Comparison

Phantom Words vs Word!

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

Word!

Features
Read full description

Word! I give you my word: the funnest word game in the world. Tiles keep droppin', your rack's gettin' packed — spell 'em fast, fam, no lookin' back. Longer words? Bigger score. Chain a combo, you'll want more. Unlock a Joker and bend the rules — it's basically cheating, but it's cool. Duel your bestie, real time, no wait — every word you spell drops tiles on their plate. Wanna chill? Go Zen. No clock, no rush — just you, some tiles, and a whole lotta hush. Free to play. No ads. No fuss. Tap Get. You're one of us. Word!

Screenshots

Phantom Words4 screens
Word!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Word! at Free against Phantom Words's $2.99. Phantom Words's advantage is chart position (#28 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Word! is free to download; Phantom Words costs $2.99 up front. Phantom Words sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Word! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phantom Words ships an update every 5 days, Word! every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Phantom Words versus Word!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhantom WordsWord!
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (22 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews93.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#28 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB92 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperFleon LabsSEE WOON

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Phantom Words

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

Word!

One-time2
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Unlock All Themes$1.99

Questions

Is Phantom Words free?
Phantom Words costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Word! free?
Word! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Phantom Words or Word! have ads?
Neither Phantom Words nor Word! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phantom Words or Word!?
Phantom Words ships an update every 5 days, and Word! every 8 days. Most recently, Phantom Words was updated on October 29, 2026 and Word! on October 24, 2026.

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