Sudoku vs Cracking the Cryptic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sudoku
Engage your mind with a comprehensive number puzzle game offering classic Sudoku and over 35 unique variants. Enjoy themed weekly challenges, smart hints, and a clean design for a relaxing yet challenging brain-training experience.
- Classic Sudoku
- 35+ Sudoku variants
- Themed Weekly Challenges
- Smart hints and explanations
- Minimalist design
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Cloud sync
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Sudoku & Variants by Logic Wiz – Relaxing Brain Training Puzzle Game. Discover the ultimate Sudoku experience with Sudoku & Variants by Logic Wiz – a fun, relaxing, and brain-boosting number puzzle game. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned puzzle master, this app will challenge your logic and sharpen your mind. Enjoy classic Sudoku and explore over 35 unique Sudoku variants, each introducing fresh logic twists — like Killer Sudoku, Diagonal Sudoku, Sandwich Sudoku, Arrow Sudoku, and many more. Take on our Themed Weekly Challenges, where handcrafted puzzle sets revolve around fun, creative topics to keep things fresh and engaging every week. Key Features: • A wide variety of handcrafted puzzles • Classic Sudoku for all skill levels • Over 35 unique Sudoku variants to explore • Fresh logic mechanics with each variant • Weekly Challenges built around fun themes • Smart hints and strategy explanations — no guessing required • Beautiful minimal design for focused play • Six difficulty levels, from Beginner to Master • A perfect mix of relaxation and brain training • Regular updates with new puzzles and variants Popular Variants Include: Killer, Sandwich, Thermo, Diagonal, Jigsaw (Irregular), Arrow, Windoku, Skyscraper, X-Sum, Kropki, German Whisper, Renban, XV, Lockout, Between Lines, Universal, Couples, Twisted Consecutive, and many more. Additional Features: • Multiple variants on a single board • Unique logical solution for every puzzle • Track progress, stats, and accomplishments • Light and Dark modes • Multiple pencil mark styles and notations • Error-checking and solving aids • Cloud sync across devices • Optimized for iPhone and iPad Inspired by puzzle communities like Cracking the Cryptic, Sudoku & Variants by Logic Wiz is ideal for solvers who love clever twists and deep logic — without the need to guess.
Cracking the Cryptic
This app offers a curated collection of handcrafted Sudoku puzzles from world-renowned constructors. Explore classic and unique variants, with new puzzle packs released regularly. A free introductory pack is included with download.
- Handcrafted Sudoku puzzles
- Curated by expert constructors
- Classic and unique variants
- Regularly released puzzle packs
- Free introductory puzzle pack
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OUR NEWEST PACK – CLASSIC VOLUME #2! Classic sudoku is where it all began, and there is still lots of skill to be deployed to solve classic puzzles, and new techniques to be explored. Nikoli, the Japanese puzzle house, named and popularised sudoku from 1984, and we have commissioned 20 puzzles from them for this Classic Sudoku 2 app. We have also created 20 ourselves, and sourced 20 more from Sam Cappleman-Lynes, the brilliant British sudoku expert. The result is a wonderful 60-puzzle pack which will delight and challenge you. -------------------- Welcome to the brand new Sudoku app from the most popular Sudoku channel, Cracking The Cryptic. Unlike other Sudoku apps, we feature handcrafted and curated puzzles from the world’s best Sudoku constructors. Each collection features puzzles made by various authors that are now familiar names to those who follow the channel. Authors like Phistomefel, Clover, Sam Cappleman-Lynes, Christoph Seeliger, Richard Stolk, jovi_al, Qodec, Prasanna Seshadri and of course, Simon and Mark! Downloading Cracking the Cryptic will give you access to our first free collection – a variety pack by Prasanna Seshadri featuring 7 puzzles inspired from our previous Sudoku apps; Sandwich, Classic, Chess, Thermo, Miracle, Killer and Arrow Sudoku. We also have purchasable packs designed for all skill levels and featuring many unique variants not seen previously. We’ll be releasing more free and paid packs in the future so keep an eye on the app for more Sudoku content from Cracking The Cryptic!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Cracking the Cryptic at none against Sudoku's shown. Cracking the Cryptic also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). Sudoku's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (88% vs 72%). On price, update cadence, 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. Sudoku sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sudoku holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sudoku has 1.6K ratings behind it against 208, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Sudoku's written reviews are positive against 72% of Cracking the Cryptic's.
Sudoku ships an update fortnightly, Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sudoku | Cracking the Cryptic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.6K ratings) — better | 4.4 (208 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.4% of reviews — better | 72.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K — better | 208 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 193 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Logic-Wiz | Nick Carney |
Customer experience
Sudoku
Cracking the Cryptic
User reviews
Sudoku
From 1.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great solving experience
- 🚀 One of the very best
- 👍 Excellent app design
- 👍 Challenging and fun puzzles
- 👍 Comprehensive tutorial
Room to improve
- 💸 Too many ads
- 💸 Ads interrupt gameplay
- 🐛 Some puzzles have multiple solutions
- 🐛 Hints not always accurate
Cracking the Cryptic
From 208 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best sudoku app
- 👍 Great variety of puzzles
- 👍 Excellent user interface
- 👍 Challenging and fun puzzles
- 👍 Constant updates with new puzzles
Room to improve
- 🐛 Hints are often incorrect or unhelpful
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes, especially after updates
- 🔋 Battery draining issues
- 🔒 Too many in-app purchases required to access content
Bugs and requests
Sudoku
Reported bugs
2 issues- Puzzle #427 on hard mode has issues
- Ads pause background audio
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to highlight individual pencil marks
- Option to reset completed puzzles
- Custom rule sets for user-created puzzles
- Improved dark mode visibility
Cracking the Cryptic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Puzzle progress and purchases disappearing after updates
- Incorrect rules or hints in certain puzzles
- Crashes and freezes, especially on older devices or Macs
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
Requested features
5 requests- Add more color options for pencil marking and highlighting
- Implement a way to clear progress or start puzzles from scratch
- Integrate all CTC apps into a single app for better organization
- Add keyboard support, especially on Mac
- Improve the quality and clarity of hints
In-app purchases
Sudoku
- Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
- Premium Annual$9.991 Year
- Premium Lifetime Promotion$20.99
- Premium Lifetime Special$20.99
- Premium Lifetime$24.99
Cracking the Cryptic
- CTC Worms - James Sinclair$0.99
- CTC Worms - Marty Sears$0.99
- CTC Worms - Zetamath$1.99
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- CTC Worms - Blobz$1.99
- CTC Worms - Michael Lefkowitz$1.99
- CTC Worms - Phistomefel$1.99
- GAS Volume #1$2.99
- GAS Volume #2$2.99
- CTC Approachable Sudoku #1$2.99
- Domino Sudoku Pack$4.99
- Lines Variety Pack$4.99
- Classic Volume #2$4.99
- CTC Fog Pack #1$4.99
Questions
Is Sudoku free?
Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Which has better reviews, Sudoku or Cracking the Cryptic?
Do Sudoku or Cracking the Cryptic have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sudoku or Cracking the Cryptic?
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