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 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/
Crossword
Engage your mind with a vast collection of crossword puzzles and word games. Solve thousands of clues, complete daily challenges, and collect trophies across multiple game modes. Enjoy a new puzzle experience every day with this extensive library of brain-teasing fun.
- Thousands of unique clues
- Hundreds of original puzzles
- Daily themed puzzles
- World's Biggest and Tallest crosswords
- Multiple game modes (Cryptogram, Codewords, Word Grid)
- Trophies, quests, and achievements
- Timed events
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Solve thousands of clues in the biggest and best crossword puzzle ever! Now you can enjoy a new crossword challenge every day with this giant collection of hundreds of original puzzles. There are over 100,000 unique clues to solve as well as dozens of quests to complete and trophies to collect! Choose from TWELVE game modes: ■ DAILY THEMED PUZZLE Enjoy a new crossword each day, featuring clues linked to a trivia fact about today's date that's revealed on completion! ■ WORLD'S BIGGEST Crossword Explore over 2,800 crossword puzzles. The classic puzzle enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. ■ WORLD'S TALLEST Crossword A collection of 1,100 extra-large puzzles - bigger grids, longer words, tougher clues! How high can you build the tower? ■ DAILY DIAMOND Crossword Earn extra rewards with a snack-sized bonus puzzle each day. ■ SEVEN WORDS Puzzle Solve the clues and use the scrambled letter blocks to find 7 hidden words. ■ CRYPTOGRAM Puzzle Break the code, reveal the quote! ■ CODEWORDS Puzzle Decipher the code to complete the crossword grid. Each square is marked with a number corresponding with one letter of the alphabet. Look for patterns and use your powers of deduction to crack the code! ■ WORD GRID Puzzle Slide the tiles from the edge of the grid into the blank squares to spell out words. Unlike a regular crossword, there are no clues so instead you'll have to use logic to choose between the available letters for each square. ■ QUOTE FALLS Puzzle Place the letter tiles from each column into the correct squares on the grid to spell out a famous quotation! ■ BRITISH CRYPTICS Crossword The ultimate challenge - cryptic crosswords use their own obscure rules to hide the answer in the clue, using anagrams, double meanings, and a host of other subtle tricks. If you get completely stumped on a clue, you can swap it out for an easier, non-cryptic alternative. ■ FACT OF THE DAY Curious facts to puzzle the mind! ■ MISSING LETTERS Solve the curious conundrum, reveal the word. Also look out for special timed events! Complete all the core challenges to earn the title of Crossword Superstar! + Solve all 100,000+ clues + Complete all 11,000+ puzzles + Collect all 45 trophies + Complete all 57 quests + Unlock all 10 achievements SUPPORT Please select the [HELP] option from the Pause Menu (the gear icon at the top-right of the game screen) if you require assistance. If you require further assistance or are unable to access the in-game help, you can contact us via email: support@puzzling.com Crossword is free to play, but contains optional paid items to unlock content more quickly. LATEST NEWS www.puzzling.com facebook.com/getpuzzling bsky.app/profile/puzzling.com
Screenshots
Verdict
Crosswords and Crossword both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 69% of Crossword's written reviews are positive against 29% of Crosswords's. Crossword also leads on ratings volume (43K vs 576) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Crosswords's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 weeks). 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 11 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Crossword holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword has 43K ratings behind it against 576, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of Crosswords's written reviews are positive against 69% of Crossword's.
Crosswords ships an update every 5 days, Crossword every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Crosswords | Crossword |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (576 ratings) | 4.5 (43K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 29.2% of reviews | 69.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 576 | 43K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 484 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stand Alone, Inc. | AppyNation Ltd. |
Customer experience
Crosswords
Crossword
User reviews
Crosswords
From 576 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 43K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Entertaining and user-friendly
- 🧠 Educational and practical
- 🤔 Challenging but not too difficult
- 🕰️ Good for passing time
Room to improve
- 💰 Tokens/coins required to play more puzzles
- 📺 Excessive ads that interrupt gameplay
- 🇬🇧 Some clues use British slang/terms
- 🔁 Repetitive use of same words in 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
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes or freezes after updates
- Inconsistent behavior with token/coin rewards
- Clues/answers not matching properly
Requested features
4 requests- Allow exchanging coins for tokens
- Provide more tokens/coins for completing puzzles
- Add option to view past completed puzzles
- Improve navigation and reduce interruptions
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
- Coins Starter Pack$0.99
- Coin Doubler$0.99
- Remove Ads$0.99
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Tokens Starter Pack$0.99
- Coins Booster Pack$2.99
- Tokens Booster Pack$2.99
- Coins Super Pack$4.99
- Tokens Super Pack$4.99
- Coins Mega Pack$9.99
- Tokens Mega Pack$9.99
- Coins Ultra Pack$19.99
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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