Comparison

Spelling Queen Pangrams vs ContraBee

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

Head to head
About

Spelling Queen Pangrams

This word puzzle game challenges you to find words using a set of seven letters, with a mandatory center letter. Compete with friends, track your progress through ranks, and discover pangrams. Customize your word list for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • 7-letter word generation
  • Play with friends and family
  • Rank progression system
  • Pangram discovery
  • Customizable word list
  • Game of the Day
Features
Read full description

App version of the popular game, with many added features like the option to play together with friends & family on your Wi-Fi! Each 7-letter game is generated on the fly by algorithm. There are over 4000 unique 7 letter games to play! Work your way up from Novice, to Brilliant, to Mastermind, and on to win! There are only two rules to finding words and winning the game: words must be at least 4 letters long, and words must always use the center letter. Some games have only 10 words to find, to win the spelling game... other ones have over 50 words! Use Help to get a word count that will tell you how big the challenge is, see how many you've found, and get hints. There's now also a Game of the Day which is the same for everyone, everywhere. Each game has at least one pangram - a word that uses all 7 of the game's individual letters. Some games have more than one! The game's word list is a partial English dictionary of the most frequently used words that have 7 or fewer unique letters. In your game, you can customize your own personal word list! Here's how it works: if you enter a word that *is* in the English dictionary but *is not* in the game's list, you can add that new word to your own list. That new word will be included in future games, no matter which of your iCloud devices you are playing on!

About

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.

Highlights
  • Daily word puzzles
  • Uses NYT Spelling Bee letter hive
  • Excludes center letter
  • Encourages alternative word finding
  • Unique puzzle twist
Features
Read full description

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

Spelling Queen Pangrams4 screens
ContraBee3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Spelling Queen Pangrams at 4.7 against ContraBee's 4.0. Spelling Queen Pangrams also leads on ratings volume (6K vs 4) and review sentiment (46% vs 24%). ContraBee's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence 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. Spelling Queen Pangrams sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. ContraBee asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spelling Queen Pangrams holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spelling Queen Pangrams has 6K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Spelling Queen Pangrams's written reviews are positive against 24% of ContraBee's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spelling Queen Pangrams ships an update monthly, ContraBee every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and July 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Spelling Queen Pangrams versus ContraBee: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpelling Queen PangramsContraBee
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6K ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews45.6% of reviews — better23.8% of reviews
Number of ratings6K — better4
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFrederic BacroLexi Games LLC

Customer experience

Spelling Queen Pangrams

All ratings6,012 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral4.4%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews228 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral23.7%
Negative30.7%

ContraBee

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive23.8%
Neutral14.3%
Negative61.9%

Bugs and requests

Spelling Queen Pangrams

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game progress not saved properly
  • Revealed words not matching entered words
  • Crashes and freezes after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to choose game difficulty level
  • Option to save and resume games
  • Improved accessibility for visually impaired
  • Alphabetized word list display

ContraBee

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Spelling Queen Pangrams

One-time2
  • Unlimited Play on Apple Watch$0.99
  • No Ads$4.99
None

ContraBee

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spelling Queen Pangrams free?
Spelling Queen Pangrams is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ContraBee free?
ContraBee is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Spelling Queen Pangrams or ContraBee?
Spelling Queen Pangrams is rated higher. Spelling Queen Pangrams averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6K ratings, while ContraBee averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Spelling Queen Pangrams or ContraBee have ads?
Spelling Queen Pangrams shows ads; ContraBee does not.
Which is updated more often, Spelling Queen Pangrams or ContraBee?
Spelling Queen Pangrams ships an update monthly, and ContraBee every 2 weeks. Most recently, Spelling Queen Pangrams was updated on September 22, 2026 and ContraBee on July 5, 2026.

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