Comparison

Crossword Explorer+ vs Knotwords+

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

Head to head
About

Crossword Explorer+

Engage your mind with daily crossword puzzles and trivia. Access thousands of puzzles with new themes each day to expand your vocabulary and general knowledge. Play anytime, anywhere on your iOS device.

Highlights
  • Daily new puzzles
  • Thousands of puzzles available
  • Variety of daily themes
  • Hints for difficult words
  • Vocabulary and general knowledge improvement
Features
Read full description

Keeping your mind sharp and active these days is hard with so many distractions to make you lose focus. Sitting down and solving a crossword is a time-tested formula to ensure that your brain stays active while you have a lot of fun answering questions on your favorite topics. With a different theme each day of the week, there is just the right amount of variety to satisfy all kinds of interests! With Crossword Explorer+, you will have access to thousands of puzzles, right on your iOS device, so that you can play your favorite crosswords when you want, wherever you want! As you solve more and more of our crosswords, your vocabulary and general knowledge will grow by leaps and bounds! In no time, you will become a master crossword solver while having tons of fun! What does Crossword Explorer+ offer? - Fun puzzles for everyone - A new puzzle every day, 365 days a year - Hints to get you past those obscure words - Bragging rights for your ever-improving general knowledge and vocabulary What are you waiting for? Download Crossword Explorer+ right now, join thousands of crossword enthusiasts and see why everyone is hooked! Write back to us with any issues or suggestions, we are all ears! Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: https://playsimple.in/privacy_aa

About

Knotwords+

A minimalist word puzzle game where you arrange letters to form valid words across and down. The game offers a guided progression, making challenging puzzles become easier as you play.

Highlights
  • Minimalist design
  • Elegant logic puzzle
  • Arrange letters to form words
  • Guided progression
  • Daily word fix
Features
Read full description

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.

Screenshots

Crossword Explorer+4 screens
Knotwords+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crossword Explorer+ at 4.9 against Knotwords+'s 3.8. Crossword Explorer+ also leads on monetization model (free vs paid) and ratings volume (2.3K vs 121). Knotwords+'s advantage is review sentiment (48% vs 22%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ads, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crossword Explorer+ holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword Explorer+ has 2.3K ratings behind it against 121, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 22% of Crossword Explorer+'s written reviews are positive against 48% of Knotwords+'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword Explorer+ ships an update every 3 months, Knotwords+ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Crossword Explorer+ versus Knotwords+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword Explorer+Knotwords+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (2.3K ratings) — better3.8 (121 ratings)
Positive reviews22.4% of reviews48.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.3K — better121
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better13.5
Further details — not scored
Size266 MB185 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlaySimple Games Pte LtdZach Gage

Customer experience

Crossword Explorer+

All ratings2,320 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral0.6%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews388 reviews
Positive22.4%
Neutral19.8%
Negative57.7%

Knotwords+

All ratings121 ratings
Positive68.6%
Neutral12.4%
Negative19.0%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive48.4%
Neutral18.9%
Negative32.6%

User reviews

Crossword Explorer+

From 2.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Relaxing and fun gameplay
  • 🚀 Smooth and intuitive controls
  • 💡 Bite-sized crossword puzzles

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Puzzles too easy and repetitive
  • 📍 Heavily US-centric content
  • 🔍 Lack of difficulty options or progression
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes reported

Knotwords+

From 121 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Enjoyable and challenging gameplay
  • 🚀 Addictive and engaging
  • 🧠 Exercises vocabulary and problem-solving skills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Cursor/input issues and unintuitive navigation
  • 🤔 Obscure or questionable word choices
  • 🔍 Unhelpful or unclear hints/definitions
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 💾 Save/progress issues

Bugs and requests

Crossword Explorer+

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Black screen on startup
  • Incorrect answers and spelling errors
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add difficulty settings or skip easy levels
  • Improve crossword variety and reduce repetition
  • Optimize for landscape mode on iPad
  • Implement cloud save/sync across devices

Knotwords+

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Puzzle progress not saving properly
  • Cursor jumping to unexpected cells
  • Incorrect or nonsensical word definitions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to create custom levels or puzzles
  • Option to turn off haptic feedback
  • Improved sync/progress tracking across devices
  • More intuitive cursor/input controls
  • Better hint system and word definitions

In-app purchases

None

Crossword Explorer+

No in-app purchases

None

Knotwords+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crossword Explorer+ free?
Crossword Explorer+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Knotwords+ free?
Knotwords+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Crossword Explorer+ or Knotwords+?
Crossword Explorer+ is rated higher. Crossword Explorer+ averages 4.9 out of 5 from 2.3K ratings, while Knotwords+ averages 3.8 from 121 ratings.
Do Crossword Explorer+ or Knotwords+ have ads?
Neither Crossword Explorer+ nor Knotwords+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword Explorer+ or Knotwords+?
Crossword Explorer+ ships an update every 3 months, and Knotwords+ every 3 weeks. Most recently, Crossword Explorer+ was updated on September 23, 2026 and Knotwords+ on September 14, 2026.

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