Comparison

Crossword Light vs Crossword

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

Head to head
About

Crossword Light

Solve daily crossword puzzles from various newspapers on your mobile device. Get hints, view clues, and track your progress. This light version includes 40 puzzles, with more available in the full version.

Highlights
  • Daily crossword puzzles
  • Hints available
  • View clues
  • Track improvement
  • Leaderboard
  • Social media integration
Features
Read full description

Play crossword puzzles right on your iPhone or iPod touch. Each day many newspapers provide their crossword puzzles online; Crossword Light lets you solve a selection of what's out there; get hints, view clues, and track how quickly you're improving! This is a light version of our Crosswords game. Try it out with 40 brand new puzzles included. If you like it, please try the full version! • More than a months' worth of puzzles to play • Nearly unlimited puzzles from many different sites in the full version • Hints available • Leaderboard • Twitter and Facebook integration

About

Crossword

Engage with a vast collection of American-style crosswords, featuring adjustable grid sizes and difficulty levels. Enjoy unlimited on-the-fly generated puzzles and utilize helpful tools like validation and a built-in solver. Supports multiple languages and spelling preferences for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Adjustable grid zoom and movement
  • Multiple grid sizes and difficulty levels
  • On-the-fly grid generation for unlimited play
  • Thousands of straight and general knowledge clues
  • US/UK English spelling options
  • Built-in crossword solver and hints
  • Crosswords in French, German, and Dutch
Features
Read full description

Play a large range of crosswords. All use the usual American style grids, such as is used in the NY Times, USA Today and many other newspapers Note that all the answers and clues use US English spellings, and that the general knowledge clues are tailored for US players. Features: • You can zoom in & out of the grid, and move around, making it possible to play larger grids even on smaller screens • There is a large range of built in grids, from sizes 11x11, 13x13 and 15x15 at different difficulty levels. Most have just 16% black squares, per the standard definition • In addition a new grid of sizes up to 8x8 can be generated on-the-fly by the app, meaning unlimited games to play • Many 1000's of clues, both straight and general knowledge • Choose between US or UK English spellings • General knowledge questions tailored to your country (currently US, UK, Australia and Canada) • Ability to save and reload games, so several games can be played at the same time • Numerous aids in case you get stuck, e.g. validate word/letter, reveal word and even a built-in crossword solver to show potential matches • Easily flip between different crosswords, just like a crossword puzzle book • Also includes crosswords in French, German and Dutch

Screenshots

Crossword Light2 screens
Crossword4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crossword at 4.4 against Crossword Light's 3.0. Crossword also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 53%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Crossword Light sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Crossword sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crossword holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 54 and 152 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Crossword Light's written reviews are positive against 70% of Crossword's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword Light ships an update every 3 months, Crossword every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Crossword Light versus Crossword: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword LightCrossword
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (54 ratings)4.4 (152 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews70.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings54152 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB101 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperStand Alone, Inc.Havos

Customer experience

Crossword Light

All ratings54 ratings
Positive48.1%
Neutral11.1%
Negative40.7%
Written reviews262 reviews
Positive52.7%
Neutral13.7%
Negative33.6%

Crossword

All ratings150 ratings
Positive89.3%
Neutral6.0%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral13.3%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Crossword Light

One-time10
  • Aaxword's Easy Themeless Puzzles$0.99
  • Aaxword's Easy Micro Puzzles$0.99
  • MacNamara's Band, Vol. 1$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Edited by Ben Tausig, vol. 1$1.99
  • Ink Well Crosswords, Volume 1$1.99
  • Dell Magazines #1$1.99
  • Ridonkulous Crosswords$1.99
  • Jonesin' Crosswords$2.99
  • Brendan Emmett Quigley's Favorites, Vol. 1$2.99
  • Crosswords$9.99
5 purchases

Crossword

Subscriptions1
  • Supporter (no ads)$4.991 Year
One-time4
  • Stack of 1300 Coins$0.99
  • Stack of 3000 Coins$1.99
  • Stack of 8000 coins$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Stack of 20000 Coins$9.99

Questions

Is Crossword Light free?
Crossword Light is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crossword free?
Crossword is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crossword Light or Crossword?
Crossword is rated higher. Crossword Light averages 3.0 out of 5 from 54 ratings, while Crossword averages 4.4 from 152 ratings.
Do Crossword Light or Crossword have ads?
Both Crossword Light and Crossword show ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword Light or Crossword?
Crossword Light ships an update every 3 months, and Crossword every 5 months. Most recently, Crossword Light was updated on October 23, 2026 and Crossword on November 1, 2026.

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