Comparison

Crossword US vs Times Puzzles

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

Crossword US4 screens
Times Puzzles4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Crossword US versus Times Puzzles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword USTimes Puzzles
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better2.8 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews76.5% of reviews — better12.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB64 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTeazelTimes Media Limited (Apps)

Customer experience

Crossword US

All ratings1,467 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral5.7%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews68 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral13.2%
Negative10.3%

Times Puzzles

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral40.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews156 reviews
Positive12.2%
Neutral17.3%
Negative70.5%

User reviews

Crossword US

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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 more
  • 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

10 purchases

Crossword US

One-time10
  • pack of Crosswords (Pack 1)$0.99
  • pack of Crosswords (Pack 2)$0.99
  • pack of Crosswords (Pack 3)$0.99
Show 7 more
  • 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
3 purchases

Times Puzzles

Subscriptions3
  • 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?
Crossword US is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Times Puzzles free?
Times Puzzles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crossword US or Times Puzzles?
Crossword US is rated higher. Crossword US averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Times Puzzles averages 2.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Crossword US or Times Puzzles have ads?
Neither Crossword US nor Times Puzzles shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword US or Times Puzzles?
Crossword US ships an update every 5 months, and Times Puzzles every 3 months. Most recently, Crossword US was updated on November 6, 2026 and Times Puzzles on November 7, 2026.

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