Comparison

Barred Crossword vs Crossmate

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

Crossmate

Read full description

Crossmate is a collaborative crossword app for iPhone and iPad. It has the following features: - Play with 1 to 3 players. - No sign-up required. Sync play between devices using iCloud. - Import puzzles in Across Lite or XD format. - Watch replays of your solves. - Undo/redo moves. - Get help using checks, reveals and random grid fills. Made in Tokyo from natural ones and zeros.

Screenshots

Barred Crossword4 screens
Crossmate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crossmate at none against Barred Crossword's 1. Crossmate also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months). Barred Crossword's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.5). On price 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. Barred Crossword sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. Crossmate asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Barred Crossword ships an update every 3 months, Crossmate every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Barred Crossword versus Crossmate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBarred CrosswordCrossmate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (21 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews57.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings21 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.5
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB7 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperHavosMichael Camilleri

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Barred Crossword

Subscriptions1
  • Supporter (no ads)$4.991 Year
None

Crossmate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Barred Crossword free?
Barred Crossword is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crossmate free?
Crossmate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Barred Crossword or Crossmate have ads?
Barred Crossword shows ads; Crossmate does not.
Which is updated more often, Barred Crossword or Crossmate?
Barred Crossword ships an update every 3 months, and Crossmate every 2 days. Most recently, Barred Crossword was updated on October 24, 2026 and Crossmate on October 25, 2026.

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