Comparison

SpellBee vs Hivethrum

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

Head to head
About

SpellBee

This word puzzle game challenges you to create words from seven letters, with one central letter required in every word. It offers daily puzzles, progress tracking, and global leaderboards. Enhance your vocabulary and cognitive skills with this engaging brain-boosting activity.

Highlights
  • Create words from seven letters
  • Find the pangram
  • Daily puzzles
  • Track progress and scores
  • Global leaderboards
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

Challenge your vocabulary and spelling skills in the ultimate daily word puzzle game! Create words from just 7 letters, discover the hidden pangram, and see how many words you can find. Play a new daily challenge, enjoy unlimited Practice Mode, unlock achievements, and track your progress as you improve your spelling and vocabulary every day. HOW TO PLAY • Create words using the 7 available letters • Every word must include the center letter • Words must be at least 4 letters long • Find the hidden pangram using all 7 letters • Earn points and climb through the ranks all the way to Queen Bee FEATURES Daily Spelling Challenge • A brand new puzzle every day • Everyone solves the same daily challenge Unlimited Practice Mode • Unlimited randomly generated puzzles • Practice your spelling anytime 1000+ Past Puzzles • Replay previous daily puzzles • Enjoy hundreds of hours of gameplay Achievements • Unlock achievements as you play • Complete special challenges and milestones Statistics & Progress • Track your scores and improvement • Win rate, streaks, total words found, pangrams, rank distribution, total score, and more Customize Your Experience • Multiple color themes • Light & Dark Mode • Adjustable animations • Make the game your own Helpful Hints • Reveal letters when you're stuck • Keep learning while having fun Offline Play • Play anywhere, anytime • No internet required for most features WHY YOU'LL LOVE SPELLBEE • Improve your spelling naturally • Expand your vocabulary • Train your brain every day • Solve relaxing and satisfying word puzzles • Perfect for casual players and word game experts alike Can you find every word, discover the hidden pangram, and earn the prestigious Queen Bee rank? Download SpellBee today and start making words from just 7 letters! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Hivethrum

Features
Read full description

Hivethrum is the daily honeycomb word game for everyone who loves letters. Every day a new honeycomb with 7 letters is waiting for you. Build as many words as possible – each word must contain the orange center letter and be at least 4 letters long. Letters may be used as often as you like. Every puzzle contains at least one pangram: a word that uses all 7 letters. Can you find it? TWO LANGUAGES, TWO SETS OF PUZZLES • 500 English honeycombs • 500 German honeycombs – the app follows your iPhone's language • Progress is stored separately for each language FEATURES • A new puzzle every day • Archive: replay all previous puzzles anytime • 9 ranks from Beginner to Hive Master • Timer with pause function • Your progress is saved automatically • Fully playable offline NO CATCH • Free, no ads, no in-app purchases • No registration, no data collection Published by Dyslexia Research Center USA. Word games are a wonderful workout for language skills and attention.

Screenshots

SpellBee4 screens
Hivethrum4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hivethrum at none against SpellBee's 2. Hivethrum also leads on ads (none vs shown). SpellBee's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price and update cadence 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. SpellBee sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Hivethrum asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpellBee ships an update fortnightly, Hivethrum every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SpellBee versus Hivethrum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpellBeeHivethrum
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (3.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews28.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.5K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppStation Studio Pte. Ltd.Dachverband Legasthenie Deutschland e.V.

Bugs and requests

SpellBee

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing/crashing issues
  • Losing progress and daily words
  • Repeated letters across days

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add option to disable ads
  • Improve dictionary and word selection
  • Implement hints or other features
  • Allow multiple players on the same game

Hivethrum

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SpellBee

Subscriptions2
  • SpellBee Premium$2.991 Month
  • SpellBee Premium$24.991 Year
None

Hivethrum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpellBee free?
SpellBee is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hivethrum free?
Hivethrum is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SpellBee or Hivethrum have ads?
SpellBee shows ads; Hivethrum does not.
Which is updated more often, SpellBee or Hivethrum?
SpellBee ships an update fortnightly, and Hivethrum every 9 days. Most recently, SpellBee was updated on October 20, 2026 and Hivethrum on October 9, 2026.

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