Comparison

Red Herring vs Knotwords

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

Head to head
About

Red Herring

This word puzzle game challenges you to group words into categories while identifying misleading "Red Herring" words. Enjoy a fun, challenging, and easy-to-learn experience with no time limits and three difficulty levels suitable for all ages.

Highlights
  • Group words into categories
  • Identify misleading "Red Herring" words
  • No time limit
  • Three difficulty levels
  • Daily puzzle
Features
Read full description

Red Herring is the word connections game. How to play: 1. Make the connections and group words into categories. 2. Look out for the Red Herrings, pesky words whose sole purpose is to mislead you. 3. Have fun making the connections! Red Herring is a FUN, CHALLENGING, and EASY TO LEARN word connections puzzle game. Each puzzle has only one correct solution and there's no time limit. Three difficulty levels make it suitable for the whole family. Don't say we didn't warn you if you can't stop playing. Give Red Herring a try today! From the creators of 7 Little Words and Moxie. ----- Red Herring contains 25 puzzles and a daily puzzle that you can play for free. Additional puzzles are available for purchase inside the app.

About

Knotwords

A daily word puzzle game that challenges you to arrange letters into valid words across and down. Its minimal design and intuitive progression make it an engaging and accessible brain teaser.

Highlights
  • Minimalist and elegant design
  • Logic-based word puzzles
  • Daily challenges
  • Intuitive progression system
  • Valid word arrangement
Features
Read full description

Knotwords is a minimal and elegant logic puzzle — with words. The rules are simple: arrange the letters in each section so every word is valid, across and down. Each puzzle may seem difficult at first — but like all my favorite newspaper puzzles, it gets easier as you progress. Each step guides you naturally towards the solution. This is the kind of game I've been trying to make my whole career — I'm amazed Jack and I discovered this design. We hope you like it. -- Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Red Herring3 screens
Knotwords4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Knotwords at none against Red Herring's shown. Knotwords also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (13.6 vs 16.6). Red Herring's advantage is ratings volume (48K vs 8.1K). On price, rating, review sentiment 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

Both are free to download. Red Herring sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Knotwords sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Red Herring against 4.8 for Knotwords. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Herring has 48K ratings behind it against 8.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Red Herring's written reviews are positive against 73% of Knotwords's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Red Herring ships an update every 3 months, Knotwords every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Red Herring versus Knotwords: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRed HerringKnotwords
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (48K ratings)4.8 (8.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.6% of reviews — better73.1% of reviews
Number of ratings48K — better8.1K
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.613.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB507 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlue Ox Family Games, Inc.Zach Gage

Customer experience

Red Herring

All ratings47,841 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews324 reviews
Positive75.6%
Neutral12.7%
Negative11.7%

Knotwords

All ratings8,097 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews290 reviews
Positive73.1%
Neutral13.4%
Negative13.4%

User reviews

Red Herring

From 48K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤔 Challenging and thought-provoking
  • 🧠 Exercises the mind
  • ⏰ Good time-passer
  • 🎮 Fun and addictive game
  • 🎓 Educational and expands vocabulary

Room to improve

  • 🇺🇸 Too American-centric
  • 💰 Expensive paid content
  • 🚫 Limited free content
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Obscure references and categories

Knotwords

From 8.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Fun and challenging
  • 🚀 Simple but engaging
  • 👍 Unique concept
  • 👍 Addictive

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Buggy cursor/input issues
  • 🐛 Slow performance
  • 🐛 Questionable word choices
  • 🔋 Battery drain

Bugs and requests

Red Herring

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Formatting issues after updates
  • Inability to access previous daily puzzles
  • Ads that cannot be dismissed

Requested features

5 requests
  • More free daily puzzles
  • Less American-focused content
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to replay past puzzles
  • Hints system improvements

Knotwords

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzles with missing/incorrect squares
  • Incorrect words being accepted
  • Puzzles not properly credited as completed
  • Hints not matching the correct answers

Requested features

9 requests
  • Ability to turn off haptic feedback
  • Improved cursor/input behavior
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Difficulty settings
  • Ability to see definitions of completed words
Show 4 more
  • Restart button for puzzles
  • Customizable themes
  • Daily leaderboards
  • Ability to disable hints once used

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Red Herring

One-time10
  • Curiosity - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Brilliant! - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Allegro - 50 Puzzles$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Spelunking - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Renaissance - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • IQ - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Serendipity - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Unlimited Hints$2.99
  • Older Daily Puzzles 2014 Jul - Dec$3.99
  • Quantum Leap - 175 Puzzles$4.99
2 purchases

Knotwords

Subscriptions1
  • Knotwords Pro subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Full Game$11.99

Questions

Is Red Herring free?
Red Herring is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Knotwords free?
Knotwords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Red Herring or Knotwords?
Knotwords is rated higher. Red Herring averages 4.7 out of 5 from 48K ratings, while Knotwords averages 4.8 from 8.1K ratings.
Do Red Herring or Knotwords have ads?
Red Herring shows ads; Knotwords does not.
Which is updated more often, Red Herring or Knotwords?
Red Herring ships an update every 3 months, and Knotwords every 10 days. Most recently, Red Herring was updated on September 24, 2026 and Knotwords on September 24, 2026.

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