Crossword vs Backword
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Crossword
Enjoy over 750 professional crossword puzzles designed for casual play. This app offers a clean, ad-free experience with features like pinch zooming and landscape mode to enhance your word-solving sessions.
- 750+ professional puzzles
- 45 free puzzles
- Pinch zooming grid
- Landscape mode with clue list
- Cheats and answer checking
- No ads
Read full descriptionHide full description
A brand new crossword puzzle every day, plus 750+ professional puzzles for your coffee break. These are casual level puzzles suitable for all. DAILY PUZZLES A brand new crossword published every day. Build a streak by playing daily, earn coins, and unlock puzzles at your own pace. Four weeks of daily puzzles are available to catch up on. SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS Subscribe for unlimited access to every daily puzzle and all archive packs, with no coins needed. Available as monthly, quarterly, or annual plans. 750+ ARCHIVE PUZZLES Fifteen packs of professional crosswords suitable for all levels. Great for a quick coffee break or a longer session. EARN COINS & STREAKS Open the app each day to earn bonus coins. The longer your streak, the bigger the bonus. Spend coins to unlock daily puzzles, or watch a short ad for extra coins whenever you choose. Features: - a brand new crossword every day - daily login bonus with streak rewards - earn coins by playing daily, or watch a short ad for extra coins - unlock puzzles with coins, or subscribe for unlimited access - great for iPads and iPhones - pinch zooming grid - landscape mode with clue list - hints, highlight mistakes and answer checking - Backup and restore If you're looking for US-style grids, why not try our 'Crossword US' apps. The Terms of Use (EULA) can be found here: https://www.teazel.com/crossword_terms/ios_terms_en.html
Backword
Read full descriptionHide full description
Backword brings three word games and a Word of the Day together into one daily ritual to get your brain moving. Play Backword, a clever six-letter word game where the answer reveals from the end. Solve a fresh daily crossword. Then take on a deeper weekly crossword when you want a bigger challenge. Every day counts. Build the highest score you can across all three games over a rolling 14-day period, climb the rating tiers, and see how long you can sustain the top level. Track your progress, protect your streaks, use hints when you need them, and return to the archive whenever you want another puzzle. Whether you have two minutes or twenty, Backword gives you a satisfying word challenge to come back to every day. Features: - Daily Backword puzzle - Daily crossword - Weekly crossword - Word of the Day - Rolling 14-day score - Rating tiers to climb and maintain - Streaks, stats, and completion tracking - Puzzle archive - Hints when you get stuck - Optional Pro upgrade for an ad-free experience, unlimited archive access, and unlimited hints Currently only supports English language Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Crossword at none against Backword's shown. Crossword also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.6). Backword's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Crossword sells 14 one-off in-app purchases and Backword sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Crossword ships an update every 5 months, Backword every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Crossword | Backword |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (5.5K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5.5K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Teazel | Sean Williams |
Bugs and requests
Crossword
Reported bugs
2 issues- Purchased content not restoring properly on new devices
- Keyboard not working correctly in some cases
Requested features
3 requests- Option to adjust puzzle and clue size
- Ability to sync progress across devices
- More free puzzles or a free trial period
Backword
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Crossword
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 12)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 9)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 1)$0.99
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 2)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 3)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 4)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 5)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 6)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 7)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 10)$0.99
- pack (Pack 14 of 50 puzzles)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 13)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 11)$0.99
- full set of Crossword packs$3.99
Backword
- Monthly Pro Pass7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Annual Pro Pass7 Days trial$11.991 Year
Questions
Is Crossword free?
Is Backword free?
Do Crossword or Backword have ads?
Which is updated more often, Crossword or Backword?
Other comparisons















