Comparison

Crosswords vs Crossword Puzzles!

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

"… the definitive source for puzzles for iOS…" -- the New York Times Play the Award Winning Crosswords on your iPad or iPhone, optimized for iOS 27! 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/

About

Crossword Puzzles!

Enjoy daily crossword puzzles with stunning travel destination backgrounds. Thousands of puzzles are available for all skill levels, with hints and solution checking. Unlock more content and features with an optional subscription.

Highlights
  • Daily new puzzles
  • Thousands of puzzles for all skill levels
  • Beautiful travel destination backgrounds
  • Hints and solution checking
  • Portrait and Landscape support
  • Unlimited hints with subscription
  • Access to full puzzle library with subscription
Features
Read full description

Take your passion for crosswords around the world with Crossword Puzzles! Crosswords set in the world's most beautiful places. Solve a free puzzle every day, collect stunning destinations as you play, and take on special Weekend Challenges. “This is the most beautiful crossword app I’ve ever seen!” A FREE PUZZLE EVERY DAY Play every daily puzzle in the current month for free, not just today's. Each month has its own calendar showing your stars, your streak and the stamps still to earn. COLLECT BREATHTAKING DESTINATIONS Dozens of high-resolution nature photographs from around the world fill your screen as you solve. Unlock new ones by playing, mark your favorites, and let your background change daily. NEW MINI PUZZLES EVERY MONTH A fresh set of 24 quick minis each month. Finish the set to earn a brand-new destination. WEEKEND CHALLENGES Special sets of puzzles every few weekends. Score points for solving on your own and solving fast, earn bronze, silver and gold medals, see where you rank on the leaderboard, and collect a souvenir pin for each one you complete. STAMPS, PINS AND BADGES Earn a bronze, silver and gold passport stamp each month, and dozens of badges for streaks, perfect solves and more. Keep your daily streak going with a streak freeze. THOUSANDS OF PUZZLES Puzzles for every skill level, from easy to challenging. Hints when you need them: reveal a letter, reveal a word, or check for mistakes. Plays beautifully on iPhone and iPad, in portrait or landscape on iPad. WANDERLUST PASS Subscribe for the full experience: • Every destination unlocked, plus new seasonal destinations every three months • Unlimited puzzles, including every past daily puzzle • Free hints • Free streak freezes • No ads The Wanderlust Pass is available as a 1-month, 3-month or 1-year subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://dexcheck.com/privacy

Screenshots

Crosswords4 screens
Crossword Puzzles!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Crossword Puzzles! at 85% against Crosswords's 30%. Crossword Puzzles! also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (8.9K vs 576). Crosswords's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Crosswords sells 14 one-off in-app purchases and Crossword Puzzles! sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crossword Puzzles! holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword Puzzles! has 8.9K ratings behind it against 576, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Crosswords's written reviews are positive against 85% of Crossword Puzzles!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crosswords ships an update every 5 days, Crossword Puzzles! every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Crosswords versus Crossword Puzzles!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosswordsCrossword Puzzles!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (576 ratings)4.7 (8.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.9% of reviews84.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5768.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB189 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStand Alone, Inc.DexCheck, LLC

Customer experience

Crosswords

All ratings577 ratings
Positive84.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive29.9%
Neutral17.5%
Negative52.6%

Crossword Puzzles!

All ratings8,909 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral4.1%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews464 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral7.3%
Negative7.8%

User reviews

Crosswords

From 576 App Store ratings

What 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 Puzzles!

From 8.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎯 Daily fun
  • 🧠 Fun and challenging puzzles
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🧠 Helpful clues
  • 🧠 Great variety of puzzles

Room to improve

  • 💰 Subscription too expensive
  • 🔍 Too many ads
  • 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
  • 🔍 Distracting and intrusive ads
  • 🔍 Repeated puzzles

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 Puzzles!

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzle download failures
  • Incorrect letter input
  • Puzzle progress not saving
  • Ads getting stuck and preventing gameplay

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to remove ads
  • More free puzzles or ways to earn tickets
  • Improved navigation and cursor control
  • Option to choose background/color scheme
  • Ability to access past puzzles
Show 1 more
  • Inclusion of more British/European vocabulary

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Crosswords

One-time14
  • Lionel's crosswords, Vol. 1$0.99
  • Ink Well Xwords, Vol. 1$1.99
  • Dell Crosswords$1.99
Show 11 more
  • 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
11 purchases

Crossword Puzzles!

Subscriptions1
  • Wanderlust Pass (1 Month)$5.991 Month
One-time10
  • Pack of 200 Tickets$0.99
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$0.99
  • Tickets - Tier 1$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$1.99
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$2.99
  • Tickets - Tier 2$2.99
  • Tickets - Tier 3$4.99
  • Pack of 500 Tickets$11.99
  • Pack of 1250 Tickets$23.99
  • First Class Ticket: Unlimited$99.99

Questions

Is Crosswords free?
Crosswords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crossword Puzzles! free?
Crossword Puzzles! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crosswords or Crossword Puzzles!?
Crossword Puzzles! is rated higher. Crosswords averages 4.4 out of 5 from 576 ratings, while Crossword Puzzles! averages 4.7 from 8.9K ratings.
Do Crosswords or Crossword Puzzles! have ads?
Crossword Puzzles! shows ads; Crosswords does not.
Which is updated more often, Crosswords or Crossword Puzzles!?
Crosswords ships an update every 5 days, and Crossword Puzzles! every 2 months. Most recently, Crosswords was updated on October 26, 2026 and Crossword Puzzles! on October 29, 2026.

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