Knotwords vs Molecano
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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/
Molecano
Embark on a word-based adventure to help a mole navigate volcanic landscapes. String words together to create bridges and collect food across challenging lava-filled levels. This unique puzzle game offers a relaxing experience with a cool soundtrack and unlockable characters.
- Unique word puzzle gameplay
- 500+ levels
- Unlockable characters
- Chill soundtrack
- Word-based bridge creation
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Molecano is an all-new word puzzle game from the creator of Dadish! Help Molene the mole explore volcanoes using words as a bridge. String words together so Molene can cross safely and collect all the delicious food strewn across the lava loaded levels. • A unique and challenging word puzzle game • 500 levels, with more to come • From the creator of Dadish and Super Fowlst • Cool characters to unlock • Playing this game will make you smart, probably • A good game for people who know some words • A chill soundtrack • Relax and unwind... in a volcano!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Knotwords at 4.8 against Molecano's 4.3. Knotwords also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (8.1K vs 109). Molecano's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 73%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Knotwords sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and Molecano sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Knotwords holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Knotwords has 8.1K ratings behind it against 109, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Knotwords's written reviews are positive against 85% of Molecano's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Knotwords ships an update every 10 days, Molecano every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Knotwords | Molecano |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (8.1K ratings) — better | 4.3 (109 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 73.1% of reviews | 85.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8.1K — better | 109 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| 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 | 13.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 507 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Zach Gage | Thomas Young |
Customer experience
Knotwords
Molecano
User reviews
Knotwords
From 8.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great game
- 👍 Fun and challenging
- 🚀 Simple but engaging
- 👍 Unique concept
- 👍 Addictive
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Buggy cursor/input issues
- 🐛 Slow performance
- 🐛 Questionable word choices
- 🔋 Battery drain
Molecano
From 109 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Unique and innovative word puzzle concept
- 🎨 Charming art style and visual design
- 🎵 Calming, relaxing lo-fi music
- 😌 Relaxing and stress-relieving gameplay
- 👥 Collectible characters from other games
Room to improve
- 📺 Too many ads despite being fewer than competitors
- 💰 Expensive ad removal cost
- 🐢 Slow character movement animation
- 📱 Game map too small on phone screens
- 🎮 Becomes repetitive after extended play
Bugs and 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
Molecano
Reported bugs
8 issues- Level 137 - character won't move after placing letters
- Level 311 - multiple reports of unsolvable/broken level
- Level 339 - reported as extremely difficult/possibly broken
- Level 480 - appears to have no solution
- Level 464 - reported as impossible to pass
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Early levels (around level 5) - unresponsive words
- Word extension not working consistently
- Hint system not helpful for difficult levels
Requested features
15 requests- More levels beyond level 500
- Larger game map for mobile devices
- Ability to rotate words 360 degrees
- Replay previous completed levels
- Game Center/cloud save compatibility
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Star rating system for level performance
- Coin rewards based on performance stars
- Cheaper character options (50-100 coins)
- Faster character movement speed
- In-game dictionary function
- Expanded word dictionary validation
- Ability to make intersecting words like Scrabble
- Hint system improvements
- Support for multiple languages
- Special interactive elements (fruits/vegetables)
In-app purchases
Knotwords
- Knotwords Pro subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Year
- Full Game$11.99
Molecano
- Remove Ads$5.99
