Clean Crosswords vs Small Crosswords
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Clean Crosswords
Enjoy a classic crossword experience designed for iOS devices. This app offers 1,800 puzzles with clues directly in the grid for easy viewing and play. It provides weeks of challenging fun in a clean, British English format.
- 1,800 crossword puzzles
- Clues in puzzle grid
- Classic British English
- Designed for iPhone and iPad
- Challenging fun
Read full descriptionHide full description
Designed for iPhone and iPad and the new iOS and written in classic British English, Clean Crossword is different and possibly the best crossword ever published for iOS devices. The clues are shown right in the puzzle grid, making puzzles easy to view and play for weeks of challenging fun.
Small Crosswords
Enjoy an endless supply of free mini crossword puzzles. Track your progress with detailed statistics and revisit past challenges. This game is designed for quick, engaging mental workouts.
- Unlimited mini crossword puzzles
- Review previous puzzles
- Monitor solving statistics
- Free to play
- Quick mental challenges
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app offers free unlimited mini crossword puzzles. It also lets you review previous puzzles and monitor your crossword-solving stats!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Clean Crosswords at 66% against Small Crosswords's 17%. Clean Crosswords also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (1.9K vs 9). Small Crosswords's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Clean Crosswords sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Small Crosswords asks for nothing beyond the download.
Clean Crosswords holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Clean Crosswords has 1.9K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Clean Crosswords's written reviews are positive against 17% of Small Crosswords's.
Clean Crosswords ships an update every 4 months, Small Crosswords every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Clean Crosswords | Small Crosswords |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.9K ratings) — better | 4.1 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 65.8% of reviews — better | 16.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.9K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 229 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | the binary family | John Corser |
Customer experience
Clean Crosswords
Small Crosswords
Bugs and requests
Clean Crosswords
Reported bugs
4 issues- Incorrect word definitions or answers
- Arrows pointing to wrong cells
- Puzzle progress not saving properly
- Ads causing app crashes or freezes
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Progress tracking and statistics
- Ability to replay completed puzzles
- More variety in puzzle difficulty levels
- Better integration of American English
Small Crosswords
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Clean Crosswords
- Remove Ads$7.99
Small Crosswords
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Clean Crosswords free?
Is Small Crosswords free?
Which has better reviews, Clean Crosswords or Small Crosswords?
Do Clean Crosswords or Small Crosswords have ads?
Which is updated more often, Clean Crosswords or Small Crosswords?
Other comparisons
