Comparison

CrosswordMaker vs Uncle Bear

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

Head to head
About

CrosswordMaker

Design custom crossword puzzles with a flexible grid and cell coloring options. Edit clues in a dedicated view and share your creations with friends via email.

Highlights
  • Create crossword puzzles
  • Random grid generation
  • Cell coloring customization
  • Dedicated clue editor
  • Share puzzles via email
Features
Read full description

You can create crossword puzzles freely. Place characters after the app makes grid randomly. If you can not come up with good word, you can change the color of cells. Clues are edited on another dedicated view. If you finish up a puzzle, you can send it to your friends by e-mail.

About

Uncle Bear

Features
Read full description

Uncle Bear tells stories about the world in Chinese and English — helping kids aged 3-8 discover the world while picking up everyday English, one bedtime at a time. ◆ Stories that open up the world - Topics range from Taiwanese folklore and everyday science to world classics: the zodiac animals, the Nian beast, day and night, rainbows, seeds, caterpillars becoming butterflies... - Kids get to know the world through stories, not flashcard drills - The library keeps growing; the format stays the same ◆ Bilingual, with Chinese as the scaffold - Cultural ideas (the zodiac, Chang'e, Sun Moon Lake...) are explained clearly in Chinese - Each episode teaches 4-6 high-frequency everyday English sentences, each followed by a plain-Chinese recap the first time it appears - Understandable and usable — not a curriculum, no pronunciation scoring ◆ Screen-free English exposure - Made for listening — no need to stare at a screen - Each episode runs 3-5 minutes, opening with "Story time!" and closing with "Good night!" to build a daily ritual - Every episode ends with a recall question and a pause, inviting kids to speak up before the answer plays ◆ Plays on the lock screen - Background playback with lock-screen controls, perfect for bedtime and car rides ◆ Every episode ends on its own - No autoplay into the next episode — parents decide whether to play one more ◆ Word cards for reading together - Tap a word card to hear the word read aloud — a light interaction for parents reading along with their kids ◆ Offline and private - Free stories come bundled; purchased story packs play offline once downloaded - No account, no sign-up, Data Not Collected, no analytics SDKs

Screenshots

CrosswordMaker4 screens
Uncle Bear3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CrosswordMaker at none against Uncle Bear's 6. Uncle Bear's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Uncle Bear sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. CrosswordMaker asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CrosswordMaker ships an update every 5 months, Uncle Bear every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CrosswordMaker versus Uncle Bear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosswordMakerUncle Bear
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.3 (11 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews20.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings11 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSatoshi HoriguchiLin Ping Cheng

In-app purchases

None

CrosswordMaker

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Uncle Bear

One-time6
  • 小杯咖啡$0.99
  • 經典故事包$0.99
  • 科學探索包$0.99
Show 3 more
  • 台灣節慶包$0.99
  • 中杯咖啡$1.99
  • 大杯咖啡$2.99

Questions

Is CrosswordMaker free?
CrosswordMaker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Uncle Bear free?
Uncle Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CrosswordMaker or Uncle Bear have ads?
CrosswordMaker shows ads; Uncle Bear does not.
Which is updated more often, CrosswordMaker or Uncle Bear?
CrosswordMaker ships an update every 5 months, and Uncle Bear every 3 weeks. Most recently, CrosswordMaker was updated on October 5, 2026 and Uncle Bear on October 7, 2026.

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