Comparison

Crossword vs Crosswords

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 750+ professional puzzles
  • 45 free puzzles
  • Pinch zooming grid
  • Landscape mode with clue list
  • Cheats and answer checking
  • No ads
Features
Read 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

About

Crosswords

Engage with daily crossword puzzles from various newspapers, offering hints, clue lookups, and progress tracking. Upgrade for automatic puzzle delivery, access to extensive archives, and a wider selection of premium puzzle sources.

Highlights
  • Daily newspaper crossword puzzles
  • Hints and clue lookups
  • Progress tracking
  • US and UK cryptic puzzles
  • Automatic puzzle downloads
  • Access to extensive puzzle archives
  • Comparison with other solvers
Features
Read full description

"… the definitive source for puzzles for iOS…" -- the New York Times Play the Award Winning Crosswords on your iPad or iPhone, optimized for iOS 27! Each day many newspapers provide their crossword puzzles online; wake up each day to new puzzles, solve them, get hints, view clues, and track how quickly you're improving! • Touch and hold a square to view hints • US and UK Cryptic puzzles available • Hints, Websites, and Clue lookups • Enter answers in 'ink' or 'pencil' • Quickly see your recently played, or sort by date, difficulty or source • Detailed info on each puzzle • Post your solve times online and compare with other solvers After upgrading, you can also: • Automatically get new puzzles every day • Access nearly unlimited puzzles from many different sources • Grab older puzzles with a tap • Download new puzzles automatically in the background Upgraded Puzzle Sources: • Brendan Emmett Quigley's Weekly Puzzle • Inkwell Crossword (Archives only) • Village Voice (Archives only) • Chronicle of Higher Education (Archives only) • King Features Crosswords (Joseph, Sheffer, and Premier) • People Magazine (Archives only) • Newsday (Archives only) • Andy Kravis, Cruciverbist at Law • Glutton for Pun • MacNamara’s Band • Murchie’s Monday Fills • Neville Fogarty • Puzzle Express • The Stickler Weekly • World of Crosswords Premium Crosswords subscription required: • Matt Gaffney’s Crossword Contest • American Values Crossword • Crooked Crosswords Providers list subject to change. •• For support, please visit our website at http://www.standalone.com •• Privacy Policy: https://www.standalone.com/legal/ EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Crossword4 screens
Crosswords4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Crossword at 81% against Crosswords's 30%. Crossword also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (5.5K vs 579). Crosswords's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Crossword sells 14 one-off in-app purchases and Crosswords sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crossword holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword has 5.5K ratings behind it against 579, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Crossword's written reviews are positive against 30% of Crosswords's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword ships an update every 5 months, Crosswords every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Crossword versus Crosswords: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosswordCrosswords
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5.5K ratings) — better4.3 (579 ratings)
Positive reviews80.7% of reviews — better29.6% of reviews
Number of ratings5.5K — better579
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB36 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTeazelStand Alone, Inc.

Customer experience

Crossword

All ratings5,531 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews316 reviews
Positive80.7%
Neutral8.2%
Negative11.1%

Crosswords

All ratings579 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral5.2%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews98 reviews
Positive29.6%
Neutral17.3%
Negative53.1%

User reviews

Crossword

From 5.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Enjoyable crossword experience
  • 👍 Excellent value and great trivia
  • 👍 No ads, great puzzles
  • 👍 Fantastic brain workout
  • 👍 Accessible for dyslexic users

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional spelling errors in puzzles
  • 🐛 Keyboard issues on some devices
  • 🐛 Puzzles can be too difficult for some users
  • 🐛 Some clues are too obscure or British-centric

Crosswords

From 579 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Diverse and challenging puzzles
  • 👍 Clean and user-friendly interface
  • 💡 Ability to check/reveal answers
  • 👍 Responsive developers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Stability issues and crashes
  • 🐛 Bugs with navigation and menu
  • 🐛 Inconsistent puzzle download functionality
  • 🔒 Lack of accessibility for visually impaired users
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases

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

Crosswords

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Puzzle grid freezing or displaying blank
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
  • Inability to access or download certain puzzle sources

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to delete puzzles
  • Comprehensive error checking and feedback
  • Customizable keyboard and gestures

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Crossword

One-time14
  • pack of Crosswords (Pack 12)$0.99
  • pack of Crosswords (Pack 9)$0.99
  • pack of Crosswords (Pack 1)$0.99
Show 11 more
  • 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
14 purchases

Crosswords

One-time14
  • Lionel's crosswords, Vol. 1$0.99
  • Ink Well Xwords, Vol. 1$1.99
  • Dell Crosswords$1.99
Show 11 more
  • Edited by Ben Tausig, Vol. 1$1.99
  • Ridonkulous Crosswords$1.99
  • Liz Gorski's Crossword Nation: Vol. 1, No. 1-20$1.99
  • Dell Medium Crosswords$1.99
  • Brendan Emmett Quigley's Faves #1$2.99
  • Jonesin' Crosswords$2.99
  • Edited By Tausig 2$2.99
  • Brendan Emmett Quigley Freestyle$2.99
  • Crosswords Pro (Upgrade)$3.99
  • Crossword Nation's Centennial Edition$7.99
  • Crosswords Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Crossword free?
Crossword is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crosswords free?
Crosswords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crossword or Crosswords?
Crossword is rated higher. Crossword averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5.5K ratings, while Crosswords averages 4.3 from 579 ratings.
Do Crossword or Crosswords have ads?
Neither Crossword nor Crosswords shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword or Crosswords?
Crossword ships an update every 5 months, and Crosswords every 4 days. Most recently, Crossword was updated on October 29, 2026 and Crosswords on October 29, 2026.

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