Comparison

Phantom Words vs Unlike

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

Head to head
About

Phantom Words

Unscramble letters by sliding rows and columns to form words. Discover hidden letters as you play, with increasing complexity and new mechanics introduced. Offers multiple game modes for varied challenges.

Highlights
  • Sliding row and column puzzles
  • Hidden letter discovery
  • Progressive difficulty
  • Multiple game modes (Classic, Endless, Daily, Lightning)
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Game Center leaderboards
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

We made Phantom Words for anyone who loves that small, satisfying moment when a jumble of letters suddenly turns into a word. Each board begins scrambled, with most of the letters hidden behind ghost tiles. Slide rows and columns like a 2D Rubik’s Cube, then look for words running across or down the board. Whenever you make one using a tile for the first time, another letter appears. Once every tile is used, the puzzle is complete. Longer words are worth more, while tiles lose value each time you use them. Yellow means a tile is nearly spent; red means you’ve leaned on it too often. Later boards introduce gaps that split rows and columns, multi-letter tiles that keep their letters together, wildcards that can stand in for any letter, and locked tiles that stay fixed until you use them in a word. And if a solution feels messy, you can always come back and find a more elegant one. There are four ways to play: • Classic has 99 handmade levels with increasing difficulty and evolving mechanics. • Endless starts small and procedurally grows while you play. • Daily Challenge gives everyone a new board each day, plus a streak to keep going. • Lightning Mode is the same word hunting, but against the clock. Classic, Endless, and Daily Challenge aren’t timed, so there’s no rush. You get a full score breakdown after each level and can replay it whenever you want. Your progress and settings sync across your devices with iCloud. There are also Game Center leaderboards if you care about high scores. We hope you enjoy discovering the words we’ve hidden for you.

About

Unlike

A logic puzzle game where you fill cells based on numerical clues about neighboring cell styles. Learn through interactive lessons and explore hundreds of levels with daily challenges. Save progress locally or sync with iCloud.

Highlights
  • Fill cells based on neighbor clues
  • Interactive learning lessons
  • 200+ difficulty-progression levels
  • Daily puzzles and free play
  • Undo, redo, and hint system
  • Customizable themes and accessibility options
  • Offline play and iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Fill every cell. Follow the clues. Find the solution. Unlike is a logic puzzle played with solid and outlined cells. Each number counts its neighbors with the opposite style. Only shared edges count: above, below, left and right. Gold-dot cells are already fixed; every other cell needs a style. LEARN BY PLAYING Four short lessons teach the rule through interactive examples. Open the playing guide during a puzzle, or use a hint to find a clue, understand the deduction and optionally place a cell. KEEP EXPLORING - A 200-level difficulty progression, with more puzzles beyond it. - Daily puzzles and free play at five difficulties. - Undo, redo and Check, plus optional live clue feedback. - Themes, larger tiles, high contrast and reduced motion options. - Choose your preferred language in the app. PROGRESS THAT STAYS WITH YOU Your unfinished puzzle saves on this device, including undo history. Completed levels and stars sync with iCloud when available. No Unlike account or registration is needed. Puzzles can be played offline. Ads may appear after campaign levels from level 4, and after Daily and Free Play puzzles. An optional one-time purchase removes ads in every mode. Additional themes are available individually or through Every Theme, which includes future paid themes. Existing Every Theme owners receive newly added paid themes without another purchase.

Screenshots

Phantom Words4 screens
Unlike4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Unlike at Free against Phantom Words's $2.99. Phantom Words's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (93% vs 75%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence 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

Unlike is free to download; Phantom Words costs $2.99 up front. Phantom Words sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Unlike sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Phantom Words against 4.9 for Unlike. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 33 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Phantom Words's written reviews are positive against 75% of Unlike's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phantom Words ships an update every 5 days, Unlike every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Phantom Words versus Unlike: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhantom WordsUnlike
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (22 ratings)4.9 (33 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.3% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2233 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#45 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size130 MB39 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperFleon LabsVinicios Cunha

Customer experience

Phantom Words

All ratings22 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive93.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative0.0%

Unlike

All ratings33 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Phantom Words

One-time3
  • Kind Supporter$2.49
  • Generous Supporter$4.99
  • Huge Supporter$9.99
8 purchases

Unlike

One-time8
  • Deep Forest Theme$0.99
  • Neon Arcade Theme$0.99
  • Blueprint Theme$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Ember Theme$0.99
  • Chalkboard Theme$0.99
  • Bubblegum Theme$0.99
  • Remove Ads$2.99
  • Every Theme$3.99

Questions

Is Phantom Words free?
Phantom Words costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Unlike free?
Unlike is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Phantom Words or Unlike?
Unlike is rated higher. Phantom Words averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Unlike averages 4.9 from 33 ratings.
Do Phantom Words or Unlike have ads?
Unlike shows ads; Phantom Words does not.
Which is updated more often, Phantom Words or Unlike?
Phantom Words ships an update every 5 days, and Unlike every 3 days. Most recently, Phantom Words was updated on October 19, 2026 and Unlike on October 8, 2026.

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