Crossword US vs Times Puzzles
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Crossword US
Enjoy over 540 professional US-style crossword puzzles designed for casual play. This app offers a clean, ad-free experience with features like pinch zooming and landscape mode, perfect for improving your word power during short breaks.
- 540+ US-style crossword puzzles
- 27 free puzzles included
- No ads
- Pinch zooming grid
- Landscape mode with clue list
- Cheats and answer checking
- Resume button
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A new US-style crossword puzzle every day, plus 540+ archive puzzles for your coffee break. DAILY PUZZLES A brand new crossword published every day. Build a streak by playing daily, earn coins, and unlock puzzles at your own pace. Up to four weeks of daily puzzles are available to catch up on. 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 puzzles and reveals, or watch short ads for extra coins. SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS Unlock all daily puzzles and free reveals with a monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription. No coins needed — just solve. 540+ ARCHIVE PUZZLES Professional US-style crosswords suitable for all levels. Great for a quick coffee break or a longer session. FEATURES • A fresh puzzle every day • Hundreds of archive puzzles • Daily streaks and coin rewards • US style - no hanging letters, like all good newspaper crosswords • Great for both iPads and iPhones • Answer checking and reveals • Pinch zooming grid • Landscape mode with clue list • Backup and restore across devices The Terms of Use (EULA) can be found here: https://www.teazel.com/crossword_us_terms/ios_terms_en.html
Times Puzzles
Engage your mind with a daily collection of renowned crosswords and logic puzzles. Access a vast archive and enjoy a variety of challenges on the go, anytime and anywhere. Perfect for puzzle enthusiasts seeking a mental workout.
- Daily crosswords and logic puzzles
- Two-week puzzle archive
- Play anywhere, anytime
- Concise, Cryptic, Quick Cryptic crosswords
- Sudoku, Killer Sudoku, Futoshiki, Kakuro
- Brain Trainer and Cell Blocks puzzles
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Updated app store description: Are you a crossword obsessive? Or are you just looking for a daily brain boost? Solve the world-renowned Times Crossword, Sudoku and other puzzles with the new puzzle app from The Times and The Sunday Times. Access hundreds of crosswords and puzzles in our two-week archive, and tackle all the latest puzzles to give your mind a real workout. The app enables you to take on and play our puzzles in one place and on the go, allowing you to play anywhere and at any time. Available puzzles: All Times and Sunday Times crosswords, including: Concise Cryptic Quick Cryptic Jumbo General Knowledge Other puzzles include: Sudoku, Killer Sudoku, Futoshiki, Kakuro, KenKen, Lexica, Polygon, Quintagram, Set Square, Suko, Codeword, Brain Trainer and Cell Blocks How do I access The Times Puzzles? The app is free to download and can be read in one of the following ways: - Monthly in-app subscription to The Times Puzzles - Existing members with a Digital subscription can log-in using their The Times & The Sunday Times username and password Please note: - Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase - Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - You can manage your subscription and switch off the auto-renewal by accessing your Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable - Free trial offer is for new customers only. - At the end of the free trial offer, you will be charged to your iTunes account automatically unless auto-renew is disabled at least 24 hours before that time. - You can cancel anytime. Cancellation goes into effect at the start of your following billing cycle. - A subscription to Times Puzzles does not include access to any other Times Newspapers Limited products, including but not limited to www.thetimes.co.uk, mobile news content and other apps on non-iOS devices. Full T&Cs can be found at http://www.thetimes.co.uk/static/puzzles-app-terms-and-conditions/ We value your opinion and feedback. Our readers’ views are central to ongoing development and improvements. You can send feedback to us directly by visiting: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/help
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Crossword US at 76% against Times Puzzles's 12%. Crossword US also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.8) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Crossword US sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Times Puzzles sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Crossword US holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword US has 1.5K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Crossword US's written reviews are positive against 12% of Times Puzzles's.
Crossword US ships an update every 5 months, Times Puzzles every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Crossword US | Times Puzzles |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better | 2.8 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.5% of reviews — better | 12.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Teazel | Times Media Limited (Apps) |
Customer experience
Crossword US
Times Puzzles
User reviews
Crossword US
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Consistent and reliable
- 👍 Challenging puzzles
- 👍 Good for learning new words
- 👍 Enjoyable and soothing
Room to improve
- 🐛 Vague or nonsensical clues
- 🐛 Incorrect or misspelled answers
- 🐛 Awkward navigation between horizontal and vertical answers
- 🐛 Puzzles not tailored for American English
- 🐛 Repetitive words and answers across puzzles
Times Puzzles
From 5 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Enjoyable puzzles
- 💡 Convenient to have puzzles in one place
- 👍 Good value for money
Room to improve
- 🐛 Puzzles not saving progress
- 🐛 Puzzles not marking as completed
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Notifications and settings issues
- 🐛 Keyboard problems and poor usability
Bugs and requests
Crossword US
Reported bugs
3 issues- Puzzles not registering as completed
- Backup feature crashing the app
- Bluetooth keyboard support removed in recent update
Requested features
5 requests- More puzzle packs and difficulty levels
- Option to reset or redo completed puzzles
- Ability to turn off on-screen keyboard when using external keyboard
- Categorization of puzzles by topic or difficulty
- Ability to track completed puzzles
Times Puzzles
Reported bugs
6 issues- Puzzles not saving progress
- Puzzles not marking as completed
- Crashes and freezes
- Notifications and settings issues
- Keyboard problems and poor usability
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Puzzles not loading or disappearing
Requested features
5 requests- Add Codeword puzzle
- Improve Sudoku interface
- Add ability to print puzzles
- Sync progress across devices
- Provide more puzzle types
In-app purchases
Crossword US
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 1)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 2)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 3)$0.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 4)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 5)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 6)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 7)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 8)$0.99
- pack of Crosswords (Pack 9)$0.99
- full set of Crossword US packs$2.99
Times Puzzles
- 7 day trial then monthly fee7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- 7 day trial then monthly fee7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- 7 day trial then monthly fee7 Days trial$6.991 Month
Questions
Is Crossword US free?
Is Times Puzzles free?
Which has better reviews, Crossword US or Times Puzzles?
Do Crossword US or Times Puzzles have ads?
Which is updated more often, Crossword US or Times Puzzles?
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