Smart Sudoku vs Sudoku·
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Smart Sudoku
This app offers advanced Sudoku solving assistance by identifying complex patterns and providing professional tips to eliminate candidates. It features a unique scoring system based on solution efficiency and allows for quick manual puzzle entry and import.
- Powerful hint system for solving strategies
- Fast manual puzzle entry
- Simultaneous multiple square handling
- Show/hide candidates
- Innovative efficiency-based scoring
- Import puzzles from text and internet
- Unlimited undo/redo
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Are you familiar with terms like "X-Wing", "2-String Kite", or "Locked Candidates"? If yes, Smart Sudoku is for you. If not, even more so. Unlike most Sudoku apps, Smart Sudoku helps you solve tough puzzles by not simply revealing cell solutions, but by giving you professional tips. It tells you what patterns to look for in order to eliminate candidates. Smart Sudokus' unique scoring system ranks your solution not by the time you spent, but by how efficiently you solved the puzzle. Smart Sudoku comes with hundreds of challenging puzzles built-in. Copying a puzzle from a newspaper is a breeze – think of typing in a few phone numbers. "Excellent. Very simple to enter puzzles from the newspaper. Candidate numbers are displayed, allowing solutions to really tough puzzles to be solved without the laborious job of setting up candidates." (UK user) Features: • Powerful hint system based on the most popular solving strategies • Very fast manual puzzle entry method (typically 40 seconds or less) • Multiple squares may be handled simultaneously • Show or hide candidates anytime while solving the puzzle • Innovative scoring, based on efficiency of solving instead of time spent • Copy/paste puzzles in standard text format, incl. "HoDoKu Library Format" and "Simple Sudoku Format" • Import puzzles from the Internet • Share partially or fully solved puzzles via e-mail • 509 puzzles built-in, from easy to almost unsolvable • Unlimited undo/redo • Built-in user's manual • Landscape mode (iPad, Mac, Vision Pro) Hints Learn how to eliminate candidates by finding standard patterns. Let Smart Sudoku tell you what pattern to look for next. Still stuck? Smart Sudoku can even show you the squares and numbers involved. The affected squares are selected automatically, so eliminating candidates is a snap. Patterns handled by Smart Sudoku include: • Naked and Hidden Singles, Pairs, Triples, Quads, and Quintuples • Locked Candidates Type 1 and 2 • X-Wing • XY-Wing • XYZ-Wing • W-Wing • Skyscraper • 2-String Kite • Swordfish • Jellyfish • Empty Rectangle • Unique Rectangle Type 1 and 2 Input checking After copying a printed puzzle, Smart Sudoku will tell you whether the puzzle has a unique solution or not (usually caused by a typo or missing number.) Efficient solving Smart Sudoku helps you solve Sudokus in a professional way. Never add candidates, only remove them, even from multiple squares in one step. Should you ever get stuck (and no hints are available), let Smart Sudoku solve any square you wish. Or all squares for a given number. Or even the entire puzzle. Novel scoring method Unlike many Sudoku apps, Smart Sudoku rates your efficiency in solving a puzzle, not how quickly you do it. Solve one square at a time and your score will remain at zero. Solve as many squares as possible for a given number simultaneously and watch the progress bar grow. To get the maximum of 1000 points requires you to finish each number in a single step. The current score is shown in the title. Share puzzles Send an e-mail of a puzzle at any stage to your friends. If partially or fully solved, they'll also get the original puzzle. And, of course, they'll see your score, even a message about your making use of candidates. Recipients may paste the puzzle into their own copy of Smart Sudoku. Puzzles from the Internet Smart Sudoku supports the well-established text format for Sudokus (a string of 81 digits and decimal points), as well as export formats used by programs like HoDoKu and Simple Sudoku, giving you access to thousands of puzzles available on the Internet. Just download the text strings and paste them into Smart Sudoku.
Sudoku·
Engage your mind with a classic Sudoku puzzle game. Enjoy a clean interface and multiple difficulty levels. Track your progress and compete with others.
- Daily Challenge
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Note taking
- Hint system
- Highlight incorrect values
- Individual statistics
- Game Center leaderboard
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Pass the time while you challenge your mind with this classic Sudoku game. The clean, simple layout makes it easy to play for hours at a time. The objective is simple, fill the 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, row, and the nine 3×3 sub-grids contains all of the digits from 1 to 9. Sudoku· features: - Daily Challenge - Four levels (easy, medium, hard, and expert) - Disable numbers once all 9 instances are entered - Note taking ability - Hint (fill in missing number when you are stuck) - Highlight Incorrect Values - Auto Reveal all potential notes - Individual statistics - Game Center with Leaderboard and Achievements Download today for mind-challenging fun.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sudoku· at Free against Smart Sudoku's $0.99. Sudoku· also leads on ratings volume (17K vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months). Smart Sudoku's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Sudoku· is free to download; Smart Sudoku costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Smart Sudoku holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sudoku· has 17K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Smart Sudoku ships an update every 9 months, Sudoku· every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Smart Sudoku | Sudoku· |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.7 (17K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 17K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CuVee Software | Tim O's Studios, LLC |
Customer experience
Smart Sudoku
Sudoku·
Bugs and requests
Smart Sudoku
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sudoku·
Reported bugs
4 issues- Game freezes or crashes after updates
- Timer issues due to ads
- Difficulty closing ads or navigating UI
- Incompatibility with newer devices
Requested features
4 requests- Option to pay for ad-free version
- Ability to pause and restart games
- More detailed performance tracking
- Customizable color themes
In-app purchases
Smart Sudoku
No in-app purchases
Sudoku·
No in-app purchases









