Crosswords vs Crossword+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Crosswords
Engage with daily crossword puzzles from various newspapers, offering hints, clue lookups, and progress tracking. Upgrade for automatic puzzle delivery, access to extensive archives, and a wider selection of premium puzzle sources.
- Daily newspaper crossword puzzles
- Hints and clue lookups
- Progress tracking
- US and UK cryptic puzzles
- Automatic puzzle downloads
- Access to extensive puzzle archives
- Comparison with other solvers
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"… the definitive source for puzzles for iOS…" -- the New York Times Play the Award Winning Crosswords on your iPad or iPhone, optimized for iOS 12! Each day many newspapers provide their crossword puzzles online; wake up each day to new puzzles, solve them, get hints, view clues, and track how quickly you're improving! • Touch and hold a square to view hints • US and UK Cryptic puzzles available • Hints, Websites, and Clue lookups • Enter answers in 'ink' or 'pencil' • Quickly see your recently played, or sort by date, difficulty or source • Detailed info on each puzzle • Post your solve times online and compare with other solvers After upgrading, you can also: • Automatically get new puzzles every day • Access nearly unlimited puzzles from many different sources • Grab older puzzles with a tap • Download new puzzles automatically in the background Upgraded Puzzle Sources: • Brendan Emmett Quigley's Weekly Puzzle • Inkwell Crossword (Archives only) • Village Voice (Archives only) • Chronicle of Higher Education (Archives only) • King Features Crosswords (Joseph, Sheffer, and Premier) • People Magazine (Archives only) • Newsday (Archives only) • Andy Kravis, Cruciverbist at Law • Glutton for Pun • MacNamara’s Band • Murchie’s Monday Fills • Neville Fogarty • Puzzle Express • The Stickler Weekly • World of Crosswords Premium Crosswords subscription required: • Matt Gaffney’s Crossword Contest • American Values Crossword • Crooked Crosswords Providers list subject to change. •• For support, please visit our website at http://www.standalone.com •• Privacy Policy: https://www.standalone.com/legal/ EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Crossword+
Start your day with two new themed crossword puzzles daily, ranging from classic literature to movie magic. Enjoy a satisfying yet gentle challenge, with helpful hints and auto-check features. Solve puzzles offline and adjust text size for a comfortable, ad-free experience.
- Two new themed puzzles daily
- Over 3,000 puzzles in archive
- Helpful hints and AutoCheck
- Offline play supported
- Ad-free experience
- Adjustable text size
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Start your day with a crossword and a smile! Whether you’re a novice solver or a seasoned veteran, we’ve designed Crossword+ so that players of all abilities can enjoy solving our crosswords! We release new crosswords every day and every single crossword in the app has a unique theme. For example, Monday’s crossword is music related, and Friday’s crossword is movie related. Even if you don’t know anything about the topic, you’ll still be attempt the crossword as the theme words are sprinkled into the crossword among other clues. So look forward to testing and expanding your knowledge of movies, music, food, books and much, much more! Why Crossword+? * Two new themed puzzles every single day (one maxi and one mini) * Over 3,000 puzzles in our ever-growing collection * Helpful hints when you need a little extra help * Catches mistakes as you type with our AutoCheck function * 100% ad-free. Just you and the puzzle * Works offline * Adjustable text size for readability Join over 500,000 solvers who've made Crossword Plus part of their routine. Is Crossword+ good for beginners? Yes! Crossword+ is designed for solvers of all abilities. Start with our daily mini crosswords, make use of instant error checking, and use hints whenever you're stuck. We aim to make our clues challenging enough to be satisfying, but accessible enough to keep you moving forward. How does it compare to other crossword apps? We designed Crossword Plus to be simple, intuitive, and accessible to everyone. While there are many excellent crossword apps available, we focus on delivering a clean, distraction-free solving experience that feels natural. Is every puzzle themed? Yes! Every single crossword in Crossword+ is built around a unique theme. What kinds of themes do you feature? Everything from Trivia Delights and Hollywood Hits to Tasty Treats and beyond! With over 3,000 themed puzzles in our archive, there’s lots to explore and new topics every day. Can I use Crossword+ offline? Yes! Download puzzles and solve them anywhere! On planes, trains, or wherever your internet connection isn't reliable. Do you have free crossword puzzles? We publish a new free 5×5 mini crossword every day. We offer a subscription which gives you access to full-size maxi puzzles and our extensive archive. Does Crossword+ have ads? No. We're ad-free. Is Crossword+ good for seniors? Yes! The app automatically respects