PuzzleBits vs Picture Cross
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PuzzleBits
Place colorful pieces to complete puzzles that then explode into new shapes. Enjoy hundreds of unique piece shapes and playful animations. Offers over 500 puzzles with a free hint option.
- Exploding puzzle mechanics
- Hundreds of unique piece shapes
- Over 500 puzzles
- Playful animations and soundtrack
- Free hint option
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A whimsical puzzly thing, with bits that go boom! Place the colorful pieces in the right spots to complete a puzzle. If you succeed, the puzzle will explode into tiny bits, which then recombine into a new challenging shape! - 500+ puzzles! - Hundreds of unique, brightly colored, piece shapes. - Playful animations and soundtrack. - Free hint option.
Picture Cross
Engage your logic skills with over 10,000 puzzles that reveal hidden pictures when solved. Explore themed packs, classic and color modes, and various difficulty levels. This game offers a fun challenge for puzzle enthusiasts.
- 10,000+ puzzles
- 80 themed puzzle packs
- Classic and Color modes
- Multiple grid sizes
- Easy to Expert skill levels
- Reveal hidden scenes
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Solve the puzzle to paint the picture! Discover a world of over 12,000 amazing Picture Cross puzzles. ■ 80+ massive themed puzzle packs to complete ■ Classic Picture Cross and Color Picture Cross puzzles ■ Different grid sizes and skill levels from Easy to Expert ■ Complete puzzles to reveal fun-packed hidden scenes ... Download free and start your Picture Cross adventure! SUPPORT Access the Help Center at any time from the pause menu (in the top right corner of the game screen). New to Picture Cross (a.k.a. Nonograms, Hanjie, Griddlers)? We've included a quick tutorial and a player's guide to get you started. Picture Cross is free to play, but contains optional paid items to unlock content more quickly. www.picturecross.com
Screenshots
Verdict
PuzzleBits and Picture Cross both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of PuzzleBits's written reviews are positive against 46% of Picture Cross's. PuzzleBits also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.1 vs 15.0). Picture Cross's advantage is ratings volume (74K vs 129) and chart position (#80 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. PuzzleBits sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Picture Cross sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for PuzzleBits against 4.6 for Picture Cross. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Picture Cross has 74K ratings behind it against 129, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of PuzzleBits's written reviews are positive against 46% of Picture Cross's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PuzzleBits | Picture Cross |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (129 ratings) — better | 4.6 (74K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.5% of reviews — better | 45.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 129 | 74K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #80 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 648 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Little White Bear Studios, LLC | AppyNation Ltd. |
Customer experience
PuzzleBits
Picture Cross
User reviews
PuzzleBits
From 129 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🧩 Excellent spatial reasoning and puzzle design
- 😊 Highly addictive and engaging gameplay
- 🎨 Colorful, attractive visual design
- 🧠 Great brain exercise and mental challenge
- ⚡ Smooth performance with no crashes
Room to improve
- 🐛 App freezes when requesting free hints
- 🐛 Game freezes when receiving notifications or text messages
- ❌ Completed puzzles disappear too quickly to review
- ❌ Hint system wastes hints on already-placed pieces
- ❌ No ability to skip puzzles and return later
Picture Cross
From 74K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Excellent game
- 🤗 Relaxing and challenging
- 🧠 Good brain exercise
- 🎨 Enjoyable puzzles
- 🕰️ Addictive gameplay
Room to improve
- 💰 Token system too restrictive
- 🙄 Excessive ads
- 🐛 Crashes and performance issues
- 🤔 Puzzles get too expensive
- 😡 Tokens not rewarded as promised
Bugs and requests
PuzzleBits
Reported bugs
7 issues- App freezes when receiving text message notifications
- Free hint request causes app to freeze
- Game freezes when interruptions occur (texts, calls)
- Hints sometimes wasted on already-placed pieces
- Hint loss when resetting individual puzzles
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- No data recovery after app deletion
- Hint system doesn't persist properly between puzzles
Requested features
12 requests- Ability to save and replay completed puzzles
- Skip puzzle feature with ability to return later
- Puzzle review/study mode after completion
- Check/verify feature to validate progress without hints
- Leaderboard or scoring system for competition
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- Timer feature for speed challenges
- Cloud sync across multiple devices
- More background music variety
- Starting hints for new players
- Ability to choose specific puzzles instead of random selection
- Puzzle difficulty indicators
- Challenge friends feature with saved boards
Picture Cross
Reported bugs
4 issues- Tokens not awarded for completing surveys
- Puzzle progress reset unexpectedly
- Tournament rewards not received
- Redirected to scam websites from game
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to use coins to buy tokens
- More frequent token rewards
- Zoom functionality
- Undo button
- Continuous daily reward progression
In-app purchases
PuzzleBits
- 10 hints$0.99
- 100 hints$4.99
- 500 hints$9.99
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- 1,000 hints$14.99
Picture Cross
- Coins Starter Pack$0.99
- Tokens Starter Pack$0.99
- Tokens Booster Pack$2.99
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- Piggy Bank$2.99
- Endless Treasure Small Bundle$2.99
- Coins Super Pack$4.99
- Tokens Super Pack$4.99
- Coins Mega Pack$9.99
- Tokens Mega Pack$9.99
- Event Pass$9.99
Questions
Is PuzzleBits free?
Is Picture Cross free?
Which has better reviews, PuzzleBits or Picture Cross?
Do PuzzleBits or Picture Cross have ads?
Which is updated more often, PuzzleBits or Picture Cross?
Other comparisons
