Comparison

Codeword Unlimited + vs Word Ladders ·

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

Head to head
About

Codeword Unlimited +

This app offers an unlimited supply of number-based word puzzles, similar to crosswords but without clues. Players decode numbers into letters to reveal hidden words, with customizable grid sizes, difficulty levels, and word lists in multiple languages.

Highlights
  • Unlimited codeword puzzles
  • Customizable grid size
  • Adjustable difficulty levels
  • Highlighting of same letters
  • Word validity checker
  • View word definitions
  • Multi-language word lists
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Codeword Unlimited is an application to play the popular word game known as Codeword (also known as Cipher crosswords). For those unfamiliar with Codeword puzzles, they provide a grid of words, similar to a normal crossword, but with no clues, rather a few initially provided letters, and a number in each square in the gird to indicate its (as yet unknown) letter. All boxes with the same number must use the same letter. From that information and the few initially provided letters it is possible to work out which words will fit in the boxes. Hence you are decoding (or decyphering) the numbers into letters to reveal the hidden words. Usually all 26 letters of the alphabet are used in the codeword, although not always (and unused letters appear crossed out in the keyboard). Feature list: 1) Unlimited number of codewords!! They are created on-the-fly using the application's advanced generator engine and it's built-in word list. 2) The player decides the number of rows and columns (from 3 to 20). This allows the game to be suitable for all kinds of mobile-phones and tablets. 3) Difficultly level can be specified by the user, which determines the pool of words the generator will use. The larger the pool the greater the difficulty. There is even an early learner mode with a limited number of words, aimed at children and English language learners. The number of starting letters can also be specified. Higher scores can be obtained with more difficult codewords. 4) Selecting a square in the grid will highlight all places the same letter is used in that grid (i.e. has the same number to decipher). This is really handy and of course not possible when doing codewords in a magazine. 5) If a game is too difficult, the application provides two useful tools to help you (see below). 6) For any word in the grid for which all squares are assigned to letters, Codeword Unlimited will highlight if that word is NOT an allowed word in the word list it uses to generate its codewords. This helps you when you have mistakes in your current assignments (saving you lots of time and frustration!). 7) An on-screen keyboard means it is much easier and more comfortable to play. 8) The definition of a completed word can be viewed. This is useful if you do not know it, or you are learning a foreign language (internet connection required). 9) Choose the language of the word list, from a large range of downloadable dictionaries. 26 languages are currently available (see below). 10) Can be played in portrait or landscape mode. Just rotate your device and the display adjusts automatically. Other similar applications want you to pay for more Codewords, but this game provides you with endless puzzles, all for free!! Each game is assigned a difficulty level from 0 (easy) to 9 (very hard). The difficulty level is determined by the settings. 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. If the player is in difficulty, the application provides two very useful aids. (1) The game can provide another decoded letter. (2) The game can show you potential answers for an uncompleted word. The game uses the letters that you have already decoded and displays the matching words. Dictionaries available are English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Polish, Norwegian, Romanian, Serbian(Latin), Serbian(Cyrillic), Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian and more coming later

About

Word Ladders ·

Features
Read full description

Word Ladders is a simple but challenging word game that is totally free to play with hundreds of puzzles. The object of the game is to go from the bottom to the top by forming new words that are one letter different than the previous word. If you get stuck on a word, just tap the Hint button to generate a suggestion to help you up the ladder. Every time the player solves a puzzle, they earn 10 Hint Coins. Use them wisely, because some of the puzzles are harder than others! If you make a mistake, swipe left or right to erase the top-most word and choose another. Check your stats by tapping the Puzzle History button. It shows every puzzle you have completed, what words you have used to solve the puzzle, and how long it took to complete. Try to solve the puzzle with as few words as possible. If you want to know the minimum number of words needed to solve a puzzle, you can tap the Puzzle Stats button at the top to see what the min (and max) are. Wondering if a certain word is actually in the dictionary? Just tap on it and a definition will be displayed. Fun Fact: This game was originally popularized on pen and paper in 1877 by Lewis Carroll, the famous author of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland.

Screenshots

Codeword Unlimited +4 screens
Word Ladders ·3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Word Ladders · at Free against Codeword Unlimited +'s $4.99. Word Ladders · also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Codeword Unlimited +'s advantage is chart position (#150 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads and in-app purchases 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

Word Ladders · is free to download; Codeword Unlimited + costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Codeword Unlimited + ships an update every 2 months, Word Ladders · weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Codeword Unlimited + versus Word Ladders ·: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodeword Unlimited +Word Ladders ·
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (55 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings55 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#150 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHavosBrian Slone

Bugs and requests

Codeword Unlimited +

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Cannot open app after update
  • App not optimized for recent screens
  • Regularly rejects common words
  • Black screen on launch
  • Cannot erase a letter that is not in the right place

Requested features

10 requests
  • UK English dictionary option
  • Option to remove ads
  • Option to not have a timer or a pause button
  • New Game button on the menu bar
  • Backspace button
Show 5 more
  • Landscape mode for iPad
  • Pause button
  • Option to remove timer
  • No erase button
  • UK English words

Word Ladders ·

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Codeword Unlimited +

No in-app purchases

None

Word Ladders ·

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Codeword Unlimited + free?
Codeword Unlimited + costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Word Ladders · free?
Word Ladders · is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Codeword Unlimited + or Word Ladders · have ads?
Neither Codeword Unlimited + nor Word Ladders · shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Codeword Unlimited + or Word Ladders ·?
Codeword Unlimited + ships an update every 2 months, and Word Ladders · weekly. Most recently, Codeword Unlimited + was updated on November 1, 2026 and Word Ladders · on October 25, 2026.

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