Comparison

Crostix vs Crostics

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

Head to head
About

Crostix

Engage with word puzzles where letters from answers form a hidden quote. This free version offers sample puzzles and hints, with options to unlock more content through in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Automatic letter placement
  • Hint system for letters or words
  • Score tracking based on hints
  • Adjustable font size
  • Device rotation support
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the world of acrostics! An acrostic, also called a crostic or double crostic, is a cousin of crossword puzzles, with clues and answers whose letters are rearranged to form a quote from a famous (or not-so-famous) author. If you're familiar with acrostics, you will quickly see how convenient they are on the iPhone, because letters are automatically copied to the correct place as you type them in. Crostix is a free version of our Crostix Pro application, containing sample puzzles from our library. Try them out, and if you like them, get the full version, with 150 puzzles, from easy to fiendishly hard, or just buy more in Crostix using in-app purchase. The program has all the features you'd expect: - get hints for a single letter or an entire word, - see your score, based on how many hints you needed, - change the font size by pinching, - rotate the device as you like, and - get help on all program options. If you're new to the world of acrostics, the application also includes a short description to get you started.

About

Crostics

Engaging word puzzles that combine crosswords and quote deciphering. Solve clues to reveal a hidden quote, or use parts of the quote to solve the clues. Enjoy a beautifully designed, ad-free experience with adjustable difficulty.

Highlights
  • Reveal hidden quotes
  • Decipher clues using quote
  • Unlimited hints
  • Undo functionality
  • Light and Dark mode
  • Help section
Features
Read full description

Like word games? Crossword puzzles? Then you’ll love Crostics, the new word game where you reveal a hidden quote by answering clues, and decipher clues by filling in the quote! Letter in the answers are linked to letters in the quote—answer the clues, and you uncover more and more of the quote, or fill in more of the quote to decipher the clues. Beautifully designed for iPhone and iPad, Crostics puts engaging puzzles at your fingertips without the pain of erasing pencil marks from paper. The result is more fun with less distraction. And no ads! Crostics includes a free book of 24 puzzles and you can buy more right in the app. There are a wide range of difficultly levels, so whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player you’ll find a good challenge to stretch your brain! If you like word games, you’re going to love Crostics! Features - Unlimited hints - Undo - Play in portrait (and in landscape on iPad) - Play in Light or Dark mode - Learn how to play with the included help

Screenshots

Crostix4 screens
Crostics4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Crostics at 96% against Crostix's 81%. Crostics also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). 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. Crostix sells 15 one-off in-app purchases and Crostics sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crostix ships an update every 4 months, Crostics every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Crostix versus Crostics: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrostixCrostics
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (628 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews96.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—628 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size78 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrian MountfordJohn Blackburn

Customer experience

Crostix

Written reviews32 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.8%

Crostics

All ratings628 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral3.0%
Negative0.3%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive96.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Crostix

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Crostics

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App freezes occasionally
  • Unexpected resizing of interface elements
  • Delete function requires multiple presses (workaround: long press available)

Requested features

11 requests
  • More puzzle books and content
  • Word count indicators in clues (e.g., '2 words', '3 words')
  • Spaces in clues for multi-word answers
  • Author attribution guessing feature
  • Ability to view solved puzzles after completion
Show 6 more
  • Toggle option to disable correct answer notifications
  • Automatic dark/light mode switching
  • First letters of clues spelling author names
  • More challenging and scholarly clues
  • Bulk delete function for clue answers
  • Lower pricing for puzzle packs

In-app purchases

15 purchases

Crostix

One-time15
  • Crostix Book Ten$0.99
  • Crostix Book Eleven$0.99
  • Guest Author: Gordon Frakes 2$0.99
Show 12 more
  • The Golden Treasury$0.99
  • Crostix Book Two$1.99
  • Crostix Book Three$1.99
  • Crostix Book Four$1.99
  • Crostix Book Five$1.99
  • Guest Author: Gordon Frakes$1.99
  • Crostix Book Six$1.99
  • Crostix Book Eight$1.99
  • Crostix Book Nine$1.99
  • Crostix Free Book Seven$1.99
  • HeadLines$1.99
  • Crostix Big Book$2.99
4 purchases

Crostics

One-time4
  • 1 Book7 variants$1.99
  • 2 Books3 variants$3.99
  • 4 Books2 variants$5.99
Show 1 more
  • 8 Books$9.99

Questions

Is Crostix free?
Crostix is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crostics free?
Crostics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Crostix or Crostics have ads?
Neither Crostix nor Crostics shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crostix or Crostics?
Crostix ships an update every 4 months, and Crostics every 6 months. Most recently, Crostix was updated on October 19, 2026 and Crostics on October 14, 2026.

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