# Heads Up! vs Alias

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Alias at 100% against Heads Up!'s 33%. Alias also leads on price (Free vs $1.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Heads Up!'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (300K vs 5). On in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Alias is free to download; Heads Up! costs $1.99 up front. Heads Up! sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Alias sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Alias holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heads Up! has 300K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Heads Up!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Alias's.

Heads Up! ships an update weekly, Alias every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Heads Up! | Alias |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.8 (300K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heads-up/id623592465/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alias-explain-and-guess-words/id1268976064/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **300K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 32.8% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 204 MB | 11 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Warner Bros.](https://appshunter.io/developer/298372283) | [Volodymyr Yahenskyi](https://appshunter.io/developer/961335645) |

## What reviewers say

### Heads Up!

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heads-up/id623592465)

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Paid · Card, #1 Top Paid · Word, #2 Top Paid · Games, #4 Top Paid, #8 Top Grossing · Word, #53 Top Grossing · Card (US App Store)

This is a charades-style party game where players guess words displayed on a phone held to their forehead, with friends shouting clues. It offers a wide variety of themed decks and the ability to create custom categories for endless entertainment.

**Highlights:** Word guessing with friends, Themed card decks, Custom category creation, Tilt controls for guessing, Record gameplay videos, Play via Facetime

**Features:** SharePlay

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Just For Kids | Free | one-time |
| The Ellen Show | Free | one-time |
| Mix It Up | Free | one-time |
| Branded | $1.99 | one-time |
| That's So 90s | $1.99 | one-time |
| Food Fight | $1.99 | one-time |
| Super Heroes | $1.99 | one-time |
| Adult Supervision | $1.99 | one-time |
| Adult Supervision 2: Even Adultier | $1.99 | one-time |
| Happy Holidays | $1.99 | one-time |
| Adults Only! Bundle | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 Fun and engaging game
- 🎉 Great for parties and gatherings
- 👍 Fantastic family-friendly entertainment
- 💯 Highly recommended by users

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔁 Repetitive content and card decks
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and technical issues
- 🤔 Lack of customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Purchased decks disappearing or not restoring
- Freezing and crashing on certain devices
- Inaccurate voice recognition and gesture detection

**Requested features**

- Ability to adjust game timer length
- More free content and decks
- Improved deck management and organization
- Better customer support and communication


### Alias

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alias-explain-and-guess-words/id1268976064)

A party game where teams compete to guess words explained by their teammates using synonyms, opposites, or clues before time runs out. Players must avoid using parts of the word itself when giving explanations.

**Highlights:** Team-based word guessing, Timed explanation rounds, Scoring and leaderboards, Customizable teams, Multiple word categories, Joint guessing rounds

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Heads Up! free?

Heads Up! costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Alias free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Heads Up! or Alias?

Alias is rated higher. Heads Up! averages 4.8 out of 5 from 300K ratings, while Alias averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Heads Up! or Alias have ads?

Alias shows ads; Heads Up! does not.

### Which is updated more often, Heads Up! or Alias?

Heads Up! ships an update weekly, and Alias every 3 weeks. Most recently, Heads Up! was updated on November 2, 2026 and Alias on October 31, 2026.

---

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