WordMatrix vs Wordslay
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WordMatrix
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Word Matrix is a fresh twist on classic word puzzles—blending the satisfaction of daily word challenges with the depth of a crossword. Each puzzle drops you into a clean grid of intersecting words. Some letters are revealed, others are waiting to be uncovered. Guess words and watch the entire matrix come alive as correct answers unlock new guesses across the board!
Wordslay
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Wordslay is three word puzzles and six ways to play them, with a new board of each every day. Seven letters on a ring, twenty tiles that join into words, and twelve letters around a square. Free to play, no account, everything on your device. THE DAILY RACK • Seven letters, the same for everyone. Drag across the tiles to spell, let go to send. Find the word that uses all seven and the whole rack lights up. • The words you are expected to find are laid out as slots by length, so you always know what is left. • Five tiers as you go: Warming up, Cooking, Lowkey cracked, Sheesh, Goated. Reach halfway and the day counts toward your streak. • A week card adds up your dailies, Monday to Sunday. • Share a spoiler-free card: the tier, the bar, the streak, never the letters. FRAGMENTS • Twenty tiles, each a chunk of a word. Tap tiles to join them and send. • Five of the day's words use exactly four tiles each. Those five are the board, shown as dots until you find them. • Every tile stays on the board for the next word, and anything else the dictionary knows counts as a bonus. • Stuck? A hint opens the first letter of one of the five. CHAIN • Twelve letters around a square, three to a side. Two letters in a row never come from the same side. • Every word after the first starts on the letter the last one ended with, and that letter is already picked for you. • Light all twelve to clear the board. Clear it in fewer words than par and you score more. • Stuck? A hint opens one letter more of a word that works than you have already typed. RUSH, DUEL AND CHILL • Rush: ninety seconds, one rack, a combo that climbs to x3 when your finds come fast. Best score and recent runs are kept. • Duel: send a seven-letter code and a friend gets your exact rack and ninety seconds. Their result comes back as won, tied or held. • Chill: a fresh rack with no clock, for the bus. DETAILS • A streak for each game, and a sweep badge on the day you finish all three. • Slang counts. Words like rizz, bussin and delulu earn a bonus, and you can switch them off for dictionary words only. • Tap any word you found for its definition, straight from the built-in dictionary. • A hint in every game but Rush and Duel, each for the same few points. On a rack it opens the first letter of a word you are missing. • An archive of past days for all three games, as practice. The last seven days are open to everyone, and a practice day never touches a streak. • Sound, haptics, a widget you can set to all three games or any one, an optional streak reminder, light and dark. • Start any game without opening the app: ask Siri, tap a Control Center button, use it from the Lock Screen or the Action button, or find it in Spotlight. All three are Shortcuts actions. • Game Center leaderboards, achievements and friend challenges on Rush or any daily, where only today's board counts. The dailies also open in Apple's Games app. • Works on iPhone and iPad. Every tile and control has a VoiceOver label, and every screen holds its shape at the largest accessibility text sizes. FREE, WITH ADS Wordslay is free to play with a small banner under the board, an ad now and then between rounds, and a short video you can choose to watch for a free hint in any game that has one. PLUS AND AD-FREE Wordslay Plus removes every ad, makes hints free in every game that has them, unlocks eight word craft lessons, and opens the whole archive back to the first daily: USD 9.99 per year or USD 1.99 per month. Ad-Free removes the ads only: USD 2.99 per year. Your local price is shown in the App Store. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. A subscription renews automatically for the same period unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel it any time in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://marsstudio.app/wordslay/terms Privacy Policy: https://marsstudio.app/wordslay/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: WordMatrix at none against Wordslay's shown. Wordslay's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. WordMatrix sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Wordslay sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
WordMatrix ships an update every 4 days, Wordslay daily. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WordMatrix | Wordslay |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thomas McPherson | Atchutarao Killamsetty |
In-app purchases
WordMatrix
- WordMatrix Pro$1.99
Wordslay
- Plus Monthly$1.991 Month
- Ad-Free Yearly$2.991 Year
- Plus Yearly$9.991 Year
Questions
Is WordMatrix free?
Is Wordslay free?
Do WordMatrix or Wordslay have ads?
Which is updated more often, WordMatrix or Wordslay?
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