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 your mind with a vast collection of crossword puzzles and word games. Solve thousands of clues, complete daily challenges, and collect trophies across multiple game modes. Enjoy a new puzzle experience every day with this extensive library of brain-teasing fun.

Highlights
  • Thousands of unique clues
  • Hundreds of original puzzles
  • Daily themed puzzles
  • World's Biggest and Tallest crosswords
  • Multiple game modes (Cryptogram, Codewords, Word Grid)
  • Trophies, quests, and achievements
  • Timed events
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Solve thousands of clues in the biggest and best crossword puzzle ever! Now you can enjoy a new crossword challenge every day with this giant collection of hundreds of original puzzles. There are over 100,000 unique clues to solve as well as dozens of quests to complete and trophies to collect! Choose from TWELVE game modes: ■ DAILY THEMED PUZZLE Enjoy a new crossword each day, featuring clues linked to a trivia fact about today's date that's revealed on completion! ■ WORLD'S BIGGEST Crossword Explore over 2,800 crossword puzzles. The classic puzzle enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. ■ WORLD'S TALLEST Crossword A collection of 1,100 extra-large puzzles - bigger grids, longer words, tougher clues! How high can you build the tower? ■ DAILY DIAMOND Crossword Earn extra rewards with a snack-sized bonus puzzle each day. ■ SEVEN WORDS Puzzle Solve the clues and use the scrambled letter blocks to find 7 hidden words. ■ CRYPTOGRAM Puzzle Break the code, reveal the quote! ■ CODEWORDS Puzzle Decipher the code to complete the crossword grid. Each square is marked with a number corresponding with one letter of the alphabet. Look for patterns and use your powers of deduction to crack the code! ■ WORD GRID Puzzle Slide the tiles from the edge of the grid into the blank squares to spell out words. Unlike a regular crossword, there are no clues so instead you'll have to use logic to choose between the available letters for each square. ■ QUOTE FALLS Puzzle Place the letter tiles from each column into the correct squares on the grid to spell out a famous quotation! ■ BRITISH CRYPTICS Crossword The ultimate challenge - cryptic crosswords use their own obscure rules to hide the answer in the clue, using anagrams, double meanings, and a host of other subtle tricks. If you get completely stumped on a clue, you can swap it out for an easier, non-cryptic alternative. ■ FACT OF THE DAY Curious facts to puzzle the mind! ■ MISSING LETTERS Solve the curious conundrum, reveal the word. Also look out for special timed events! Complete all the core challenges to earn the title of Crossword Superstar! + Solve all 100,000+ clues + Complete all 11,000+ puzzles + Collect all 45 trophies + Complete all 57 quests + Unlock all 10 achievements SUPPORT Please select the [HELP] option from the Pause Menu (the gear icon at the top-right of the game screen) if you require assistance. If you require further assistance or are unable to access the in-game help, you can contact us via email: support@puzzling.com Crossword is free to play, but contains optional paid items to unlock content more quickly. LATEST NEWS www.puzzling.com facebook.com/getpuzzling bsky.app/profile/puzzling.com

Screenshots

Crossword Light2 screens
Crossword4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crossword at 4.5 against Crossword Light's 3.0. Crossword also leads on ratings volume (43K vs 54) and review sentiment (69% vs 53%). Crossword Light's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). 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 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. 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, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword has 43K 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 69% of Crossword's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword Light ships an update every 3 months, Crossword every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Crossword Light versus Crossword: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword LightCrossword
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (54 ratings)4.5 (43K ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews69.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5443K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#182 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB484 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStand Alone, Inc.AppyNation Ltd.

Customer experience

Crossword Light

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

Crossword

All ratings43,291 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral6.9%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews483 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral12.8%
Negative18.0%

Bugs and requests

Crossword Light

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Crossword

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes after updates
  • Inconsistent behavior with token/coin rewards
  • Clues/answers not matching properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow exchanging coins for tokens
  • Provide more tokens/coins for completing puzzles
  • Add option to view past completed puzzles
  • Improve navigation and reduce interruptions

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

Crossword

One-time10
  • Coin Doubler$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Tokens Starter Pack$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Coins Booster Pack$2.99
  • Tokens Booster Pack$2.99
  • Coins Super Pack$4.99
  • Tokens Super Pack$4.99
  • Coins Mega Pack$9.99
  • Tokens Mega Pack$9.99
  • Coins Ultra Pack$19.99

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 4.5 from 43K 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 6 weeks. Most recently, Crossword Light was updated on October 31, 2026 and Crossword on November 4, 2026.

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