Comparison

Crosswords vs Crossword

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

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Crosswords4 screens
Crossword4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Crosswords versus Crossword: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosswordsCrossword
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (576 ratings)4.5 (43K ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.2% of reviews69.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings57643K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
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 MB484 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStand Alone, Inc.AppyNation Ltd.

Customer experience

Crosswords

All ratings577 ratings
Positive84.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews96 reviews
Positive29.2%
Neutral17.7%
Negative53.1%

Crossword

All ratings43,291 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral6.9%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews482 reviews
Positive69.1%
Neutral12.9%
Negative18.0%

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

From 43K App Store ratings

What 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

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

One-time11
  • Coins Starter Pack$0.99
  • Coin Doubler$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99
Show 8 more
  • 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?
Crosswords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crossword free?
Crossword is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crosswords or Crossword?
Crossword is rated higher. Crosswords averages 4.4 out of 5 from 576 ratings, while Crossword averages 4.5 from 43K ratings.
Do Crosswords or Crossword have ads?
Crossword shows ads; Crosswords does not.
Which is updated more often, Crosswords or Crossword?
Crosswords ships an update every 5 days, and Crossword every 6 weeks. Most recently, Crosswords was updated on October 26, 2026 and Crossword on October 27, 2026.

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