzzle each week. PUZZLE FEATURES • 56 free Dot-a-Pix puzzles in color • Extra bonus puzzle published free each week • Puzzle library continuously updates with new content • Manually created by artists, top quality puzzles • Up to 1200 dots per puzzle • Hours of creativity and fun GAMING FEATURES • No ads • Zoom, reduce, move puzzle for easy viewing • Unlimited Undo and Redo • Bring to Focus button to help locate active dot • Moving active dot to any number for faster solving • Concurrently playing and saving multiple puzzles • Puzzle filtering, sorting and archiving options • Graphic previews showing puzzles progress as they are being solved • Dark Mode support • Portrait and landscape screen support (iPad only) • Track puzzle solving times • Backup & restore puzzle progress to iCloud ABOUT Dot-a-Pix have also become popular under other names such as Picture Dots, Dot-to-Dot, Join the Dots and Connect the Dots. All puzzles in this app are produced by Conceptis Ltd. - the leading supplier of logic puzzles to printed and electronic gaming media all over the world. On average, more than 20 million Conceptis puzzles are solved each day in newspapers, magazines, books and online as well as on smartphones and tablets across the world. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.conceptispuzzles.com/index.aspx?uri=info/doc/220

About

Pathwords

Features
Read full description

Pathwords is a word-path puzzle. Drag through adjacent letters, including diagonals, to spell the words on the list. Play Mini (3×3), Classic (4×4), or Mega (5×5). Find the words on the list to climb Start, Good, Great, Awesome, then Genius. Bonus words sit alongside the list. They score less, but they still count. How to play Drag across tiles, then lift to submit. You can’t reuse a tile in the same word. Mini words are 3 letters or longer. Classic and Mega are 4 or longer. List words score 2 points per letter. Bonus words score 1. Find words quickly to catch a Speed Streak and double your points. If you’re stuck You get three free hints per puzzle. After that, watch a short ad for two more, as often as you need. Pathwords Premium is a one-time purchase that removes ads and unlocks unlimited hints. Rotate the board for a fresh angle. Once you’ve earned 40% of the list, letter-count assist can show where remaining words start, and unused letters fade. Finish a puzzle, then Play Another Puzzle for a fresh generated board so you can keep going. Progress stays on this device. No account. Works on iPhone and iPad. Offline, you’ll still get a local board.

Screenshots

Dot4 screens
Pathwords4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Dot at none against Pathwords's shown. Dot also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Pathwords's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 months). On price, 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. Dot sells 19 one-off in-app purchases and Pathwords sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dot ships an update every 4 months, Pathwords every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Dot versus Pathwords: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDotPathwords
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (369 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings369 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperConceptis Ltd.Christopher Musial

Bugs and requests

Dot

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Game crashes mid-puzzle
  • Game stops working after rating
  • Cannot start second line in multi-line
  • Screen disappears and restarts
  • Game crashes when connecting distant dots
Show 1 more
  • Dragging line doesn't work

Requested features

8 requests
  • More free puzzles
  • Landscape mode option
  • Larger puzzles with more dots
  • Option to change colors
  • Easier way to restart puzzles
Show 3 more
  • Option to make numbers bigger
  • Shortcut to zoom to next dot
  • More weekly bonus options

Pathwords

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

19 purchases

Dot

One-time19
  • SingleLine - Snacks 1$0.99
  • MultiLine - Snacks 1$0.99
  • MixedLine - Snacks 1$0.99
Show 16 more
  • SingleLine - Snacks 2$0.99
  • MixedLine - Snacks 2$0.99
  • MultiLine - Snacks 2$0.99
  • SingleLine - Variety 1$1.99
  • MultiLine - Variety 1$1.99
  • MixedLine - Variety 1$1.99
  • SingleLine - Jumbo Pack 1$1.99
  • MultiLine - Jumbo Pack 1$1.99
  • SingleLine - Jumbo Pack 3$1.99
  • MixedLine - Jumbo Pack 1$1.99
  • SingleLine - Variety Large 1$2.99
  • MultiLine - Variety Large 1$2.99
  • MixedLine - Variety Large 1$2.99
  • SingleLine - Mega Pack 1$2.99
  • MultiLine - Mega Pack 1$2.99
  • MixedLine - Mega Pack 1$2.99
1 purchases

Pathwords

One-time1
  • Pathwords Premium$2.99

Questions

Is Dot free?
Dot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pathwords free?
Pathwords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Dot or Pathwords have ads?
Pathwords shows ads; Dot does not.
Which is updated more often, Dot or Pathwords?
Dot ships an update every 4 months, and Pathwords every 5 days. Most recently, Dot was updated on October 29, 2026 and Pathwords on October 25, 2026.

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