Comparison

Spellspire vs Typeshift

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

Head to head
About

Spellspire

Engage in a thrilling blend of word game and action RPG. Spell words to cast powerful spells, defeat monsters, and collect gold to upgrade your gear. Team up with friends and climb to the top of the Spellspire.

Highlights
  • Mashup of word game and action RPG
  • Spell words to cast spells
  • Collect gold for item upgrades
  • Use magical items
  • Team up with friends
  • iCloud save game support
Features
Read full description

Blast fiends by spelling words and make your way to the top of the Spellspire! Spellspire is a thrilling mashup of word game and action role playing game. Pick letters from a grid to spell words and shoot them from your wand as spells. The longer the word, the bigger the blast! Collect gold dropped by slain monsters and buy more potent wands, hats and robes with magical special effects and abilities. Will you reach the top of the Spellspire, and what will you find? Features: - Exciting mashup of word game and action role playing game - Pick letters to spell words - Collect gold and buy better items between levels - Use consumable magical items to push through tough encounters - Team up against the monsters with your Facebook friends! - iCloud support for save games - Supports iPhone 6 / Plus new resolutions!

About

Typeshift

This word puzzle game challenges you to unscramble letters within stacked words to form new words in the center row. It offers daily challenges with global leaderboards and special clue-based puzzles. Unlock additional content and remove ads with in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Anagram and word search mechanics
  • Shift letter columns to spell words
  • Daily challenges with leaderboards
  • Special clue puzzles
  • Unlockable puzzle packs
  • Themes and statistics
Features
Read full description

From the creator of SpellTower, comes a new and completely original word game! Anagrams meets Word Search, with a sprinkle of Crosswords. Typeshift is the modern anagram puzzle; re-imagined from the ground up, combining wordplay, modern game design, and a mobile-first approach. In most anagram games, you search for new combinations within a single word, but in Typeshift, you search within three to five words stacked & scrambled up together. Shift columns of letters up and down as you try to spell words in the center row. Play continues until you have used all letters in a puzzle at least once. Special Clue Puzzles combine Crosswords with Anagrams as you match clever clues provided by Typeshift's various puzzle authors. - Daily Word Game Play with Global Leaderboards - Typeshift features a free daily challenge with global leaderboards. The easiest challenge for the week appears on Monday, and progressively more challenging puzzles build throughout the week. Compare your fastest Typeshift daily solving times with players around the globe! ------WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING "Addictive and edifying, like popping a special kind of bubble wrap that expands your vocabulary.” - The Verge "Typeshift is a unmissable entry to the [word] genre." Gold Award. - Pocket Gamer "Typeshift is f*cking awesome" - Giant Bombcast "The Word Puzzle Game You've Been Waiting For" - Waypoint "Well worth your time" - Sixcolors ------WHATS IN THE “BOX”? Typeshift comes with over a hundred free puzzles, with more coming soon, plus new free daily puzzles every day. Additional puzzle packs may be purchased in-app. Purchasing any puzzle pack removes ads, and unlocks themes & detailed statistics. ------A WORD FROM THE DEVELOPER Typeshift continues my quest to re-imagine classic newspaper games in the digital era. Where SpellTower tackled word search and Really Bad Chess handled chess puzzles, Typeshift re-examines Anagrams and Crosswords. Typeshift has been a joy to develop, and I hope you have as much fun playing it as I had making it. As always, thanks so much for your support! -zach

Screenshots

Spellspire4 screens
Typeshift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Spellspire at 85% against Typeshift's 49%. Spellspire also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (3.4K vs 497). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Spellspire sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Typeshift 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

Spellspire holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spellspire has 3.4K ratings behind it against 497, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Spellspire's written reviews are positive against 49% of Typeshift's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Spellspire versus Typeshift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpellspireTypeshift
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (3.4K ratings) — better4.3 (497 ratings)
Positive reviews84.8% of reviews — better49.3% of reviews
Number of ratings3.4K — better497
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB72 MB
Age rating9+4+
Developer10tons LtdZach Gage

Customer experience

Spellspire

All ratings3,407 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral5.6%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews846 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral7.0%
Negative8.3%

Typeshift

All ratings497 ratings
Positive80.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews211 reviews
Positive49.3%
Neutral17.5%
Negative33.2%

User reviews

Spellspire

From 3.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Fun and addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Engaging RPG elements
  • 🧠 Helps improve spelling and vocabulary
  • 🎨 Cute and polished visuals

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Paywall and limited gameplay without in-app purchases
  • ⏱️ Slow lives regeneration and limited playtime
  • 📺 Intrusive and frequent ads
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes reported

Typeshift

From 497 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Challenging and fun
  • 👍 Unique and innovative game concept
  • ⭐ Great brain workout
  • 🎨 Elegant and minimalistic design
  • 📚 Helps expand vocabulary

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🔍 Obscure/uncommon words used
  • 🔇 Intrusive ads
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • ⚠️ Compatibility issues with newer devices

Bugs and requests

Spellspire

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Levels and progress being reset
  • Ads causing black screens and crashes
  • Quests not triggering properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Difficulty options and customization
  • Ability to earn or purchase more lives/playtime
  • Improved dictionary and word recognition

Typeshift

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzle timer inaccuracies
  • Purchased content not restoring properly
  • Letters not registering correctly
  • Puzzles not displaying properly on some devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More clue puzzles and puzzle packs
  • Option to reset/replay completed puzzle packs
  • Sync progress across devices
  • Support for British/Australian English
  • Built-in dictionary with better word definitions

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Spellspire

One-time12
  • Pouch of Gold$0.99
  • Set of Powerful Scroll$0.99
  • Set of Refreshing Potions$0.99
Show 9 more
  • Set of Books$0.99
  • Refill lives$0.99
  • Revive$0.99
  • Instant Purchase Tier 1$0.99
  • Second Reward Chest$1.99
  • Bag of Gold$2.99
  • Gold Multiplier$3.99
  • Chest of 100,000 Gold$4.99
  • Mountain of Gold$19.99
10 purchases

Typeshift

One-time10
  • Chocolate Puzzle Pack$0.99
  • Peppermint Puzzle Pack$0.99
  • Pecan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Walnut Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Parmesan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Umami Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Pistachio Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
  • Starter Bundle$1.99
  • Sophomore Bundle$1.99
  • Gumshoe Clue Bundle$3.99

Questions

Is Spellspire free?
Spellspire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Typeshift free?
Typeshift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Spellspire or Typeshift?
Spellspire is rated higher. Spellspire averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.4K ratings, while Typeshift averages 4.3 from 497 ratings.
Do Spellspire or Typeshift have ads?
Both Spellspire and Typeshift show ads.
Which is updated more often, Spellspire or Typeshift?
Spellspire ships an update every 6 weeks, and Typeshift every 6 weeks. Most recently, Spellspire was updated on October 13, 2026 and Typeshift on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons