# Colorwood Words vs Decoding Word Puzzle

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Decoding Word Puzzle at none against Colorwood Words's 24. Decoding Word Puzzle also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). Colorwood Words's advantage is review sentiment (36% vs 27%). On price, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Colorwood Words sells 20 one-off in-app purchases. Decoding Word Puzzle asks for nothing beyond the download.

Decoding Word Puzzle holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26K and 11K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Colorwood Words's written reviews are positive against 27% of Decoding Word Puzzle's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Colorwood Words ships an update every 3 weeks, Decoding Word Puzzle daily. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Colorwood Words | Decoding Word Puzzle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (26K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/colorwood-words-cryptogram/id6738347014/reviews) | **[4.9 (11K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/decoding-word-puzzle/id6747968388/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **26K** | 11K |
| Positive reviews | **35.5% of reviews** | 26.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 391 MB | 255 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Burny Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/1648482789) | [Peace Word Studio](https://appshunter.io/developer/1787839993) |

## What reviewers say

### Colorwood Words

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/colorwood-words-cryptogram/id6738347014)

Engage your senses with this word puzzle game that uses haptic feedback to make discovering words a tactile experience. Enjoy visually relaxing wooden aesthetics, daily challenges, and vocabulary expansion. It's a unique sensory twist on cryptogram-style word puzzles.

**Highlights:** Haptic feedback for tactile gameplay, Cryptogram-style word decoding, Vocabulary expansion, Stunning wooden aesthetics, Daily rewards and new puzzles, Animated achievements

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

**In-app purchases (20)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Frame lifebuoi | $0.99 | one-time |
| Frame cat | $0.99 | one-time |
| Frame summer | $0.99 | one-time |
| No ads day | $0.99 | one-time |
| Paper clip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Character Paper clip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Small hints pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| No Ads Timer | $2.99 | one-time |
| Holiday Halloween Lastcall | $2.99 | one-time |
| Holiday Halloween Start | $2.99 | one-time |
| Medium hints pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Holiday Halloween Basic | $5.99 | one-time |
| No Ads Timed | $5.99 | one-time |
| No ads | $7.99 | one-time |
| No Ads Time Month | $9.99 | one-time |
| Big hints pack | $11.99 | one-time |
| No Ads Month | $11.99 | one-time |
| Huge hints pack | $19.99 | one-time |
| Great hints pack | $24.99 | one-time |
| Immense hints pack | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Fun and entertaining game
- 💡 Interesting quotes and puzzles
- 🚀 Engaging gameplay

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Ads are too frequent and disruptive
- 💡 Wish letters would auto-fill in the puzzle

**Reported bugs**

- Gameplay feels backwards
- Compatibility issues with older devices

**Requested features**

- Option to skip tutorial
- Ability to fill in known letters automatically


### Decoding Word Puzzle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/decoding-word-puzzle/id6747968388)

Engage your mind with a word puzzle game featuring quotes from famous figures, literature, and movies. Solve creatively designed levels with hints and letter matching, enhanced by beautiful hand-drawn art and an unfolding narrative.

**Highlights:** Quote-based puzzles, Word creation and letter matching, Contextual hints, Hand-drawn artwork, Narrative mode, Daily challenges

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 Relaxing and mentally challenging
- 👍 Fun and enjoyable game

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔥 Overloaded with ads
- 🐛 Buggy and unresponsive touch interface
- 🔋 Poor performance and battery drain

**Reported bugs**

- Forced to restart from beginning after update
- Frequent crashes and freezes

**Requested features**

- More puzzle content
- Option to disable ads


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Colorwood Words free?

Colorwood Words is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Decoding Word Puzzle free?

Decoding Word Puzzle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Colorwood Words or Decoding Word Puzzle?

Decoding Word Puzzle is rated higher. Colorwood Words averages 4.6 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while Decoding Word Puzzle averages 4.9 from 11K ratings.

### Do Colorwood Words or Decoding Word Puzzle have ads?

Colorwood Words shows ads; Decoding Word Puzzle does not.

### Which is updated more often, Colorwood Words or Decoding Word Puzzle?

Colorwood Words ships an update every 3 weeks, and Decoding Word Puzzle daily. Most recently, Colorwood Words was updated on September 25, 2026 and Decoding Word Puzzle on September 24, 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.*