Word Forward vs Knotwords
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Word Forward
This word puzzle game challenges players to clear a 5x5 grid by forming words. It requires strategic use of every letter tile to solve 500 unique puzzles, offering an endlessly challenging brain teaser.
- Spell words by tracing lines
- Swap letters with tokens
- Jumble tiles for new letters
- Change letters with modifiers
- Eliminate tiles with bombs
- Solve 500 puzzles
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The #1 Word Game! Played by millions! “Equally a brain-teaser and a brain-pleaser” - MacWorld “An excellent buy for solo players” - TechRadar “A really fun and well-executed word game” - PocketGamer Beautifully simple. Endlessly challenging. Word Forward is the word puzzle game where every choice matters. Can you use all of the letters in the 5x5 grid to make words disappear and clear the board? Word Forward isn’t about spelling the longest words or the most clever - it’s about carefully using every tile to declare victory in 500 puzzles. It requires cunning and strategy -- Word Forward is a brain teaser that will really make you think! • SPELL words by tracing a line between tiles in any direction, including diagonally • SWAP any two letters on the grid by using a SWAP TOKEN, earned during gameplay • JUMBLE the tiles on the grid to replace all the letters with new ones when all else fails • CHANGE the letter on a tile to any other letter you choose using the SWAP MODIFIER • ELIMINATE stubborn tiles with BOMBS to get yourself out of a tight spot The latest brain-tingling puzzle game from the creators of Block Droppin Blitz.
Knotwords
A daily word puzzle game that challenges you to arrange letters into valid words across and down. Its minimal design and intuitive progression make it an engaging and accessible brain teaser.
- Minimalist and elegant design
- Logic-based word puzzles
- Daily challenges
- Intuitive progression system
- Valid word arrangement
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Knotwords is a minimal and elegant logic puzzle — with words. The rules are simple: arrange the letters in each section so every word is valid, across and down. Each puzzle may seem difficult at first — but like all my favorite newspaper puzzles, it gets easier as you progress. Each step guides you naturally towards the solution. This is the kind of game I've been trying to make my whole career — I'm amazed Jack and I discovered this design. We hope you like it. -- Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Knotwords at Free against Word Forward's $2.99. Knotwords also leads on ratings volume (8.2K vs 11) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Word Forward's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and chart position (#113 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ads 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
Knotwords is free to download; Word Forward costs $2.99 up front. Knotwords sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. Word Forward asks for nothing beyond the download.
Knotwords holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Knotwords has 8.2K ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Word Forward's written reviews are positive against 73% of Knotwords's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Word Forward ships an update every 6 weeks, Knotwords every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Word Forward | Knotwords |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (11 ratings) | 4.8 (8.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.5% of reviews — better | 73.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 8.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #113 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 13.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 507 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thalamus Digital Publishing Ltd. | Zach Gage |
Customer experience
Word Forward
Knotwords
Bugs and requests
Word Forward
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Knotwords
Reported bugs
4 issues- Puzzles with missing/incorrect squares
- Incorrect words being accepted
- Puzzles not properly credited as completed
- Hints not matching the correct answers
Requested features
9 requests- Ability to turn off haptic feedback
- Improved cursor/input behavior
- Cloud sync across devices
- Difficulty settings
- Ability to see definitions of completed words
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- Restart button for puzzles
- Customizable themes
- Daily leaderboards
- Ability to disable hints once used
In-app purchases
Word Forward
No in-app purchases
Knotwords
- Knotwords Pro subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Year
- Full Game$11.99








