# Red Herring vs Pixletters

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pixletters at none against Red Herring's 10. Pixletters also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). Red Herring's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 50%) and ratings volume (48K vs 202). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Red Herring sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Pixletters asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Red Herring against 4.7 for Pixletters. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Herring has 48K ratings behind it against 202, 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 50% of Pixletters's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Red Herring | Pixletters |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (48K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/red-herring/id663596265/reviews) | [4.7 (202 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixletters/id1659062471/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **48K** | 202 |
| Positive reviews | **75.6% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 84 MB | 57 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Blue Ox Family Games, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/288074001) | [Michal Gorny](https://appshunter.io/developer/1406776060) |

## What reviewers say

### Red Herring

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/red-herring/id663596265)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Curiosity - 50 Puzzles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Brilliant! - 50 Puzzles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Allegro - 50 Puzzles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Spelunking - 50 Puzzles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Renaissance - 50 Puzzles | $1.99 | one-time |
| IQ - 50 Puzzles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Serendipity - 50 Puzzles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Hints | $2.99 | one-time |
| Older Daily Puzzles 2014 Jul - Dec | $3.99 | one-time |
| Quantum Leap - 175 Puzzles | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### Pixletters

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixletters/id1659062471)

A word guessing game where players deduce a secret word using pixelated clues. Letters from attempted words are colored to indicate their presence in the secret word, challenging players to guess efficiently.

**Highlights:** Pixel clue word guessing, Color-coded letter feedback, Secret word deduction, Multiple attempts to guess, Challenging word puzzles

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Red Herring free?

Red Herring is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Pixletters free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Red Herring or Pixletters?

Red Herring and Pixletters are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 48K and 202 ratings respectively.

### Do Red Herring or Pixletters have ads?

Both Red Herring and Pixletters show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Red Herring or Pixletters?

Red Herring ships an update every 3 months, and Pixletters every 3 months. Most recently, Red Herring was updated on September 25, 2026 and Pixletters on August 17, 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.*