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Best Crossword Puzzle Apps for iPhone (2026)

40 apps ranked S through F · · Ranked by AppTierList, computed, never sold · JSON

Part of Puzzle Games.

NYT Games: Wordle & Crossword is the top-ranked of 40 crossword puzzle apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.8/5 from 297,179 ratings.

  1. 1
    NYT Games: Wordle & CrosswordS
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 297,179 ratings · score 97
  2. 2
    CodyCross: Crossword PuzzlesS
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 284,462 ratings · score 96
  3. 3
    Daily Themed Crossword PuzzlesS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 141,798 ratings · score 96
  4. 4
    Crossword Go!S
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.9 · 84,192 ratings · score 95
  5. 5
    Crossword - by puzzling.comS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 43,403 ratings · score 94

What belongs in this list

Solve crossword puzzles by filling in a grid of words from clues.

Not here: A word search alone; A word puzzle game without clue-based grids alone; A number or math puzzle alone; A general chatbot that could write clues alone; A word game that only has letter tiles alone

How we pick

For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged with no weights: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier. Read the full method →

S
NYT GamesCodyCrossDaily ThemedCrossword Go!Crossword - by puzzling.comCrosswordCrosticCrossword ExplorerCrossword Puzzle Redstone
A
Crossword ChallengeCrossword - Word HikeCrossword Puzzle UniverseCrossword+Crossword Puzzles!Crossword QuizCrosswordsOne ClueWordgramsDaily POPPenny Dell
B
sQworbleCrozzleWord CrazeCrostic GuruWords More-Ultimate CrosswordWordingtonUSA TODAYCrossword Jewels™ArrowWords of WondersClassic
C
HolyscapesLogicrossCross WorldVita CrosswordWordalotWord Free Time
D
Crossword Explorer+Crossword UnlimitedPixWords®
F
None at F yet

Compare every app

  1. 1
    NYT Games: Wordle & CrosswordS
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 297,179 ratings · score 97 · best in class
  2. 2
    CodyCross: Crossword PuzzlesS
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 284,462 ratings · score 96 · best in class
  3. 3
    Daily Themed Crossword PuzzlesS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 141,798 ratings · score 96 · best in class
  4. 4
    Crossword Go!S
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.9 · 84,192 ratings · score 95 · best in class
  5. 5
    Crossword - by puzzling.comS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 43,403 ratings · score 94 · best in class
  6. 6
    CrosswordS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 5,527 ratings · score 93 · best in class
  7. 7
    Crostic Crossword-Word PuzzlesS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 61,560 ratings · score 92 · best in class
  8. 8
    Crossword ExplorerS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.9 · 68,373 ratings · score 92 · best in class
  9. 9
    Crossword Puzzle RedstoneS
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 116,129 ratings · score 91 · best in class
  10. 10
    Crossword ChallengeA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 18,493 ratings · score 91 · excellent
  11. 11
    Crossword - Word HikeA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 69,698 ratings · score 90 · excellent
  12. 12
    Crossword Puzzle UniverseA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 10,380 ratings · score 89 · excellent
  13. 13
    Crossword+A
    Free download · ★ 4.5 · 11,555 ratings · score 88 · excellent
  14. 14
    Crossword Puzzles!A
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 8,901 ratings · score 88 · excellent
  15. 15
    Crossword Quiz - Word Puzzles!A
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 9,819 ratings · score 87 · excellent
  16. 16
    Crosswords With FriendsA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 62,635 ratings · score 86 · excellent
  17. 17
    One Clue CrosswordA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 37,344 ratings · score 85 · excellent
  18. 18
    Wordgrams - Crossword & PuzzleA
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 22,364 ratings · score 85 · excellent
  19. 19
    Daily POP Crossword PuzzlesA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 28,400 ratings · score 85 · excellent
  20. 20
    Penny Dell Daily CrosswordA
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 8,917 ratings · score 84 · excellent
  21. 21
    sQworble: Fun Crossword PuzzleB
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 13,630 ratings · score 83 · good
  22. 22
    Crozzle - Crossword PuzzlesB
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 7,670 ratings · score 81 · good
  23. 23
    Word Craze - Trivia crosswordsB
    Free download · ★ 4.5 · 6,628 ratings · score 81 · good
  24. 24
    Crostic Guru - Guess The WordsB
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 10,568 ratings · score 80 · good
  25. 25
    Words More-Ultimate CrosswordB
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 5,238 ratings · score 80 · good
  26. 26
    Wordington: Word Find & DesignB
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 26,997 ratings · score 78 · good
  27. 27
    USA TODAY PLAY CrosswordsB
    Free download · ★ 4.5 · 9,468 ratings · score 77 · good
  28. 28
    Crossword Jewels™B
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 5,421 ratings · score 76 · good
  29. 29
    Arrow CrosswordsB
    Free download · ★ 4.9 · 5,028 ratings · score 75 · good
  30. 30
    Words of Wonders: GuruB
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 129,228 ratings · score 72 · good · provisional
  31. 31
    Classic Crossword PuzzlesB
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 8,912 ratings · score 71 · good
  32. 32
    Holyscapes - Bible Word GameC
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 27,500 ratings · score 70 · situational · provisional
  33. 33
    Logicross: Crossword PuzzleC
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 4,559 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
  34. 34
    Cross World: Word RiddlesC
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 9,862 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
  35. 35
    Vita Crossword - Word GamesC
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 32,301 ratings · score 67 · situational · provisional
  36. 36
    Wordalot - Picture CrosswordC
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 2,602 ratings · score 65 · situational · provisional
  37. 37
    Word Free TimeC
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.9 · 22,718 ratings · score 64 · situational · provisional
  38. 38
    Crossword Explorer+D
    n/a · ★ 4.9 · 2,503 ratings · score 58 · weak · provisional
  39. 39
    Crossword UnlimitedD
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 3,061 ratings · score 58 · weak
  40. 40
    PixWords® ScenesD
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 3,112 ratings · score 57 · weak · provisional

Beyond the top 40

6 more, not ranked yet

  1. Acrostics-Daily Crossword Game
  2. Bonza Word Puzzle
  3. Midsomer Murders
  4. Picture Perfect Crossword
  5. Daily Crossword Puzzles·
  6. Word Genius by Curious

New in the last 30 days

Questions people ask

What is the best crossword puzzle app for iPhone?
NYT Games: Wordle & Crossword, S tier, ranked #1 of 40, rated 4.8 by 297,179 people.
Which crossword puzzle apps are free?
39 of 40 are free to download: NYT Games: Wordle & Crossword (S), CodyCross: Crossword Puzzles (S), Daily Themed Crossword Puzzles (S), Crossword Go! (S) and more. 21 of them sell in-app purchases.
Which crossword puzzle app has the best App Store rating?
Crossword Explorer at 4.9 from 68,373 ratings.
How many crossword puzzle apps reach S or A tier?
20 of 40. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier.

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