Astraware CodeWords vs Jigsaw Crossword
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Astraware CodeWords
This word puzzle game challenges you to crack a secret code by substituting numbers for letters in a crossword-style grid. Use logic and vocabulary to decipher words and climb the global leaderboard.
- Number-to-letter substitution puzzles
- Daily and Weekender puzzles
- 50 built-in puzzles
- Extra puzzle streams
- Intuitive interface
- Highlighting for letter consistency
- Manual and auto-fill options
Read full descriptionHide full description
Can you crack the code? Astraware CodeWords is an addictive word puzzle game with a difference! You start with a crosswords style grid but instead of words, each letter has been substituted with a number from 1 to 26. It is up to you to figure out which number stands for each letter! There are no clues but 3 letters are already in place to help you get started and each letter of the alphabet is used at least once. You start by guessing possible words and matching numbers with letters, until you've fully cracked the code - and your vocabulary and logical reasoning will be stretched along the way! Did you know that the letter 'e' is the most commonly used letter in English? Did you know that 'th' is the most common pair of letters to be seen together? You'll use this knowledge and more as you make your guesses and work out the words! Astraware CodeWords gives you access to play our free Daily puzzles - top the global leaderboard by completing the puzzle in the fastest time! For an extra challenge there is a Weekender puzzle available each Friday with a trickier grid and more unusual words. Great features include: - Unlimited access to our two Daily puzzles and Weekender puzzle. - A collection of 50 built-in puzzles in various sizes and difficulties, perfect for beginners and avid players - Extra puzzle streams for endless play - Intuitive interface - Highlighting to show where you've chosen the same letter for different numbers - Option to fill in letters manually, or choose auto to fill in all occurrences of that letter at once - Save slots available to have several puzzles on the go at once, so you can stop for a break and come back to a puzzle later - Option to purchase extra value puzzle packs for offline play - Puzzles Plus subscription for unlimited puzzles Puzzles Plus Subscription Terms and Details Puzzles Plus is our optional subscription for CodeWords which entitles you to play all of the available Daily, Weekender and Stream puzzles as soon as they are available, without in-game adverts or any requirement to earn tokens. Subscribers can also choose to highlight their high scores with a choice of badges. Subscriptions are available with renewal periods of either monthly, quarterly (every 3 months), or yearly. The price shown is the cost of the renewal, with the saving value for longer subscription periods as a comparison to the monthly option. After you confirm a subscription, you will have a free trial period of seven days. Your iTunes Account will be charged as soon as the free trial is over. If you cancel the subscription at any time before the free trial is over, you will not be billed. The subscriptions are automatically renewing, and you will be charged again at the end of your current subscription period. Your subscription will automatically renew unless you turn this off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. The renewal cost will be the same for each subscription period, and will be charged within the 24 hours before the end of your current subscription. You can manage the subscriptions at any time by going to the Account Settings in the Settings App after purchase. There are options to either change to a different renewal period (which will be at a different price) or to cancel your subscription completely. If you cancel the renewal you will still have access to the Puzzles Plus features until the full subscription period is complete. If you confirm the purchase of a subscription before the free trial is complete, any unused portion of the free trial will be lost. These terms are listed at the Astraware site at : https://www.astraware.com/about/puzzlesplus/ For more information on Data and Privacy, please view the Astraware Privacy page at http://www.astraware.com/privacy
Jigsaw Crossword
Reconstruct crosswords by fitting lettered jigsaw pieces together. Offers extensive customization for grid size, difficulty, and language, with helpful game aids. Ideal for word puzzle enthusiasts looking for a unique challenge.
