Cryptogram vs Cryptogram Tale
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cryptogram
Solve encrypted quotes by deciphering letter substitutions. This app offers over 1,900 puzzles with handpicked quotes and helpful features like unlimited hints and quote collection.
- Over 1,900 puzzles
- Handpicked quotes
- Unlimited hints
- Quote Book for collecting
- Search and share quotes
- Light and dark mode
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FEATURE PACKED! • No ads • Over 1,900 puzzles • Handpicked quotes • Optionally show incorrect answers • Optionally include author in puzzle • Unlimited hints • Landscape & portrait • Puzzles include punctuation • Puzzles size to screen, no scrolling • Light and dark mode • Auto advance after guess • Perfect game recognition • Show letter usage counts • Collect quotes with built in Quote Book • Search and share quotes (Messages, email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) A cryptogram is a quote that has been encrypted using letter substitution where each letter stands uniquely for another letter in the alphabet. Your job is to decode the message in the least amount of time by substituting each letter.
Cryptogram Tale
Decode encrypted messages to reveal hidden stories. This word puzzle game challenges you to break codes by substituting letters, offering hundreds of tales and thousands of cryptograms to solve. Customize your experience with various fonts and color schemes, and use hints when needed.
- Hundreds of tales
- Thousands of cryptograms
- Dozens of fonts
- Different color schemes
- In-game hints
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Break the code and unravel the story! Can you decode all of the passages and discover the story within? Challenge yourself with this puzzle word game! A Cryptogram is a message encoded by switching the actual letters with different letters. • Hundreds of Tales! • Thousands of Cryptograms! • Dozens of Fonts! • Different color schemes! • Hints for when you're stuck!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Cryptogram Tale at Free against Cryptogram's $4.99. Cryptogram's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and device support 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
Cryptogram Tale is free to download; Cryptogram costs $4.99 up front. Cryptogram Tale sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Cryptogram asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Cryptogram against 4.6 for Cryptogram Tale. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Cryptogram's written reviews are positive against 72% of Cryptogram Tale's.
Cryptogram ships an update every 2 months, Cryptogram Tale every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 28, 2026.
| Parameter | Cryptogram | Cryptogram Tale |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better | 4.6 (1.6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.1% of reviews — better | 72.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K | 1.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #66 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 160 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Norman Basham | GammaLateral LLC |
Customer experience
Cryptogram
Cryptogram Tale
User reviews
Cryptogram
From 1.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Well-designed app for iPad
- 📚 Excellent selection of puzzles
- 🎨 Exceptional visual design
- 👍 Enjoyable and relaxing solving experience
- 🧠 Challenging and brain-stimulating
Room to improve
- 🔍 Background can be distracting for some
- 🔤 Difficulty with accented letters in author names
- 🔁 Repeated puzzles for frequent players
Cryptogram Tale
From 1.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Hundreds of cryptograms
- 📚 Interesting stories and literature
- 👍 No ads unless you want a hint
- 💡 Hints available by watching ads
- 🔒 No glitches or annoying ads
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Difficulty level not always clear
- 🔍 Capitalized words revealed after first letter
- 🔍 Some stories not well-suited for cryptograms
- 🔍 Ads can't always be closed
Bugs and requests
Cryptogram
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashes on launch for some users
- Sharing features not working as expected
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to mark/cross off used letters
- Option to turn off timer
- Harder and longer puzzles
- Puzzles in other languages
Cryptogram Tale
Reported bugs
3 issues- Progress getting deleted
- Ads not loading properly
- Keyboard not opening automatically
Requested features
6 requests- More modern and diverse stories
- Ability to choose story titles
- Cursor that skips to next blank space
- Undo button
- Trigger warnings for dark/disturbing content
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- More classical music options
In-app purchases
Cryptogram
No in-app purchases
Cryptogram Tale
- Get 30 Hints$0.99
- Get 70 Hints$1.99
- Remove Ads$9.99
Questions
Is Cryptogram free?
Is Cryptogram Tale free?
Which has better reviews, Cryptogram or Cryptogram Tale?
Do Cryptogram or Cryptogram Tale have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cryptogram or Cryptogram Tale?
Other comparisons
