Comparison

Crossword Puzzles! vs Crossword

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

Head to head
About

Crossword Puzzles!

Solve daily crosswords set in beautiful global locations. Collect stunning destinations, tackle special weekend puzzles, and earn stamps and badges. Offers thousands of puzzles for all skill levels with optional hints.

Highlights
  • Daily free puzzles
  • Collectible global destinations
  • Weekend getaway puzzles
  • Stamps, pins, and badges
  • Thousands of puzzles
  • Hints available
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 Getaways. “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 GETAWAYS 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

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

Crossword Puzzles!4 screens
Crossword4 screens

Verdict

The call

Crossword Puzzles! and Crossword both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of Crossword Puzzles!'s written reviews are positive against 69% of Crossword's. Crossword's advantage is ratings volume (43K vs 9K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Crossword Puzzles! sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Crossword sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Crossword Puzzles! against 4.5 for Crossword. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9K and 43K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Crossword Puzzles!'s written reviews are positive against 69% of Crossword's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword Puzzles! ships an update monthly, Crossword every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Crossword Puzzles! versus Crossword: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword Puzzles!Crossword
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9K ratings) — better4.5 (43K ratings)
Positive reviews84.8% of reviews — better69.2% of reviews
Number of ratings9K43K — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size199 MB484 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDexCheck, LLCAppyNation Ltd.

Customer experience

Crossword Puzzles!

All ratings8,962 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral4.1%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews467 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral7.3%
Negative7.9%

Crossword

All ratings43,291 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral6.9%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews483 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral12.8%
Negative18.0%

User reviews

Crossword Puzzles!

From 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

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

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

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

10 purchases

Crossword Puzzles!

Subscriptions1
  • Wanderlust Pass (1 Month)$5.991 Month
One-time9
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$0.99
  • Tickets - Tier 1$0.99
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$1.99
Show 6 more
  • 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
10 purchases

Crossword

One-time10
  • Coin Doubler$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Tokens Starter Pack$0.99
Show 7 more
  • 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 Crossword Puzzles! free?
Crossword Puzzles! 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, Crossword Puzzles! or Crossword?
Crossword Puzzles! is rated higher. Crossword Puzzles! averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9K ratings, while Crossword averages 4.5 from 43K ratings.
Do Crossword Puzzles! or Crossword have ads?
Both Crossword Puzzles! and Crossword show ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword Puzzles! or Crossword?
Crossword Puzzles! ships an update monthly, and Crossword every 6 weeks. Most recently, Crossword Puzzles! was updated on November 7, 2026 and Crossword on November 8, 2026.

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