Comparison

Word Nice vs Starlift

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

Head to head
About

Word Nice

A relaxing word puzzle game where you connect letters to form words. The goal is to use every letter on the board to complete a "thank-you note." Enjoy a pressure-free experience with no timers or scores.

Highlights
  • Connect letters to form words
  • Use every letter on the board
  • No timer, score, or pressure
  • Handcrafted word families
  • Progress saved to iCloud
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

Word Nice is a calm word puzzle where every letter gets a turn. Swipe across neighboring letters to make words. Every letter you use starts smiling. When nobody is left out, the family rearranges itself into a thank-you note, spelled only with the letters on the board. • Leave no letter out. A family is done when every letter has been in at least one word • Smiles stay useful. Happy letters can keep helping to reach the shy ones • No timer, no score, no pressure. Hints are free • A hundred handcrafted families, each with a number it keeps for good, so you can tell a friend "try Family 42" • Every thank-you note goes in your book of notes, and any celebration can be replayed • iCloud carries your progress to your other devices Prefer tapping to swiping? Turn on Tap letters to spell. Works with VoiceOver, larger text, and Reduce Motion. Got an iPhone Duo? Nothing sits in the fold, and the letters have a little surprise for when you close it. No ads. No accounts. No tracking. No internet required. Just a very pleased otter.

About

Starlift

A fast-paced puzzle game where matching three blocks ignites them and launches everything above. Explore eleven unique worlds with different gravity mechanics and challenge yourself in various game modes.

Highlights
  • Unique gravity mechanics per world
  • Branching star chart Voyage mode
  • Multiple game modes: Endless, Time Attack, Versus, Royale
  • Online multiplayer and daily challenges
  • One-handed portrait gameplay
  • No ads or account required for solo play
Features
Read full description

Blocks rain down. Line up three and they don't disappear: they ignite, and everything stacked on top lifts off with them. Starlift is a fast portrait puzzle game built for thumbs. Drag blocks up and down their columns, light a row or a column, and ride the stack into orbit. Too heavy to fly? Match again in mid-air and boost it the rest of the way. ELEVEN WORLDS, ELEVEN KINDS OF GRAVITY Every planet plays differently. Halcyon is balanced. Brine is slow and floaty. Cinder is heavy and rewards columns. On Aerie only chained ignitions launch anything, on Ferrum stacks hop instead of float, on Vesper rows fly and columns fizzle, and on Bazaar it rains items. Win new worlds as you fly the Voyage. VOYAGE Follow the rain to its source across a branching star chart. Each world has a keeper with a health bar and a signature attack: slabs of slag, belt rocks, a shield that only one big lift can break. What you launch is the damage. Three acts, a finale against the Rainmaker, and three endings that depend on the routes you fly. MODES • Endless: the rain speeds up until you are overrun. • Time Attack: two minutes, highest score. • Versus: a computer rival at three difficulties. • Royale: last world standing against seven rivals. Tap a rival's field to aim your launches. • Daily Launch: one run that is identical for every player that day, with a global board. • Online: Quick Match drops you into a Royale for up to eight in seconds, or play friends by room code in a 1v1 duel or a Royale. Computer players fill the empty seats. ITEMS Bombs, boosters, drills and prisms fall with the blocks. Tap one to light its fuse. MADE FOR THE PHONE • One-handed portrait play with big blocks, and two-thumb dragging if you want it. • Every block type has its own shape as well as its own colour. • A hands-on tutorial that teaches by doing. • Sound, music, haptics and reduced flashing each have their own switch. • No ads. No account. Solo play works offline. FREE TO START Play free: two worlds in Endless and Time Attack, the opening of the Voyage, one Daily Launch run and three online Quick Matches a day, and joining friends' rooms. One purchase unlocks the full game: nine more worlds, Versus and Royale against the computer, the whole Voyage, unlimited Quick Match, three Daily Launch runs a day, and hosting rooms for friends. No subscription. PRICE AND TERMS Starlift is free to download. The full game is a single in-app purchase of $4.99 (USD; the price may differ in other countries). You pay once and keep it. There is no subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://starlift.banjtheman.xyz/privacy/

Screenshots

Word Nice4 screens
Starlift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Word Nice at none against Starlift's 1. Word Nice also leads on ratings volume (12 vs 4). Starlift's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Starlift sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Word Nice asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Word Nice against 5.0 for Starlift. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Word Nice ships an update every 3 days, Starlift every 2 days. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Word Nice versus Starlift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWord NiceStarlift
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (12 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB114 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlan BrooksBanjo Obayomi

Customer experience

Word Nice

All ratings12 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Starlift

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Word Nice

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Starlift

One-time1
  • Full Game$4.99

Questions

Is Word Nice free?
Word Nice is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Starlift free?
Starlift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Word Nice or Starlift?
Word Nice and Starlift are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 12 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do Word Nice or Starlift have ads?
Neither Word Nice nor Starlift shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Word Nice or Starlift?
Word Nice ships an update every 3 days, and Starlift every 2 days. Most recently, Word Nice was updated on November 6, 2026 and Starlift on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons