# Half a Minute vs FiveWords

The clearest difference is rating: FiveWords at 5.0 against Half a Minute's 2.9. FiveWords also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 8%). Half a Minute's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Half a Minute sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per year and FiveWords sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

FiveWords holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Half a Minute has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 8% of Half a Minute's written reviews are positive against 50% of FiveWords's.

Half a Minute ships an update fortnightly, FiveWords monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 6, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Half a Minute | FiveWords |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.9 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/half-a-minute/id590720682/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fivewords-30-seconds/id1441881722/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **8** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 8.3% of reviews | **50.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 28 MB | 13 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lerikon B.V.](https://appshunter.io/developer/590720685) | [Tom Miedema](https://appshunter.io/developer/1441881721) |

## What reviewers say

### Half a Minute

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/half-a-minute/id590720682)

A fast-paced word guessing game for groups of four or more players. Teams race against the clock to describe words, with the highest score winning. Offers an ad-free experience through a yearly subscription.

**Highlights:** Multiplayer word guessing, Timed rounds, Team-based play, Adjustable difficulty, Ad-free subscription option

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove ads | $2.99 | per year |
| Remove advertisements | $2.99 | one-time |


### FiveWords

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fivewords-30-seconds/id1441881722)

A fast-paced party game where teams race against the clock to guess words. With thousands of words and support for up to four teams, it offers endless replayability for group fun.

**Highlights:** Guess words against the clock, Play with up to 4 teams, Over 3500 unique words, Suggest new words, Fast-paced party gameplay

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove ads | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Half a Minute free?

Half a Minute is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is FiveWords free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Half a Minute or FiveWords?

FiveWords is rated higher. Half a Minute averages 2.9 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while FiveWords averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Half a Minute or FiveWords have ads?

Both Half a Minute and FiveWords show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Half a Minute or FiveWords?

Half a Minute ships an update fortnightly, and FiveWords monthly. Most recently, Half a Minute was updated on September 6, 2026 and FiveWords on June 1, 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.*