- Jigsaw piece crossword reconstruction
- Unlimited customizable puzzles
- Multiple difficulty levels
- 36 downloadable language dictionaries
- Adjustable grid size and orientation
- Word definitions and language learning aid
- High score tracking
Read full descriptionHide full description
Recreate a crossword with jigsaw pieces. The letters on the pieces help you complete the puzzle. Easy to use interface, drag and drop puzzle pieces across the screen. This game is also known as pieceword, bits & pieces, jigcross, jigsnip and building blocks. The words to find are in English, or you can play in 35 other languages. • Play an unlimited number of different puzzles!! • Multiple difficulty options. Play one of 10 built in difficulty levels, or use the custom mode to configure the difficulty of the game to exactly what you want • Four different sizes of puzzle piece are possible • Pieces can start outside the grid (classic version), or all are randomly placed on the grid and are then swapped to find the solution (ideal for smaller screens) • Designed for fun games from the smallest mobile phones up to the largest tablets You can configure: 1) Grid size Specify exactly how many columns and rows to use (from 3 to 20). Even non square grids (e.g. 12x15) are possible 2) Difficulty settings Change the difficulty of the puzzles, from easy to very difficult 3) Language Choose the language of the word list, from a large range of downloadable dictionaries. 36 languages are currently available (see below) 4) Orientation Can be played in portrait or landscape mode. Just rotate your device and the display adjusts automatically This app gives you the ultimate power to play the game just the way you want. Game aids: 1) As words are formed, then valid words are highlighted 2) You can choose to have one or more pieces placed into their correct position at the beginning of the game 3) During the game, you can request a random puzzle piece to be placed into its correct position 4) You can ask the game if a selected puzzle piece is in the correct position Each game is assigned a difficulty level from 0 (easy) to 9 (very hard). The difficulty level is determined by the settings or the difficulty selector. Each difficulty level maintains the high scores (measured by fastest time to complete the game). The game displays the best 20 scores for each difficulty level. Other features unique to this app: 1) View the definition of the word from an online dictionary (internet connection required) 2) When you play with a word list in a foreign language, the word definition will (where possible) be in your own language. This is great for language learning! You can play this app in the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Russian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Indonesian, Romanian, Serbian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, Slovene, Turkish, Ukrainian, Afrikaans, Albanian, Azeri, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Catalan, Galician, Tagalog
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Astraware CodeWords at every 6 weeks against Jigsaw Crossword's every 6 months. Astraware CodeWords also leads on ratings volume (162 vs 49). Jigsaw Crossword's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Astraware CodeWords sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Jigsaw Crossword sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Astraware CodeWords against 4.8 for Jigsaw Crossword. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 162 and 49 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 87% and 87% positive.
Astraware CodeWords ships an update every 6 weeks, Jigsaw Crossword every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Astraware CodeWords | Jigsaw Crossword |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (162 ratings) | 4.8 (49 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.4% of reviews — better | 87.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 162 — better | 49 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 90 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Astraware Limited | Havos |
Customer experience
Astraware CodeWords
Jigsaw Crossword
Bugs and requests
Astraware CodeWords
Reported bugs
3 issues- Hints not adding correctly to time
- Game no longer loads after recent update
- Purchased puzzles and packs not available
Requested features
4 requests- More free puzzles made available daily
- Flashing empty space indicator for last letter
- Theme-based puzzles and more daily challenges
- Ability to opt-out of competitive leaderboard
Jigsaw Crossword
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Astraware CodeWords
- Puzzles Plus7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Puzzles Plus7 Days trial$2.993 Months
- Puzzles Plus7 Days trial$7.991 Year
- Fun-size Pack$0.99
- Family Pack$1.99
- Tough Pack$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Easy Pack$1.99
- Tough Pack 2$1.99
- Vacation Pack$3.99
- Ad-Free Daily Puzzles$4.99
- Deluxe Pack$4.99
- Deluxe Pack 2$4.99
- Calendar Pack 2017$4.99
Jigsaw Crossword
- Supporter (no ads)$4.991 Year
Questions
Is Astraware CodeWords free?
Is Jigsaw Crossword free?
Which has better reviews, Astraware CodeWords or Jigsaw Crossword?
Do Astraware CodeWords or Jigsaw Crossword have ads?
Which is updated more often, Astraware CodeWords or Jigsaw Crossword?
Other comparisons















