Comparison

Crossword Light vs Crossword Scanner

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 Scanner

Capture crosswords from physical media or digital screenshots and solve them on your device. Features a live preview for accurate scanning and an intuitive interface for inputting answers.

Highlights
  • Scan crosswords with live preview
  • Import from device gallery
  • Solve scanned crosswords on device
  • Tap to edit horizontally/vertically
  • Supports iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

Scan and solve crosswords from newspapers, magazines and the likes directly on your iPhone or iPad! * Scan * Use the amazing 4K live preview to capture accurate representations of your crosswords from magazines or newspapers. Import directly from the device gallery to use screenshots from your digital subscriptions. Always make sure you only scan crosswords you either own or are allowed to copy. * Solve * Once you have scanned your crossword, it is available for solving on your device. Tap a character spot once to edit horizontally; once more on the same spot to edit vertically.

Screenshots

Crossword Light2 screens
Crossword Scanner3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crossword Light at 3.0 against Crossword Scanner's 1.3. Crossword Light also leads on review sentiment (53% vs 33%) and ratings volume (54 vs 3). Crossword Scanner's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Scanner sells 5 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

Crossword Light holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 1.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword Light has 54 ratings behind it against 3, 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 33% of Crossword Scanner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword Light ships an update every 3 months, Crossword Scanner every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Crossword Light versus Crossword Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword LightCrossword Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (54 ratings) — better1.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings54 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB38 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperStand Alone, Inc.Havnør

Customer experience

Crossword Light

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

Crossword Scanner

All ratings3 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

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 Scanner

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Quarterly$4.993 Months
  • Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime$29.99
  • Enable sharing$39.99

Questions

Is Crossword Light free?
Crossword Light is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crossword Scanner free?
Crossword Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crossword Light or Crossword Scanner?
Crossword Light is rated higher. Crossword Light averages 3.0 out of 5 from 54 ratings, while Crossword Scanner averages 1.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Crossword Light or Crossword Scanner have ads?
Both Crossword Light and Crossword Scanner show ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword Light or Crossword Scanner?
Crossword Light ships an update every 3 months, and Crossword Scanner every 9 days. Most recently, Crossword Light was updated on October 31, 2026 and Crossword Scanner on November 4, 2026.

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