Spelling Bee vs ContraBee
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spelling Bee
This word game offers a unique hexagon layout where each word must include a required letter. With over 4000 levels, it provides a challenging yet satisfying brain exercise. Explore a vibrant world, use power-ups, and compete on global leaderboards.
- Unique hexagon word puzzle layout
- Over 4000 challenging levels
- Daily challenge puzzles
- Global leaderboards
- Power-ups and coin rewards
- Play with friends
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Spelling Bee is the totally new take on word games that everyone is talking about! Each word must use the required letter for a challenging and satisfying twist! Totally unique hexagon layout is perfect for bees :) The game starts out easy and gets challenging fast! With 4000+ levels, exercise your brain with these challenging and satisfying puzzles. Incredibly fun and addicting as you figure out that word on the tip of your tongue! Explore the bright, beautiful world of bees on your word search and crossword adventures! Journey through colorful lands and solve sweet word puzzles! Use awesome powerups and compete on global leaderboards to prove you’re the word champ that all the buzz is about! Every word you find fills your Honey Pot. How smart are you? ENJOY AMAZING WORD GAMEPLAY: - Easy swipe to select letters and spell words! - Find as many words as you can! - Earn coins for bonus words! - Progress through a lovely world of flowers! FEATURES: - Over 4000 Levels to play word games! - Daily Challenge Puzzle is a new way to play! - Loads of ways to earn coins like bonus words and daily 9 card monty! - Great for kids and adults alike! - Bonus coins for logging in! - Easy to play, difficult to master! - Play with friends and get special boosts from your teammates! - Uniquely fun events go on all week - never a dull moment! - Play this meditative, relaxing game and zen out til you beat all the levels! - Daily Bonus with coins and powerups! Get Spelling Bee today for the best word game for word search fans and word puzzle addicts out there :) Privacy Policy: https://www.funcraft.com/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.funcraft.com/terms-of-use
ContraBee
This app offers a daily word puzzle using the same letter hive as the New York Times Spelling Bee. It challenges players to find words without using the required center letter, encouraging a different approach to word discovery.
- Daily word puzzles
- Uses NYT Spelling Bee letter hive
- Excludes center letter
- Encourages alternative word finding
- Unique puzzle twist
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ContraBee is a complement to each day’s official New York Times Spelling Bee. It uses the same hive as each day’s Spelling Bee, but with a twist: Instead of requiring the center letter, Contra Bee excludes it. You’ll be surprised at how many words you can find if you turn your mind upside down.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Spelling Bee at 4.7 against ContraBee's 4.1. Spelling Bee also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 24%) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). ContraBee's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Spelling Bee sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. ContraBee asks for nothing beyond the download.
Spelling Bee holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spelling Bee has 162 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Spelling Bee's written reviews are positive against 24% of ContraBee's.
Spelling Bee ships an update every 5 days, ContraBee every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spelling Bee | ContraBee |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (162 ratings) — better | 4.1 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews — better | 23.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 162 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.1 GB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FunCraft, Inc | Lexi Games LLC |
Customer experience
Spelling Bee
ContraBee
In-app purchases
Spelling Bee
- Spelling Bee7 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Spelling Bee7 Days trial$4.997 Days
- Spelling Bee$7.991 Month
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- Spelling Bee$39.991 Year
- A Few Coins$0.99
- Bee Family$1.99
- A Pile of Coins$2.99
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- Sweet Bundle$4.99
- Starter Bundle$4.99
- A Bag of Coins$4.99
- Jar of Bees$9.99
- Tasty Bundle$12.99
- Ad-Free Offer!$12.99
- Smart Bundle$19.99
ContraBee
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Spelling Bee free?
Is ContraBee free?
Which has better reviews, Spelling Bee or ContraBee?
Do Spelling Bee or ContraBee have ads?
Which is updated more often, Spelling Bee or ContraBee?
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