Cryptic Crossword vs Crossword
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cryptic Crossword
Engage with over 260 professional cryptic crosswords designed for experienced puzzle solvers. Enjoy a full-featured experience with 29 free puzzles, including pinch zooming, mistake highlighting, and resume functionality.
- 260+ professional cryptic crosswords
- 29 free puzzles
- Pinch zooming grid
- Cheats and mistake highlighting
- Resume functionality
- Customizable preferences
Read full descriptionHide full description
A brand new cryptic crossword every day, plus 260+ professional puzzles to keep you pondering. These are cryptic level crosswords, suitable for seasoned crossword enthusiasts. DAILY PUZZLES A brand new cryptic crossword published every day. Build a streak by playing daily, earn coins, and unlock puzzles at your own pace. Four weeks of daily puzzles are available to catch up on. EXPLAIN THE CLUE Stuck on the wordplay? Tap 'Explain clue' for a clear explanation of how any cryptic clue works, breaking down the wordplay and the definition. A great way to learn the tricks of cryptic solving. SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS Subscribe for unlimited access to every daily puzzle and all archive packs, with no coins needed. Available as monthly, quarterly, or annual plans. 260+ ARCHIVE PUZZLES Thirteen packs of professional cryptic crosswords to keep you thinking. Great for a quick coffee break or a longer session. EARN COINS & STREAKS Open the app each day to earn bonus coins. The longer your streak, the bigger the bonus. Spend coins to unlock daily and archive puzzles, or watch a short ad for extra coins whenever you choose. Features: - a brand new cryptic crossword every day - daily login bonus with streak rewards - earn coins by playing daily, or watch a short ad for extra coins - unlock puzzles with coins, or subscribe for unlimited access - great for iPads and iPhones - pinch zooming grid - 'Explain clue' breaks down the wordplay and definition of any cryptic clue - hints, highlight mistakes and answer checking - backup and restore If you're finding Cryptic a little too challenging, why not try our standard 'Crossword' or 'Crossword US' apps. The Terms of Use (EULA) can be found here: https://www.teazel.com/cryptic_crossword_terms/ios_terms_en.html
Crossword
Engage your mind with a vast collection of crossword puzzles and word games. Solve thousands of clues, complete daily challenges, and collect trophies across multiple game modes. Enjoy a new puzzle experience every day with this extensive library of brain-teasing fun.
- Thousands of unique clues
- Hundreds of original puzzles
- Daily themed puzzles
- World's Biggest and Tallest crosswords
- Multiple game modes (Cryptogram, Codewords, Word Grid)
- Trophies, quests, and achievements
- Timed events
Read full descriptionHide full description
Solve thousands of clues in the biggest and best crossword puzzle ever! Now you can enjoy a new crossword challenge every day with this giant collection of hundreds of original puzzles. There are over 100,000 unique clues to solve as well as dozens of quests to complete and trophies to collect! Choose from TWELVE game modes: ■ DAILY THEMED PUZZLE Enjoy a new crossword each day, featuring clues linked to a trivia fact about today's date that's revealed on completion! ■ WORLD'S BIGGEST Crossword Explore over 2,800 crossword puzzles. The classic puzzle enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. ■ WORLD'S TALLEST Crossword A collection of 1,100 extra-large puzzles - bigger grids, longer words, tougher clues! How high can you build the tower? ■ DAILY DIAMOND Crossword Earn extra rewards with a snack-sized bonus puzzle each day. ■ SEVEN WORDS Puzzle Solve the clues and use the scrambled letter blocks to find 7 hidden words. ■ CRYPTOGRAM Puzzle Break the code, reveal the quote! ■ CODEWORDS Puzzle Decipher the code to complete the crossword grid. Each square is marked with a number corresponding with one letter of the alphabet. Look for patterns and use your powers of deduction to crack the code! ■ WORD GRID Puzzle Slide the tiles from the edge of the grid into the blank squares to spell out words. Unlike a regular crossword, there are no clues so instead you'll have to use logic to choose between the available letters for each square. ■ QUOTE FALLS Puzzle Place the letter tiles from each column into the correct squares on the grid to spell out a famous quotation! ■ BRITISH CRYPTICS Crossword The ultimate challenge - cryptic crosswords use their own obscure rules to hide the answer in the clue, using anagrams, double meanings, and a host of other subtle tricks. If you get completely stumped on a clue, you can swap it out for an easier, non-cryptic alternative. ■ FACT OF THE DAY Curious facts to puzzle the mind! ■ MISSING LETTERS Solve the curious conundrum, reveal the word. Also look out for special timed events! Complete all the core challenges to earn the title of Crossword Superstar! + Solve all 100,000+ clues + Complete all 11,000+ puzzles + Collect all 45 trophies + Complete all 57 quests + Unlock all 10 achievements SUPPORT Please select the [HELP] option from the Pause Menu (the gear icon at the top-right of the game screen) if you require assistance. If you require further assistance or are unable to access the in-game help, you can contact us via email: support@puzzling.com Crossword is free to play, but contains optional paid items to unlock content more quickly. LATEST NEWS www.puzzling.com facebook.com/getpuzzling bsky.app/profile/puzzling.