your device's text size settings. Additionally, you can zoom in on any puzzle grid for additional magnification. Can crosswords help with vocabulary? Definitely. Regular crossword solving strengthens vocabulary, reinforces spelling, and improves word recall. All while having fun. Is this an American or British crossword? Both! We use vocabulary and spelling that works for solvers on both sides of the Atlantic, making our puzzles accessible to a global audience. Does Crossword Plus include easy and hard crossword puzzles? We focus on a single, balanced difficulty level that appeals to most solvers. You can make puzzles easier or more challenging by toggling hints and assistance features on or off. Can I use Crossword+ for quick puzzles? Perfect for it! Our daily 5×5 mini crossword is designed for a quick mental break which is ideal when you just want a few minutes of crossword fun. Does Crossword+ offer hints or help with clues? Yes! Every clue comes with an optional hint to nudge you in the right direction. Fair warning: using a hint adds 30 seconds to your completion time. LICENSED APPLICATION END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Crosswords and Crossword+ both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Crossword+'s written reviews are positive against 28% of Crosswords's. Crossword+ also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (11K vs 574). Crosswords's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Crosswords sells 14 one-off in-app purchases and Crossword+ sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Crosswords against 4.5 for Crossword+. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword+ has 11K ratings behind it against 574, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 28% of Crosswords's written reviews are positive against 83% of Crossword+'s.
Crosswords ships an update every 4 weeks, Crossword+ every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 4, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Crosswords | Crossword+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (574 ratings) | 4.5 (11K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.7% of reviews | 82.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 574 | 11K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #109 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Stand Alone, Inc. | PuzzleStar Limited |
Customer experience
Crosswords
Crossword+
User reviews
Crosswords
From 574 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Diverse and challenging puzzles
- 👍 Clean and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Ability to check/reveal answers
- 👍 Responsive developers
Room to improve
- 🐛 Stability issues and crashes
- 🐛 Bugs with navigation and menu
- 🐛 Inconsistent puzzle download functionality
- 🔒 Lack of accessibility for visually impaired users
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
Crossword+
From 11K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🧠 Brain-stimulating puzzles
- 🎯 Variety of themes and difficulty levels
- ✨ Enjoyable and challenging experience
- 🧠 Helps keep the mind active
- 🕰️ Daily puzzles provide a routine activity
Room to improve
- 💰 Subscription model can be expensive
- 🐛 Occasional errors in puzzle clues or answers
- 🤔 Some puzzles may be too difficult for casual users
- 🕰️ Limited number of free puzzles per month
Bugs and requests
Crosswords
Reported bugs
3 issues- Puzzle grid freezing or displaying blank
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
- Inability to access or download certain puzzle sources
Requested features
4 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to delete puzzles
- Comprehensive error checking and feedback
- Customizable keyboard and gestures
Crossword+
Reported bugs
2 issues- Freezing or crashing issues for some users
- Subscription not always working as expected
Requested features
3 requests- Search function to find puzzles by topic
- More difficulty levels to cater to all skill levels
- Ability to track progress and stats over time
In-app purchases
Crosswords
- Lionel's crosswords, Vol. 1$0.99
- Ink Well Xwords, Vol. 1$1.99
- Dell Crosswords$1.99
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Edited by Ben Tausig, Vol. 1$1.99
- Ridonkulous Crosswords$1.99
- Liz Gorski's Crossword Nation: Vol. 1, No. 1-20$1.99
- Dell Medium Crosswords$1.99
- Brendan Emmett Quigley's Faves #1$2.99
- Jonesin' Crosswords$2.99
- Edited By Tausig 2$2.99
- Brendan Emmett Quigley Freestyle$2.99
- Crosswords Pro (Upgrade)$3.99
- Crossword Nation's Centennial Edition$7.99
- Crosswords Pro$9.99
Crossword+
- Monthly$4.991 Month
- Monthly$7.491 Month
- Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Yearly1 Year trial$37.991 Year
- Yearly7 Days trial$37.991 Year
- Yearly1 Year trial2 variants$39.991 Year
- Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Questions
Is Crosswords free?
Is Crossword+ free?
Which has better reviews, Crosswords or Crossword+?
Do Crosswords or Crossword+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Crosswords or Crossword+?
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