Comparison

Words Inside vs Explo® Word Game

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

Head to head
About

Words Inside

Uncover hidden words in a 3x3 grid. Enjoy casual, arcade, and daily challenge modes. Create and save your own custom grids with a one-time purchase. Unlock themed packs and utilize built-in hints.

Highlights
  • 3x3 grid word puzzles
  • Casual, Arcade, and Daily Challenge modes
  • Create and save custom grids
  • Themed word packs
  • Built-in hints and word lookup
  • Player statistics and achievements
Features
Read full description

Words Inside is a free word game where you uncover as many hidden words as you can from a letter grid. Enjoy 3x3 and 4x4 puzzles, with optional Apple Intelligence features on supported devices. Play your way: Casual Mode lets you take your time, saves your progress automatically, and makes it easy to come back later. Arcade Mode is a fast 1-minute score attack with combo multipliers for quick streaks. Daily Challenge gives you a new puzzle every day, with separate progress tracking and replayable Casual or Arcade runs. Explore the themes: Start with the free starter theme, then discover premium theme packs across a wide range of interests. Themed puzzles now include both 9-letter 3x3 and 16-letter 4x4 grids, giving you more letters to explore. Find longer words for bigger scores, with up to 40 base points for a 16-letter word. Want even more ways to play? Unlock My Grids with a one-time purchase to create, save, and replay your own custom boards. Build 3x3 or 4x4 grids, generate a random board, or enter your own letters and let the app solve it before you start. Need help? Hints are built in, and you can earn more by playing: Complete the tutorial, discover anagrams, hit word milestones, finish Casual grids, and complete the Daily Challenge. Extra hint packs are also available in-app. Features: • No in-game advertising • Light and dark mode support • Free starter theme, including a 4x4 puzzle • Daily Challenge included free with a new puzzle every day • Casual Mode with automatic progress saving • Arcade Mode with 1-minute score runs and combo bonuses • Themed 3x3 and 4x4 puzzles across a wide range of interests • Create and save your own grids with My Grids (one-time in-app purchase) • Build random or custom-letter 3x3 and 4x4 grids • Replay saved grids in Casual or Arcade • An expanded word dictionary, with words up to 16 letters long • Player statistics to track your progress • Game Center achievements • Built-in word lookup for found words • Optional Apple Intelligence features on supported devices, including Grid Analysis, Word Meanings, grid summaries, and post-game coaching • Interactive onboarding tutorial • Built-in hints plus extra hint packs available to purchase • iPhone and iPad support

About

Explo® Word Game

Engage in a pure word game experience with this innovative crossword app. Challenge friends, AI, or race against the clock. Unlock advanced features and unlimited games with an optional Pro subscription.

Highlights
  • Ad-free gameplay
  • Play against friends or AI
  • Timed or relaxed game modes
  • Elo point system
  • Unlimited simultaneous games (Pro)
  • Review past games (Pro)
  • Pro Mode challenges (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Introducing Explo®, the innovative crossword game app. Explo is completely free from intrusive ads and pop-ups, allowing you to concentrate on having fun and exercising your brain. Explo is crafted with passion by word game enthusiasts - and it shows! Challenge your friends, compete with players from around the world, or face off against cunning robots – Explo offers versatile gameplay options. You can choose to play at a relaxed pace, savoring each word challenge, or ramp up the adrenaline by racing against the clock. As you progress through Explo, you'll accumulate Elo points, working your way toward mastering this unique word game. Alternatively, you can simply enjoy the ride and see where your word-solving journey takes you. But there's more! Explo allows you to enjoy up to three simultaneous games for free. For those looking to unlock the full potential of the app, we offer a Pro subscription, which includes: 1) Unlimited simultaneous games, so you can immerse yourself in crossword challenges to your heart's content. 2) The ability to review finished games and uncover the best moves in each situation, sharpening your word game skills. 3) Pro Mode games, where you can challenge other players with manual word challenges for an extra twist. 4) A diverse range of AI opponents, including intermediate and advanced robots, alongside beginner and easy levels, for a dynamic and engaging gaming experience. 5) A prestigious Pro badge to proudly display your status as an Explo Pro. Discover Explo today and enjoy the best of both worlds – the excitement of word games combined with the familiarity of a crossword puzzle app. Download now and let the word games begin! Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/752745690059478 Skráðu þig í Facebook hópinn okkar: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2677255872423139/ Terms of Use: https://explowordgame.com/terms-and-conditions/

Screenshots

Words Inside4 screens
Explo® Word Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Explo® Word Game at 4.8 against Words Inside's 4.3. Explo® Word Game also leads on ratings volume (41 vs 3) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Words Inside sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Explo® Word Game sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Explo® Word Game holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Explo® Word Game has 41 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Words Inside's written reviews are positive against 80% of Explo® Word Game's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Words Inside ships an update every 3 months, Explo® Word Game every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Words Inside versus Explo® Word Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWords InsideExplo® Word Game
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)4.8 (41 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings341 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB98 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperA5 MultimediaMideind ehf.

Customer experience

Words Inside

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%

Explo® Word Game

All ratings41 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral2.4%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Words Inside

One-time11
  • 100 Hints$0.49
  • Pop Stars Theme$0.99
  • Computing Theme$0.99
Show 8 more
  • Anagrams Theme$0.99
  • Animals Theme$0.99
  • Bands Theme$0.99
  • Birds Theme$0.99
  • Clothes Theme$0.99
  • Colours Theme$0.99
  • Flowers Theme$0.99
  • Food Theme$0.99
1 purchases

Explo® Word Game

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly subscription$4.991 Month

Questions

Is Words Inside free?
Words Inside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Explo® Word Game free?
Explo® Word Game is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Words Inside or Explo® Word Game?
Explo® Word Game is rated higher. Words Inside averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Explo® Word Game averages 4.8 from 41 ratings.
Do Words Inside or Explo® Word Game have ads?
Neither Words Inside nor Explo® Word Game shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Words Inside or Explo® Word Game?
Words Inside ships an update every 3 months, and Explo® Word Game every 6 weeks. Most recently, Words Inside was updated on October 2, 2026 and Explo® Word Game on September 16, 2026.

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