Comparison

penWord vs Word Search Builder

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

Head to head
About

penWord

Enjoy a variety of crossword puzzle sizes on your Apple devices. Choose from multiple grid dimensions tailored for iPhones and iPads.

Highlights
  • Multiple crossword grid sizes (7x7 to 15x15)
  • iPhone-specific puzzle options
  • iPad-optimized puzzle options
  • Free to play
Read full description

penWord App has the following features: 1. For iPhones it allows for playing 7x7, 9x9 & 10x10 crossword puzzles. 2. For iPads it allows for playing 7x7, 9x9, 10x10, 11x11, 13x13 & 15x15 crossword puzzles.

About

Word Search Builder

Design, share, and play custom word search puzzles with a user-friendly interface. Create puzzles from your own word lists, customize grid size, and export them as images or shareable files. An optional Pro upgrade unlocks unlimited puzzles and a play mode.

Highlights
  • Create custom word searches
  • Manually enter word lists
  • Interactive grid editing
  • Export puzzles as images or files
  • AI-powered word list generation (Pro)
  • In-app puzzle solving (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Create, share, and play custom word searches — all on your device. Word Search Builder lets you design beautiful word search puzzles from scratch. Type in your own word list, choose your grid size, and instantly generate a polished puzzle with words placed in all eight directions. Drag and drop letters directly on the preview grid to tweak placements exactly how you like, then export or share your finished puzzle as an image or a shareable file — perfect for classrooms, gifts, or just for fun. Free Features • Create and save word searches • Manually enter your own word lists • Choose your grid size and customize your puzzle title • Interactively drag, move, and rotate words directly on the grid preview • Regenerate or reshuffle filler letters with one tap • Export and share your puzzles as images or .wordsearch files Word Search Builder Pro (one time upgrade) • Unlimited word searches — create and save as many puzzles as you want • Play mode — solve your own puzzles (or ones shared with you) right inside the app, with word-finding highlights and a congratulations celebration when you finish • AI-powered word lists — type a theme like "animals" or "space" and let AI generate a unique 10–20 word list instantly, on-device and privately (requires a compatible device)

Screenshots

penWord4 screens
Word Search Builder3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Word Search Builder at 5.0 against penWord's 1.0. Word Search Builder also leads on device support and ratings volume (3 vs 1). penWord's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. penWord sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Word Search Builder sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Word Search Builder holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
penWord versus Word Search Builder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpenWordWord Search Builder
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequency—Every 3 months
Ads—No
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Devices—iPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.218.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKUL OHRICyberWisp LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

penWord

One-time1
  • R05Puzzles$1.99
1 purchases

Word Search Builder

One-time1
  • Word Search Builder Pro$1.99

Questions

Is penWord free?
penWord is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Word Search Builder free?
Word Search Builder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, penWord or Word Search Builder?
Word Search Builder is rated higher. penWord averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Word Search Builder averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

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