Words Collide vs Retrogram
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Words Collide
Engage in a clever word-building game where you arrange letters to spell words. Collaborate with friends, discover new vocabulary, and aim for high scores through strategic combos. Unlock upgrades and enjoy different game modes.
- Solo or cooperative play
- Zen and Adventure modes
- Combo construction for high scores
- In-game dictionary for word learning
- Letter arrangement for word spelling
- Unlockable upgrades (letters, hints, combos)
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- Play by yourself or cooperatively with friends. - Relax in Zen Mode, or challenge yourself with Adventure Mode. - Carefully construct combos to achieve high scores! - Discover and learn new words using our in game dictionary. - Arrange letters to spell words; your friends can reuse your words to spell bigger words. - Earn coins to unlock upgrades like extra letters, hints and combos. Start playing Words Collide today!
Retrogram
Challenge your vocabulary with a daily word puzzle. Create as many words as possible from seven letters. Enjoy a stylish, retro-themed experience designed to sharpen your mind and introduce you to new words.
- Daily hand-made puzzles
- Solve puzzles together via SharePlay
- Apple Watch compatibility
- No ads
- Discover new words
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Think you’re a word nerd? Put your vocabulary to the test with new word puzzles every day Retrogram is a love letter to the 1970s — a cozy collection of handcrafted word games, curious words and satisfying puzzles to make part of your daily routine PLAY EVERY DAY SPELLOTRON Make as many words as you can using seven letters. Find the pangram, climb the ranks and discover interesting stories behind some of your favorite words WORDWAY Build a bridge of words from one word to another. Use the letters you’re given and find a path across the board THERE’S MORE Subscribe to Retrogram to catch up on the past week of daily puzzles, explore the Puzzle Vault, play limited-edition bonus packs, switch things up with vintage app icons, and play after dark with Neon Nites FEATURES * Two handcrafted word puzzles every day * Play today’s Spellotron and Wordway puzzles for free * Catch up on the past seven days * A growing Vault of bonus puzzles * Limited-edition puzzle packs * Neon Nites dark theme * Vintage alternate app icons * SharePlay — solve together over FaceTime * Play Spellotron on your Apple Watch * No ads, ever Additional details Privacy policy: https://retrogram.app/#privacy Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Retrogram at none against Words Collide's shown. Retrogram also leads on review sentiment (66% vs 38%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Words Collide's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.6). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Words Collide sells 19 one-off in-app purchases and Retrogram sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Words Collide holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 299 and 320 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 38% of Words Collide's written reviews are positive against 66% of Retrogram's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Words Collide ships an update every 2 months, Retrogram every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Words Collide | Retrogram |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (299 ratings) — better | 4.4 (320 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 37.7% of reviews | 66.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 299 | 320 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 146 MB | 145 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lamington Games Pty Ltd | in Color |
Customer experience
Words Collide
Retrogram
User reviews
Words Collide
From 299 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Cute and visually appealing
- 🚀 Smooth and responsive
- 🔒 No forced ads
- 👍 Cooperative multiplayer
Room to improve
- 🐛 Progress resets/lost
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable
- 🐛 Orientation issues
- 🐛 Unreliable word recognition
- 🐛 Confusing cascade feature
Retrogram
From 320 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Retro aesthetic and clean interface design
- 👍 Simple and intuitive gameplay mechanics
- 🧠 Challenging and brain-stimulating puzzles
- 📚 Interesting word definitions and fun comments
- 🎮 Daily puzzle provides consistent engagement
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription pricing ($30-$80)
- 🚫 Misleading free-to-play model with paywall
- 📖 Inconsistent and limited word dictionary
- 🔄 Words accepted one day but rejected another
- ⏰ Only one puzzle per day (limited content)
Bugs and requests
Words Collide
Reported bugs
6 issues- Game resets progress on app close
- Crashes and freezes on launch
- Inability to save progress
- Broken co-op game invitations
- Sound issues and muting
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Compatibility problems on certain devices
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to change username
- Improve tutorial and instructions
- Implement cloud/account sync
- Add more word list options
- Improve friend/multiplayer functionality
Retrogram
Reported bugs
7 issues- Words marked as missed that were actually found
- Puzzle letters changing when spinning the wheel
- Apple Watch app no longer functioning
- Game progress deletion without explanation
- Inconsistent word acceptance across different puzzles
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Hint feature disappeared in recent updates
- Contact support only available through Apple Mail
Requested features
10 requests- Access to previous/archived puzzles
- Multiple puzzles per day or puzzle difficulty levels
- Statistics tracking (completion rate, pangram frequency)
- Hint system that doesn't impact streak
- Word find rate percentages for context
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Immediate answer reveal after puzzle completion
- Cheaper one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- In-game dispute method for word validation
- Apple Watch functionality restoration
- Automatic daily prefix posting on social media
In-app purchases
Words Collide
- Sale Spectral Boutique Card$1.99
- Sale Spectral Robot Card$1.99
- Sale Spectral Wooden Card$1.99
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Sale Banded Tennis Card$1.99
- Small Coin Pack$1.99
- Sale Spectral Gold Bar Card$1.99
- Sale Shiny Candle Card$1.99
- Sale Spectral Glass Card$1.99
- Sale Banded Robot Card$1.99
- Sale Spectral Tennis Card$1.99
- Classic Boutique Card$2.99
- ClassicWooden Card$2.99
- Classic Glass Card$2.99
- ClassicRounded Card$2.99
- Classic Candle Card$2.99
- Starter Pack$3.99
- Classic Attic Background$3.99
- Medium Coin Pack$4.99
- Large Coin Pack$9.99
Retrogram
- Daily Puzzle (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Daily Puzzle (Yearly)$29.991 Year
- Where in the World$3.99
- 80s Dinner Party$4.99
- Gaming Icons$4.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Stone Cold$4.99
- Flower Power$4.99
- Dear Reader$4.99
- Outer Rim$4.99
- Daily Puzzle (For Life)$49.99