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Cryptic Crossword at none against Crossword's shown. Cryptic Crossword also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 69%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Crossword's advantage is ratings volume (43K vs 1.1K) and chart position (#167 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Cryptic Crossword sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Crossword sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Cryptic Crossword holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword has 43K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Cryptic Crossword's written reviews are positive against 69% of Crossword's.
Cryptic Crossword ships an update every 3 months, Crossword every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cryptic Crossword | Crossword |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.1K ratings) — better | 4.5 (43K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.6% of reviews — better | 69.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K | 43K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #167 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 484 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Teazel | AppyNation Ltd. |
Customer experience
Cryptic Crossword
Crossword
User reviews
Cryptic Crossword
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great mind workout
- 👍 Excellent value for money
- 👍 Fantastic and addictive challenges
- 👍 Not too hard not too easy
- 👍 Excellent intro to cryptic crosswords
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional freezing and crashing issues
- 🐛 Backup/restore not working
- 🐛 Purchased puzzles disappearing after device change
- 🔍 Clues can be too easy or too obscure
- 🔍 Too many anagrams and hidden word clues
Crossword
From 43K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Entertaining and user-friendly
- 🧠 Educational and practical
- 🤔 Challenging but not too difficult
- 🕰️ Good for passing time
Room to improve
- 💰 Tokens/coins required to play more puzzles
- 📺 Excessive ads that interrupt gameplay
- 🇬🇧 Some clues use British slang/terms
- 🔁 Repetitive use of same words in puzzles
Bugs and requests
Cryptic Crossword
Reported bugs
3 issues- Backup/restore not working
- Purchased puzzles disappearing after device change
- Freezing and crashing issues
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to reset/replay puzzles
- More challenging puzzle packs
- Explanations/hints for clues
- Syncing progress across devices
- Graded difficulty levels
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Dark mode option
- Ability to indicate wrong answers
Crossword
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes or freezes after updates
- Inconsistent behavior with token/coin rewards
- Clues/answers not matching properly
Requested features
4 requests- Allow exchanging coins for tokens
- Provide more tokens/coins for completing puzzles
- Add option to view past completed puzzles
- Improve navigation and reduce interruptions
In-app purchases
Cryptic Crossword
- Monthly$1.991 Month
- Yearly (best value)1 Year trial$12.991 Year
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 1)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 2)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 3)$0.99
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 4)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 5)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 6)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 8)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 9)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 10)$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords (Pack 7)$0.99
- pack (Pack 13 with 20 puzzles)$0.99
- pack (Pack 12 with 20 puzzles)$0.99
- get all 13 Cryptic packs$3.99
Crossword
- Coins Starter Pack$0.99
- Coin Doubler$0.99
- Remove Ads$0.99
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Tokens Starter Pack$0.99
- Coins Booster Pack$2.99
- Tokens Booster Pack$2.99
- Coins Super Pack$4.99
- Tokens Super Pack$4.99
- Coins Mega Pack$9.99
- Tokens Mega Pack$9.99
- Coins Ultra Pack$19.99
Questions
Is Cryptic Crossword free?
Is Crossword free?
Which has better reviews, Cryptic Crossword or Crossword?
Do Cryptic Crossword or Crossword have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cryptic Crossword or Crossword?
Other comparisons















