# Samurai Sudoku vs Sudoku ◆

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Sudoku ◆ at 19K against Samurai Sudoku's 383. Samurai Sudoku's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Samurai Sudoku sells 24 one-off in-app purchases and Sudoku ◆ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Samurai Sudoku against 4.6 for Sudoku ◆. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sudoku ◆ has 19K ratings behind it against 383, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 75% and 75% positive.

Samurai Sudoku ships an update every 2 months, Sudoku ◆ every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Samurai Sudoku | Sudoku ◆ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (383 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/samurai-sudoku/id594421598/reviews) | **[4.6 (19K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku/id717754939/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 383 | **19K** |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | **75.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 23 MB | 114 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Stanley Lam](https://appshunter.io/developer/453164363) | [Do More Mobile, LLC.](https://appshunter.io/developer/318729104) |

## What reviewers say

### Samurai Sudoku

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/samurai-sudoku/id594421598)

Experience a unique Sudoku challenge with five interconnected grids. Apply standard Sudoku rules to each 9x9 grid, filling numbers to ensure each row, column, and region has one of each digit. Offers multiple difficulty levels and puzzle variations.

**Highlights:** Five overlapping Sudoku grids, Five difficulty levels, Various Sudoku types (Gattai, Butterfly), Hint feature with conflict checking, Highlight same numbers, Autosave progress, Record best completion times

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (24)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Diagonal Samurai Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Beginner Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Median Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Advanced Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Expert Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Beginner Pack 2 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Advanced Pack 2 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Basic Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Gattai-3 Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Butterfly Sudoku | $1.99 | one-time |
| Flower Sudoku | $1.99 | one-time |
| Gattai-3 Diagonal Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Sudo-Kurve | $1.99 | one-time |
| Twodoku | $1.99 | one-time |
| Tridoku | $1.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Median Pack 2 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Jigsaw Samurai Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Anti Diagonal Samurai Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Cross Sudoku | $2.99 | one-time |
| Gattai-3 Anti Diagonal Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Samurai Sudoku | $3.99 | one-time |
| Sohei Sudoku | $3.99 | one-time |
| 30 Days of All Puzzles | $5.99 | one-time |
| 90 Days of All Puzzles | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Excellent variety of puzzle types and game modes
- 🧠 Challenging and mentally stimulating gameplay
- 👍 User-friendly interface and intuitive controls
- 🎨 Well-designed graphics and visual presentation
- ⭐ Addictive and entertaining for extended play

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing issues
- 📱 Unresponsive touch controls requiring multiple taps
- 🎥 Video loading problems for weekly puzzles
- 💾 Loss of purchased content and progress after updates
- 📺 Excessive and intrusive advertising

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when watching required videos
- Weekly puzzle videos fail to load
- Game freezes mid-puzzle with no progress saved
- Purchased puzzles disappear after app updates or reinstalls
- Ad screens block gameplay with no visible close button

**Requested features**

- Auto-fill feature for candidate notes/pencil marks
- Pause button for games in progress
- Left-handed mode option
- Highlight vertical and horizontal lines for easier solving
- Ability to create and submit custom puzzles


### Sudoku ◆

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku/id717754939)

Engage in a classic logic puzzle experience with an endless supply of Sudoku challenges. This app offers a sleek, modern interface designed for relaxing brain exercise, allowing you to hone your deduction skills and improve concentration. Track your progress, earn stars, and enjoy customizable gameplay across all your devices.

**Highlights:** Endless Sudoku puzzles, Customizable board and colors, Hints, notes, and auto-complete, Difficulty levels: easy to expert, Progress tracking and stats, HD retina graphics for iPhone/iPad

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sudoku Premium | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💎 Colorful and customizable design
- 📊 Variety of difficulty levels
- 🎨 Helpful color-coding of numbers
- 🔍 Useful features like note-taking and mistake highlighting
- 🧠 Helps keep the mind active

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive in-app purchase to remove ads
- 🔍 Intrusive and frequent ads
- 🔋 Causes device overheating and high battery drain
- 🐛 Crashes and issues with restoring purchases
- 🤖 Automatic number completion can make the game too easy

**Reported bugs**

- Puzzle solutions not always unique
- Ads redirecting to App Store without user interaction
- Issues with app crashing or not loading properly

**Requested features**

- Landscape mode for iPad
- Ability to change number color in notes
- Option to disable automatic number completion
- Reduce frequency and intrusiveness of ads


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Samurai Sudoku free?

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

### Is Sudoku ◆ free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Samurai Sudoku or Sudoku ◆?

Sudoku ◆ is rated higher. Samurai Sudoku averages 4.6 out of 5 from 383 ratings, while Sudoku ◆ averages 4.6 from 19K ratings.

### Do Samurai Sudoku or Sudoku ◆ have ads?

Both Samurai Sudoku and Sudoku ◆ show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Samurai Sudoku or Sudoku ◆?

Samurai Sudoku ships an update every 2 months, and Sudoku ◆ every 6 months. Most recently, Samurai Sudoku was updated on October 23, 2026 and Sudoku ◆ on October 27, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*