# Letterpress vs Crossly

The clearest difference is ads: Crossly at none against Letterpress's shown. Crossly also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (10 vs 15.0). Letterpress's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 51%) and ratings volume (8.3K vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Letterpress sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Crossly sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Crossly holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Letterpress has 8.3K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Letterpress's written reviews are positive against 51% of Crossly's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Letterpress ships an update every 6 weeks, Crossly every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Letterpress | Crossly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (8.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/letterpress-word-game/id526619424/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crossly/id871860021/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **8.3K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **83.6% of reviews** | 50.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 weeks** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 50 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **10** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Solebon LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/836906903) | [Mercury Intermedia, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/300669006) |

## What reviewers say

### Letterpress

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/letterpress-word-game/id526619424)

Engage in a relaxing yet competitive word-spelling game where players capture board tiles by forming words. Play at your own pace against friends, random opponents, or AI bots, with real-time chat and performance tracking.

**Highlights:** Play multiple concurrent games, Compete against friends, random opponents, or bots, Real-time chat, Track performance with statistics and leaderboards, Group play within custom groups, Real-time word definitions

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Letterpress Upgrade | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Challenging and strategic gameplay
- 👍 Clean and elegant design
- 🤖 Enjoyable bot opponents
- ⚡ Quick gameplay between turns
- 🧠 Helps expand vocabulary

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Limited dictionary, missing common words
- 📢 Excessive and intrusive ads
- 🕰️ Opponents taking too long to make moves
- 🐛 Bugs and connectivity issues
- 🔒 Lack of account/progress syncing

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezing or crashing
- Incorrect game state/turn notifications
- Inability to delete or resign from games
- Syncing issues across devices

**Requested features**

- Add chat/messaging between players
- Implement a timed game mode
- Allow custom dictionaries or word lists
- Introduce a scoring/ranking system
- Add a 'pass and play' local multiplayer mode


### Crossly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crossly/id871860021)

Engage in a strategic word game with friends, blending classic crosswords with competitive play. Earn points for correct answers, hinder opponents, and enjoy endless unique puzzles with interactive features like stealing turns and revealing letters.

**Highlights:** Endless unique crossword puzzles, Steal turns and send taunts, Peek at letters for difficult clues, Pencil in and change answers, Offline saving of penciled words, Premium mode with bonus peeks and themes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "Meh" Premium Upgrade | $0.99 | one-time |
| Peek Pack - 5 Peeks | $0.99 | one-time |
| "It's Cool" Premium Upgrade | $1.99 | one-time |
| Peek Pack - 15 Peeks | $1.99 | one-time |
| "LOVE" Premium Upgrade | $2.99 | one-time |
| Peek Pack - 25 Peeks | $2.99 | one-time |
| Peek Pack - 100 Peeks | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 Addictive gameplay
- 💡 Innovative blend of crossword and competition
- 👍 Fun and engaging for friends
- 🎨 Beautiful and fluid interface
- 🧠 Great mind jogger

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐌 Slow loading times
- 🧩 Obscure or nonsensical clues/answers
- 🇺🇸 Strong US bias in clues
- 📉 App abandonment concerns
- ❓ Puzzles lack cohesion

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- App won't load / spins forever
- Games disappear or are lost
- Notifications are broken / badge issues
- Rematch issues (wrong person)

**Requested features**

- iPad support
- UK version of the game
- Difficulty levels
- Chat feature
- Facebook integration


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Letterpress free?

Letterpress is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Crossly free?

Crossly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Letterpress or Crossly?

Crossly is rated higher. Letterpress averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.3K ratings, while Crossly averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Letterpress or Crossly have ads?

Letterpress shows ads; Crossly does not.

### Which is updated more often, Letterpress or Crossly?

Letterpress ships an update every 6 weeks, and Crossly every 5 months. Most recently, Letterpress was updated on November 1, 2026 and Crossly on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*