Cipher Challenge vs Cipher Grid
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cipher Challenge
Engage your mind with a variety of cipher decoding challenges. Practice different cipher types, track your progress, and compete with friends. Unlock quotes and sync your achievements across devices.
- Multiple cipher modes
- Letter frequency analysis
- Multiplayer competition
- Unlocked quote gallery
- Score history tracking
- iCloud sync across devices
- Hard mode challenge
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A cipher decoding game. Cipher modes: Aristocrat, Patristocrat, Caesar, Random substitution cipher, K1 cipher, K2 cipher Additional features: - See letter frequency table and cipher letter -> original letter mapping table - Share link or game id to friends and compete on the same puzzle - View all the unlocked quotes - See score history - Unlocked quotes and scores are sync'ed across iPhone, iPad and Mac computers through iCloud - Enable hard mode for a special challenge Also perfect for Science Olympiad (SciOly) Codebusters practice.
Cipher Grid
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A new secret message to crack. Every single day. Cipher Grid is a daily puzzle game where you decode real encrypted messages using actual historical ciphers. Each puzzle is a quote hidden behind a different code. Your job is to figure out the letters and reveal it. DAILY PUZZLE One new challenge every day. Each day uses a different cipher and difficulty, so no two days feel the same. 18 CIPHERS TO DECODE Caesar. Atbash. ROT13. Morse. Vigenère. Playfair. Semaphore. Maritime Flags. And more. Each one is a real encryption method used throughout history — from ancient scribes to World War spies to modern radio operators. LEARN AS YOU PLAY Built-in lessons explain every cipher from the ground up. No prior knowledge needed. Start as a complete beginner and work your way to mastering techniques used by real cryptographers. ENCRYPT AND DECRYPT A full toolkit covering 22 ciphers, free for everyone. Includes a working Enigma I simulator with configurable rotors, reflector, ring settings, and plugboard, plus the Hill matrix cipher. ZODIAC CHALLENGE A separate set of hand-picked puzzles to solve at your own pace. Free. PRO Unlock unlimited practice puzzles and Secure Message — public-key encrypted messages and photos that only the intended recipient can decrypt. Keys live on your device. Share the envelope as text or QR code, no servers involved. Every future feature added to the app is included. PRIVACY FIRST No accounts. No analytics. No tracking. No ads. Everything stays on your device. Available in English, French, German, Dutch, and Chinese. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://gist.github.com/ColdCompile/cf9b3ec7bc1f95c6379477e4bd097cf9
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cipher Challenge at none against Cipher Grid's 2. Cipher Grid's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Cipher Grid sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.90 per month. Cipher Challenge asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cipher Challenge ships an update every 5 weeks, Cipher Grid every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cipher Challenge | Cipher Grid |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bao Lei | Francois Van Malleghem |
In-app purchases
Cipher Challenge
No in-app purchases
Cipher Grid
- Cipher Grid Pro$0.901 Month
- Cipher Grid Pro$9.001 Year
Questions
Is Cipher Challenge free?
Is Cipher Grid free?
Do Cipher Challenge or Cipher Grid have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cipher Challenge or Cipher Grid?
Other comparisons
