Comparison

Barred Crossword vs Codewords Pro

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

Head to head
About

Barred Crossword

This app offers an unlimited supply of automatically generated crosswords with customizable grids and difficulty. It supports multiple languages and features aids to help you solve puzzles, making it ideal for crossword enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Unlimited auto-generated crosswords
  • Configurable grid size and difficulty
  • Multiple crossword grid types (Barred, British, Arrow)
  • Thousands of clues
  • Multi-language support
  • Zoom and pan grid functionality
  • Save and reload games
Features
Read full description

Barred crosswords are similar to traditional crosswords, but they use black lines instead of black squares to separate the words. Advantages of barred crosswords are: • More words in the grid • Larger number of cross-overs for the words • You do not lose half the screen with black squares Other features include: • Each new game is created by the app automatically. Therefore you can play an unlimited number of crosswords!! • Very configurable game generator. You decide the grid size, difficulty and many other things • Many 1000's of clues • You can choose from three different types of crossword grid: British, Barred and Arrow • Generate crosswords tailored to your interests, ability, nationality and device size • You can zoom in & out of the grid, and move around. Play with large grids on small screens! • Ability to save games and reload games. Play many games at once, just like a crossword book! • Many aids to help you complete the crossword • Play crosswords in these languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Russian Also known as compact crosswords and word maze.

About

Codewords Pro

Engage in a unique word puzzle game where numbers replace letters. Solve hundreds of free puzzles or tackle two new daily challenges. Customize your experience with various difficulty levels, grid styles, and language options.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of free puzzles
  • Two daily puzzles
  • Multiple difficulty levels
  • Various grid styles
  • Multiple languages
  • Customizable settings
  • VoiceOver compatibility
Features
Read full description

Codewords Pro is an app to play Codewords, a popular word game similar to crosswords. It features several hundred free puzzles as well as 2 daily puzzles. Codewords puzzles are similar to crosswords, but instead of clues, each letter has been replaced by a number from 1 to 26, and you need to figure out which letter each number represents. Features : - Several levels of difficulty, from beginner to very hard - A mix of grid styles : american, french, italian, ... (the difference is in the way the black squares are placed) - 2 new puzzles every day - Several languages available - Many settings to customize the features and the look and feel of the grid - Playable with VoiceOver

Screenshots

Barred Crossword4 screens
Codewords Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Codewords Pro at 4.8 against Barred Crossword's 4.2. Codewords Pro also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 58%) and ratings volume (259 vs 20). Barred Crossword's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). 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. Barred Crossword sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year and Codewords Pro sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Codewords Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Codewords Pro has 259 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Barred Crossword's written reviews are positive against 88% of Codewords Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Barred Crossword versus Codewords Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBarred CrosswordCodewords Pro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (20 ratings)4.8 (259 ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.9% of reviews87.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20259 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB35 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperHavosEmmanuel Mathis

Customer experience

Barred Crossword

All ratings20 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive57.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative31.6%

Codewords Pro

All ratings259 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive87.6%
Neutral9.3%
Negative3.1%

Bugs and requests

Barred Crossword

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Codewords Pro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • VoiceOver not working as expected
  • Cannot reset the grid
  • Incorrect display of letters/numbers with VoiceOver

Requested features

6 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • English version of the app
  • Option to remove ads with purchase
  • Synchronization between devices (iPad/iPhone)
  • More grids available
Show 1 more
  • Provide solutions the following day

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Barred Crossword

Subscriptions1
  • Supporter (no ads)$4.991 Year
16 purchases

Codewords Pro

One-time16
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 4$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 5$1.99
Show 13 more
  • Intermediate Puzzles - Vol. 4$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 6$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 7$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 8$1.99
  • Hard Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Intermediate Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Hard Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 2$1.99
  • Intermediate Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Expert Puzzles - Vol. 3$1.99
  • Easy Puzzles - Vol. 7$1.99
  • All-Access Pass$9.99

Questions

Is Barred Crossword free?
Barred Crossword is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Codewords Pro free?
Codewords Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Barred Crossword or Codewords Pro?
Codewords Pro is rated higher. Barred Crossword averages 4.2 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Codewords Pro averages 4.8 from 259 ratings.
Do Barred Crossword or Codewords Pro have ads?
Both Barred Crossword and Codewords Pro show ads.
Which is updated more often, Barred Crossword or Codewords Pro?
Barred Crossword ships an update every 3 months, and Codewords Pro every 3 months. Most recently, Barred Crossword was updated on September 17, 2026 and Codewords Pro on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons