Comparison

Crossly vs Daily POP Puzzles

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

Head to head
About

Crossly

Engage in a strategic word game with friends, blending classic crosswords with competitive play. Earn points for correct answers, hinder opponents, and enjoy endless unique puzzles with interactive features like stealing turns and revealing letters.

Highlights
  • Endless unique crossword puzzles
  • Steal turns and send taunts
  • Peek at letters for difficult clues
  • Pencil in and change answers
  • Offline saving of penciled words
  • Premium mode with bonus peeks and themes
Features
Read full description

Challenge your friends in the fun strategic word game that combines classic crosswords with the spirit of friendly competition! In Crossly™, two players take turns filling out the board, accumulating points for each correct clue by gaining a point for each letter in the clue and subtracting a point from their opponent for any of their intersecting answers. Clean design, fluid animations and playful messaging work together to make this the best crosswords experience in the App Store. Features: - Endless Gameplay: Crossly pulls from tens of thousands of clues to generate unique crossword puzzles on the fly for optimal replay value. No two boards are ever alike! - Steal & Taunt: When you or your opponent miss a word, the other player may choose to steal for an extra turn and send a friendly taunt using animated GIFs powered by GIPHY - Peeks: For hard-to-guess clues, you may use one Peek per turn to reveal a letter of your choice. That letter is only visible to the player who initiates the Peek. Bonus Peeks are awarded for completing games and Peek Packs may be acquired via In-App Purchase. - Penciling: Penciling allows you to work on the board at any time, changing answers and adjusting your strategy as more words are completed. All penciled words are saved, even when your network connection is offline. - Premium Mode: Play unlimited games for free, or unlock Premium Mode for 15 bonus Peeks and colorful themes. Show your love by choosing your own price to upgrade!

About

Daily POP Puzzles

Engage your mind with an endless stream of daily puzzles, including crosswords, word searches, Sudoku, jigsaws, and more. Enjoy fresh content every day for all skill levels, from pop culture themes to classic challenges.

Highlights
  • Unlimited daily puzzles
  • Crossword puzzles (pop culture, classic, mini)
  • Word search puzzles (pop culture, themed)
  • Sudoku with hints
  • Fill-In puzzles
  • Jigsaw puzzles
  • Scrambler word puzzles
Features
Read full description

Awaken your brain and stay sharp with an endless selection of fun, exciting puzzles from the expert editors at PuzzleNation and Penny Dell Puzzles. This free app download offers unlimited new puzzles for every skill level. Puzzle types include favorites from top puzzle categories – word puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles, jigsaw puzzles and more! NEW PUZZLES DAILY Enjoying puzzle solving with fresh daily content, keeping your mind engaged. Embrace the challenge and get a mental workout with new puzzles awaiting you every day. Solve and play at your own pace with each day’s exciting new puzzles. CROSSWORDS Explore the world of words with a variety of exhilarating crossword puzzles! There’s something for everyone. Choose from three different crosswords: Daily POP Crosswords offers pop-culture themed puzzles including books, movies, TV and other fun themes. Penny Dell Crosswords is perfect for lovers of classic crossword puzzles, as seen in newspapers and magazines. Mini Crosswords is a fun, new, bite-sized crossword experience for fast-paced solving. WORD SEARCH Discover a world of hidden words in these captivating word search puzzles. Scan the grid, spot the words, and enjoy the satisfying thrill of solving each puzzle. Sharpen your visual observation skills, expand your vocabulary, and have fun forming words with letters in the puzzle grid. Choose from two different word search puzzle types: Daily POP Word Search presents pop-culture themed puzzles including music, books, movies, sports and other fun themes. Themed Word Search is a great choice for fans of the word search puzzles found in newspapers and magazines. SUDOKU Enter the world of Sudoku, where numbers rule – math skills not required! This addictive puzzle adventure will put your problem-solving talents to the test. Unleash your mental prowess as you strategically place numbers from one to nine. Every move counts as you strive to fill each row, column, and box correctly. Don’t worry, there are hints available to help you solve these challenging puzzles. Unlock the secrets of this timeless brain teaser! FILL IN Dive into the fantastic fun of Fill-Ins, a delightful twist on crossword puzzles. Instead of clues, you'll be given words to strategically place in the grid. Whether you're a puzzle aficionado or a newcomer, Fill-Ins offer an engaging challenge. No specific knowledge is required–everyone can solve them using clever solving strategies or by simple trial-and-error. JIGSAW Experience the thrill of jigsaw puzzles as scattered pieces unite to reveal breathtaking images of beautiful landscapes, adorable animals and more. Unlock stunning images piece by piece and experience the thrill of completing hundreds of puzzles. Embark on a meditative journey of patience and satisfaction with the magic of jigsaw puzzles! SCRAMBLER Master the art of combining letters in Scrambler, an exciting word-finding puzzle. Challenge yourself to find words using only the 6 letters provided. Exercise your linguistic skills and embrace the thrill of word finding. Scrambler lets you conquer the challenge of crafting words from a jumble of letters. EVENTS Daily POP Puzzles is the first PuzzleNation app to offer exciting in-app events where you reap the rewards! Conquer challenges, beat your best times, and unlock exclusive prizes. Rewards are varied and include coins, tickets, boosts and more. Enter an event today and solve puzzles to earn prizes! ACHIEVEMENTS Unlock an array of achievements using just your puzzle solving prowess. Collect valuable rewards as you work your way through a huge collection of achievements. You’ll earn event tickets, stickers, free coins, and more! Privacy Policy: www.puzzlenation.com/privacy-policy Email us at help@puzzlenation.com should you have any questions or want to share any feedback. Thanks!

Screenshots

Crossly4 screens
Daily POP Puzzles4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Crossly at none against Daily POP Puzzles's shown. Crossly also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (10 vs 15.0). Daily POP Puzzles's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (577 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Crossly sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Daily POP Puzzles 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

Crossly holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Daily POP Puzzles has 577 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of Crossly's written reviews are positive against 68% of Daily POP Puzzles's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossly ships an update every 5 months, Daily POP Puzzles every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Crossly versus Daily POP Puzzles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosslyDaily POP Puzzles
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.7 (577 ratings)
Positive reviews50.7% of reviews67.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1577 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS10 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB262 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMercury Intermedia, Inc.PuzzleNation

Customer experience

Crossly

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews73 reviews
Positive50.7%
Neutral27.4%
Negative21.9%

Daily POP Puzzles

All ratings569 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive67.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative27.5%

User reviews

Crossly

From 1 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Addictive gameplay
  • 💡 Innovative blend of crossword and competition
  • 👍 Fun and engaging for friends
  • 🎨 Beautiful and fluid interface
  • 🧠 Great mind jogger

Room to improve

  • 🐌 Slow loading times
  • 🧩 Obscure or nonsensical clues/answers
  • 🇺🇸 Strong US bias in clues
  • 📉 App abandonment concerns
  • ❓ Puzzles lack cohesion

Daily POP Puzzles

From 577 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎉 Fun and relaxing puzzles
  • 🧠 Variety of brain-stimulating games
  • 👨‍👧‍👦 Great for family bonding
  • 💫 Engaging and addictive gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • ⏱️ Slow loading times
  • 💰 Frustrating in-app purchases
  • 📥 Lack of progress saving

Bugs and requests

Crossly

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • App won't load / spins forever
  • Games disappear or are lost
  • Notifications are broken / badge issues
  • Rematch issues (wrong person)
Show 11 more
  • Board/clues mixed up or incorrect
  • Games don't update automatically
  • Inability to start games with friends
  • In-game errors and glitches
  • Crashing on launch
  • Games stuck in 'waiting for their move' list
  • Inconsistent turn notifications
  • Cannot decline rematches
  • Cannot end games without resigning
  • Clues are sometimes backwards
  • Words run into each other

Requested features

13 requests
  • iPad support
  • UK version of the game
  • Difficulty levels
  • Chat feature
  • Facebook integration
Show 8 more
  • User-selectable usernames
  • Stats page (wins/losses)
  • Themes for puzzles
  • Time limits for turns
  • Ability to decline invitations
  • Reminder for opponent's turn
  • More American puzzle makers/content
  • Color customization options

Daily POP Puzzles

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzles getting stuck or resetting
  • Coins not awarded after completing puzzles
  • Subscription issues and unexpected charges
  • Compatibility problems on certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved stability and performance
  • More puzzle types and challenges
  • Better rewards and progression system
  • Offline mode for on-the-go play

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Crossly

One-time7
  • "Meh" Premium Upgrade$0.99
  • Peek Pack - 5 Peeks$0.99
  • "It's Cool" Premium Upgrade$1.99
Show 4 more
  • Peek Pack - 15 Peeks$1.99
  • "LOVE" Premium Upgrade$2.99
  • Peek Pack - 25 Peeks$2.99
  • Peek Pack - 100 Peeks$4.99
10 purchases

Daily POP Puzzles

One-time10
  • Coins 300$2.99
  • No Ads 10 Days$2.99
  • Coins 400$3.99
Show 7 more
  • No Ads 30d$4.99
  • Coins 550$4.99
  • Coins 660$5.99
  • Weekly Solver$5.99
  • Coins 1380$11.99
  • Monthly Solver$12.99
  • Welcome Bundle$14.99

Questions

Is Crossly free?
Crossly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Daily POP Puzzles free?
Daily POP Puzzles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Crossly or Daily POP Puzzles?
Crossly is rated higher. Crossly averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Daily POP Puzzles averages 4.7 from 577 ratings.
Do Crossly or Daily POP Puzzles have ads?
Daily POP Puzzles shows ads; Crossly does not.
Which is updated more often, Crossly or Daily POP Puzzles?
Crossly ships an update every 5 months, and Daily POP Puzzles every 3 weeks. Most recently, Crossly was updated on November 3, 2026 and Daily POP Puzzles on November 7, 2026.

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