Comparison

Sudoku Haven vs Lockstep

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

Head to head
About

Sudoku Haven

Enjoy a peaceful Sudoku experience with over 450,000 hand-graded puzzles, daily challenges, and 20 calming themes. Play offline with smart hints, built-in trainers, and progress tracking. Optional purchase removes ads and unlocks all features.

Highlights
  • 450,000+ hand-graded puzzles
  • Daily Challenge mode
  • 20 quiet themes
  • Offline play
  • Smart hints and trainers
  • Progress tracking and stats
  • Apple Watch and iMessage integration
Features
Read full description

Sudoku Haven is a calmer way to play Sudoku — 450,000+ hand-graded puzzles, a daily challenge, and 20 quiet themes, free and offline. It's a quiet place for your mind on iPhone and iPad, too: soft light, unhurried numbers, and room to breathe between moves. Every puzzle is hand-graded across five difficulties, from gentle Beginner grids to genuinely challenging Extreme. Play a fresh Daily Challenge every day, return to any puzzle in the archive, or generate endless random puzzles whenever you like. Everything is built to keep you in flow: • Smart hints that nudge you forward instead of handing you the answer • Notes, auto-candidates, and gentle highlighting that make tough puzzles approachable • Built-in trainers that teach real solving techniques — hidden singles, naked pairs, X-Wing, and more • 20 hand-tuned themes, light and dark — make the board truly yours • Stats, streaks, and stars that quietly track your progress • A relaxing brain workout you can play offline, with soothing music and soft sound No clutter, no pressure — just you and the next square. Sudoku Haven goes everywhere you do. Glance at the daily puzzle and your streak on your Apple Watch, and challenge a friend to a board right inside iMessage. Compare solve times on Game Center leaderboards, earn achievements, and keep everything in sync across iPhone and iPad with iCloud. A friendly head-to-head multiplayer mode is in mind, too — and the more players who find the Haven, the sooner it arrives. Free to play, with one optional purchase that removes ads and opens up everything. Find your calm and start solving.

About

Lockstep

Features
Read full description

Lockstep: Bead Puzzle is a calm game about moving everything at once. Swipe, and every bead on the board takes one step in that direction. A bead stops when a wall, the edge or another bead is in the way, and that's how you pull them apart. Get each bead onto its matching ring. • Hand-made cards from Beginner to Expert, each checked by a solver. Par is the fewest swipes possible; match it for three stars. • A Daily card, the same for everyone, with a streak to keep. Send it to a friend: they can play it straight from the link, even without the app. • Endless run: puzzles get harder, and swipes over par spend your spares. • Shuffle: a fresh puzzle at any difficulty, whenever you want one. • Arrows, holes, and a secret deck for those who clear every Expert card. • Hints that point the way without giving it away. • Plays on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch, with progress synced through iCloud. • Game Center leaderboards and achievements. Free to play: the Daily card, the Beginner and Intermediate cards, and Beginner Shuffle. Lockstep Complete, a one-time purchase, unlocks Advanced and Expert cards, the secret deck, Endless and every Shuffle level, on all your devices and for your family. Try today's card free in your browser at lockstepgame.com. No ads. No tracking. No subscription.

Screenshots

Sudoku Haven4 screens
Lockstep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Lockstep at none against Sudoku Haven's shown. Lockstep also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 10 days). Sudoku Haven's advantage is device support (6 vs 4). On price, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Sudoku Haven sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Lockstep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sudoku Haven ships an update every 10 days, Lockstep daily. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sudoku Haven versus Lockstep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSudoku HavenLockstep
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size193 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperEmu WTFRetra LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sudoku Haven

One-time1
  • Premium Unlock$2.99
1 purchases

Lockstep

One-time1
  • Lockstep Complete$4.99

Questions

Is Sudoku Haven free?
Sudoku Haven is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lockstep free?
Lockstep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sudoku Haven or Lockstep have ads?
Sudoku Haven shows ads; Lockstep does not.
Which is updated more often, Sudoku Haven or Lockstep?
Sudoku Haven ships an update every 10 days, and Lockstep daily. Most recently, Sudoku Haven was updated on October 31, 2026 and Lockstep on October 31, 2026.

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