Comparison

Puzzle Sidekick vs SFPL

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

Head to head
About

Puzzle Sidekick

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools, reference materials, and links for puzzle enthusiasts. It includes various decoders, timers, and extensive lists of codes, ciphers, and common data for solving complex puzzles and games.

Highlights
  • Codebreaking tools (ROT-N, Vigenere, Substitution)
  • Character encoding references (Morse, Semaphore, Braille)
  • Word pattern matching dictionary
  • Countdown timer prediction
  • Color mixer and password generator
  • Extensive reference lists (constants, periodic table, zodiac)
Features
Read full description

Puzzle Sidekick is a set of tools, reference material, and links for anyone who plays The Game, solves puzzle hunts, plays Alternate Reality Games, participates in transmedia storytelling, or solves puzzle trails. The tools range from decoder-ring style codebreaking to countdown timer prediction. The reference material includes word frequency, morse code, semaphore, and more. *NOTE* This application is for iOS 7 only. If you are stuck on an earlier version of iOS, you can still use the “ARG Tools” app. Included in this package are: • Dictionary:   ◦ Search for words matching patterns (e.g. all possible crossword answers) • Encoding/Decoding:   ◦ ROT-N (from 1 to 26, including ROT-13)   ◦ BASE64   ◦ Vigenere / Beaufort   ◦ Transposition   ◦ Substitution • Character Encodings   ◦ Baudot Code   ◦ Braille   ◦ Fingerspelling   ◦ Letters to numbers (1..26) and ASCII   ◦ Nautical Flags   ◦ Moon Alphabet   ◦ Morse Code (two representations)   ◦ Myst D'ni Glyphs   ◦ Phonetic alphabet   ◦ Pigpen Cipher (two representations)   ◦ Roman Numerals   ◦ Semaphore (two representations) • Tools and Reference   ◦ Telephone digits to letters (2=ABC, 3=DEF, etc.), optionally constrained by dictionary words. 228 becomes ACT, BAT, and CAT   ◦ A red/green/blue color mixer with hex and decimal values   ◦ A list of common English words, letters, letter pairs   ◦ Billiard ball colors   ◦ Books of the Bible   ◦ Countdown timer prediction   ◦ Dart board scoring   ◦ Dewey Decimal System   ◦ ISO Country Codes   ◦ Mathematical Constants, Prime Numbers   ◦ Music Notes and their Frequencies   ◦ Password Generator   ◦ Periodic Table   ◦ Planets   ◦ Resistor Color Codes   ◦ Ring Sizes   ◦ Zodiac, Chinese Zodiac   ◦ Quick access to Google, Wikipedia, Sudoku Step-Solving, Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences The design goals of this application include: • Easy to use in the field • Small enough to be downloadable over the air so you can quickly obtain it without WiFi access • Free-as-in-beer!

About

SFPL

Access your local library's catalog from your mobile device. Browse new releases, manage holds, renew borrowed items, and discover upcoming events. Plan your library visits with ease, all from your pocket.

Highlights
  • Browse new titles and recommendations
  • Place and manage holds
  • Renew checked out materials
  • Plan library visits
  • See upcoming events
Features
Read full description

San Francisco Public Library in your pocket. Browse new titles and recommendations curated by your library staff, place and manage holds, renew checked out materials, plan your visit and see upcoming events, anytime and anywhere.

Screenshots

Puzzle Sidekick4 screens
SFPL4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Puzzle Sidekick at 100% against SFPL's 29%. Puzzle Sidekick also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). SFPL's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 20 months). On price, ratings volume, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Puzzle Sidekick holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 109 and 50 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Puzzle Sidekick's written reviews are positive against 29% of SFPL's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puzzle Sidekick ships an update every 20 months, SFPL every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Puzzle Sidekick versus SFPL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuzzle SidekickSFPL
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (109 ratings) — better4.0 (50 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings109 — better50
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNetninja.comSan Francisco Public Library

Customer experience

Puzzle Sidekick

All ratings109 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral0.9%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SFPL

All ratings50 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative22.0%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral11.9%
Negative59.5%

In-app purchases

None

Puzzle Sidekick

No in-app purchases

None

SFPL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puzzle Sidekick free?
Puzzle Sidekick is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SFPL free?
SFPL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puzzle Sidekick or SFPL?
Puzzle Sidekick is rated higher. Puzzle Sidekick averages 4.9 out of 5 from 109 ratings, while SFPL averages 4.0 from 50 ratings.
Do Puzzle Sidekick or SFPL have ads?
Neither Puzzle Sidekick nor SFPL shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puzzle Sidekick or SFPL?
Puzzle Sidekick ships an update every 20 months, and SFPL every 4 months. Most recently, Puzzle Sidekick was updated on September 23, 2026 and SFPL on September 8, 2026.

Other comparisons