# Spelling Bee vs ContraBee

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Spelling Bee at 100% against ContraBee's 24%. Spelling Bee also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (24 vs 8). ContraBee's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Spelling Bee sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. ContraBee asks for nothing beyond the download.

Spelling Bee holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Spelling Bee's written reviews are positive against 24% of ContraBee's.

Spelling Bee ships an update every 4 months, ContraBee every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Spelling Bee | ContraBee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (24 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spelling-bee-fun-word-game/id6448349457/reviews)** | [4.1 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/contrabee/id6478916549/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **24** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 23.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 49 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zhuzhou Yiqi Network Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1655498857) | [Lexi Games LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1734406255) |

## What reviewers say

### Spelling Bee

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spelling-bee-fun-word-game/id6448349457)

Master spelling with a daily word puzzle. Find words using a set of seven letters, with one required letter per word. Enjoy a stress-free experience with no lives or penalties, just fun word challenges.

**Highlights:** 8000+ unique 7-letter games, Daily new letter sets, Word counts and hints, No lives or penalties, Algorithmically generated puzzles

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 220 Coins | $0.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| 660 Coins | $2.99 | one-time |
| 1210 Coins | $4.99 | one-time |
| BIG BUNDLE | $5.99 | one-time |
| 2640 Coins | $9.99 | one-time |
| SUPER BUNDLE | $12.99 | one-time |
| 15400 Coins | $49.99 | one-time |
| 26400 Coins | $79.99 | one-time |
| ULTIMAT BUNDLE | $99.99 | one-time |


### ContraBee

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/contrabee/id6478916549)

This app offers a daily word puzzle using the same letter hive as the New York Times Spelling Bee. It challenges players to find words without using the required center letter, encouraging a different approach to word discovery.

**Highlights:** Daily word puzzles, Uses NYT Spelling Bee letter hive, Excludes center letter, Encourages alternative word finding, Unique puzzle twist

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Spelling Bee free?

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

### Is ContraBee free?

ContraBee is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Spelling Bee or ContraBee?

Spelling Bee is rated higher. Spelling Bee averages 4.6 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while ContraBee averages 4.1 from 8 ratings.

### Do Spelling Bee or ContraBee have ads?

Neither Spelling Bee nor ContraBee shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Spelling Bee or ContraBee?

Spelling Bee ships an update every 4 months, and ContraBee every 2 weeks. Most recently, Spelling Bee was updated on November 3, 2026 and ContraBee on October 30, 2026.

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