Comparison

Crossword Light vs Astraware Crosswords

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

Astraware Crosswords

Enjoy daily crossword puzzles on the go with this app. It offers free daily and weekly puzzles, with options to purchase additional packs for offline play. A subscription unlocks all puzzles and removes ads.

Highlights
  • Daily quick-style crosswords
  • Free weekly larger puzzles
  • Offline puzzle packs
  • Adjustable difficulty and grid sizes
  • Global leaderboards
  • Optional subscription for unlimited access
Features
Read full description

Crossword lovers rejoice! Astraware Crosswords is the perfect app for taking your favorite pastime wherever you go! Astraware Crosswords is great for everyone, with free unlimited access to download and play two new Daily puzzles each day - top the global leaderboards by completing the puzzles in the fastest time! For more of a challenge there is a free Weekender puzzle available each Friday with a bigger grid and a few more challenging or cryptic clues, perfect for solving leisurely on Saturday or Sunday morning, or even on Friday afternoon! If you wish to play offline, Astraware Crosswords includes 60+ quick crossword puzzles in 4 different grid sizes and 3 graded difficulty levels, plus there is also an option to buy extra puzzle packs for you to keep on your device and play anytime! New puzzle streams allow you to play for free if you prefer with a choice of puzzle sizes and difficulties, so you can focus on the type of puzzle you enjoy the most. With Astraware Crosswords you can play conveniently no matter where you are! ------------- Puzzles Plus Subscription Terms and Details Puzzles Plus is our optional subscription for Astraware Crosswords which entitles you to play all of the available Daily, Weekender and Stream puzzles as soon as they are available, without in-game adverts or any requirement to earn tokens. Subscribers can also choose to highlight their high scores with a choice of badges. Subscriptions are available with renewal periods of either monthly, quarterly (every 3 months), or yearly. The price shown is the cost of the renewal, with the saving value for longer subscription periods as a comparison to the monthly option. After you confirm a subscription, you will have a free trial period of seven days. Your iTunes Account will be charged as soon as the free trial is over. If you cancel the subscription at any time before the free trial is over, you will not be billed. The subscriptions are automatically renewing, and you will be charged again at the end of your current subscription period. Your subscription will automatically renew unless you turn this off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. The renewal cost will be the same for each subscription period, and will be charged within the 24 hours before the end of your current subscription. You can manage the subscriptions at any time by going to the Account Settings in the Settings App after purchase. There are options to either change to a different renewal period (which will be at a different price) or to cancel your subscription completely. If you cancel the renewal you will still have access to the Puzzles Plus features until the full subscription period is complete. If you confirm the purchase of a subscription before the free trial is complete, any unused portion of the free trial will be lost. These terms are available at : https://www.astraware.com/about/puzzlesplus/ For more information on Data and Privacy, please view the Astraware Privacy page at http://www.astraware.com/privacy

Screenshots

Crossword Light2 screens
Astraware Crosswords4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Astraware Crosswords at 4.7 against Crossword Light's 3.0. Astraware Crosswords also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 53%) and ratings volume (337 vs 54). Crossword Light's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 Astraware Crosswords sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Astraware Crosswords holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Astraware Crosswords has 337 ratings behind it against 54, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Crossword Light's written reviews are positive against 82% of Astraware Crosswords's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword Light ships an update every 3 months, Astraware Crosswords every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Crossword Light versus Astraware Crosswords: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword LightAstraware Crosswords
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (54 ratings)4.7 (337 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews81.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings54337 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB37 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperStand Alone, Inc.Astraware Limited

Customer experience

Crossword Light

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

Astraware Crosswords

All ratings330 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews163 reviews
Positive81.6%
Neutral4.9%
Negative13.5%

Bugs and requests

Crossword Light

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Astraware Crosswords

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Puzzle timer issues
  • Leaderboard scores not updating properly
  • Purchased puzzle packs disappearing after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • More daily puzzles
  • Ability to save/resume puzzles
  • Customizable difficulty levels
  • Offline puzzle packs
  • Improved keyboard and input responsiveness

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
10 purchases

Astraware Crosswords

Subscriptions3
  • Puzzles Plus7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Puzzles Plus7 Days trial$2.993 Months
  • Puzzles Plus7 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time7
  • Fun-Size Pack$0.99
  • Family Pack$1.99
  • Easy Pack$1.99
Show 4 more
  • Vacation Pack$3.99
  • Ad-free daily puzzles$4.99
  • Deluxe Pack$4.99
  • Deluxe Pack 2$4.99

Questions

Is Crossword Light free?
Crossword Light is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Astraware Crosswords free?
Astraware Crosswords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crossword Light or Astraware Crosswords?
Astraware Crosswords is rated higher. Crossword Light averages 3.0 out of 5 from 54 ratings, while Astraware Crosswords averages 4.7 from 337 ratings.
Do Crossword Light or Astraware Crosswords have ads?
Both Crossword Light and Astraware Crosswords show ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword Light or Astraware Crosswords?
Crossword Light ships an update every 3 months, and Astraware Crosswords every 2 months. Most recently, Crossword Light was updated on October 31, 2026 and Astraware Crosswords on November 1, 2026.

Other comparisons