Best Crossword Apps in Canada (2026): English and French

The best crossword app in Canada depends on two questions: which paper do you read, and which language do you solve in? The Globe and Mail has the deepest English-language puzzle section we found from a Canadian paper, with a daily cryptic and a Canadian-made Saturday crossword. La Presse+ and Le Devoir carry mots croisés every day for French-language solvers. The global apps (NYT Games, Apple News+, Puzzle Page) fill in the rest, priced in Canadian dollars.

We checked every app on this page on the Canadian App Store, Google Play or the publisher's own site on 4 November 2026, and all prices are in CAD. Several Canadian newspaper websites block automated checks, so where a detail was not on an official page we say so rather than guess. Our wider best crossword apps comparison is written for a US reader. This one is for Canada.

The short version

• Best Canadian crossword app: The Globe and Mail. Daily Crossword, Daily Cryptic, Globe Mini, Fraser Simpson's Giant Crossword and The Weekender on Saturdays.
• Best for mots croisés: La Presse+ on a tablet, free, with three grids a day. Le Devoir if you solve on a phone.
• Best for big American crosswords: NYT Games, or Apple News+ if you already pay for it.
• Best free daily habit: Puzzle Page or Daily Themed Crossword, both free with ads.
• Best for a crossword on your own topic: Grid Genius, from hockey to your cottage weekend, with a free daily challenge.

Canadian crossword apps compared

Prices are what the Canadian App Store or the publisher showed on 4 November 2026. Where several prices are listed we give the main ones.

The Canadian newspaper puzzles

The Globe and Mail (Globe Games)

The Globe relaunched its games section in February 2026, and it is now the most complete crossword offer we found from a Canadian paper. Its puzzles FAQ says the Daily Crossword "features the Universal Crossword from Sunday to Friday", and Saturday's is The Weekender, a "brand-new 21x21 crossword made exclusively in Canada for The Globe and Mail". The games page also lists:

• Daily Cryptic, which the Globe describes as a "regular puzzle by the Times UK".
• Globe Mini, "made exclusively for The Globe by our puzzles and games editor".
• Giant Crossword by Fraser Simpson, whose weekly cryptic digital solvers can now do, a "privilege once reserved for our print subscribers".
• Sudoku, Wordfinder and Headliner.

The app's version notes from February 2026 mention "a new Games Hub and Canadian-themed puzzles on Saturdays". Every subscription plan on the Globe's site says it includes "Play daily puzzles and games in The Globe App". On the day we checked, the website was running a sale at $0.49 a week for the first 24 weeks; the Canadian App Store lists the app subscription at $35.99 a month or $299.99 a year. The Globe does not say which puzzles, if any, are free without a subscription. The app shows ads.

Best for: a Canadian-made weekend crossword and a daily cryptic in one app.

Toronto Star

The Star's app promises "Integrated crosswords, Sudoku, and comics for your commute", and its Google Play listing has a Daily Games section with "Sudoku, Crosswords, and more". It does not say which crossword it runs, or whether games need a subscription. The Canadian App Store lists subscriptions at $27.99 a month or $224.99 a year, and the app carries ads.

Best for: Star subscribers who want the crossword with their news.

The National Post

The National Post's app listings do not mention puzzles or crosswords, and its website blocked our checks, so we cannot recommend it as a crossword app. If you already read the Post in print, check its puzzles page in a browser.

Mots croisés: the French-language apps

French-language solvers have better free options than English-language ones, thanks to La Presse.

La Presse+

La Presse+ is La Presse's free tablet app ("une application gratuite pour tablette"), and its Jeux section offers "chaque jour trois grilles de mots croisés, trois sudokus et deux grilles du jeu Le mot", aimed at every level. It is free with ads. One catch: it is a tablet app, listed for iPad on the App Store. The La Presse phone apps do not mention games in their store listings.

Best for: daily mots croisés for free, if you solve on a tablet.

Le Devoir

Le Devoir's app has a games section with "mots croisés, sudoku, mélimots, mot secret". Since an update in September 2026, "Un compte est désormais requis pour accéder aux jeux": you need an account to play, which the listing says takes seconds to create. The listing does not say the games need a paid subscription. Subscriptions on the iPhone app start at $9.99 (Abonnement de base), with Premium at $19.99.

Best for: mots croisés on a phone, in a respected Quebec paper.

We looked for a dedicated Quebec-made crossword or mots fléchés app and did not find one with an active store listing. Crossword by Havos says it is "tailored for Canadian players", uses American-style grids and includes some French crosswords, but it was last updated in January 2024.

The global apps on the Canadian store

NYT Games

The New York Times app has the Crossword (which gets harder through the week), the Mini and the Midi, alongside Wordle, Connections and Spelling Bee. The Canadian App Store lists "Games - Monthly" at $2.99 and a "New York Times Crossword Subscription" at $9.99; the listing does not say whether $2.99 is an introductory price. Subscribers can solve more than 10,000 archive puzzles.

Apple News+

Apple News+ in Canada includes "original mini and full-size crossword puzzles", which are not part of the free Apple News app. It costs $16.99 a month after a free trial (new subscribers get a month free), and it only runs on Apple devices. If you already subscribe for the magazines, you have the crosswords.

Puzzle Page and Daily Themed Crossword

Puzzle Page gives you a page of puzzles every day, including a crossword and a codeword, free "forever in ad-supported mode", or $7.49 a month or $44.99 a year without ads. Daily Themed Crossword has a new themed crossword every day, with three free daily puzzles according to its Google Play listing, and a VIP subscription at $10.99. Neither has a cryptic.

Grid Genius: a crossword about anything Canadian

Grid Genius is not a newspaper app. It generates a crossword on any topic you type: the Stanley Cup, Canadian provinces and capitals, the Group of Seven, the Rideau Canal. You pick a size (7x7, 11x11 or 15x15), a difficulty and a Straight or Punny clue style. Ready-made collections include hockey and the Olympics.

AI Hints rephrase a clue or add a related fact instead of revealing letters. The free tier has a daily challenge with a global leaderboard and streaks, community puzzles, 3 AI-generated puzzles to start, and free word list and freeform makers with no account, useful for a classroom or a family reunion. On the Canadian App Store, Pro is $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year for unlimited AI puzzles and hints, no ads and news-grounded puzzles.

Honest limits: no cryptic clues, no French puzzles (it writes in English, German and Italian), no newspaper puzzles, and the free apps offer optional reward videos (no banner or pop-up ads).

American grids, Canadian spelling

Most English-language crosswords sold in Canada are American-style grids, where every letter belongs to both an across and a down answer. That includes the Universal Crossword the Globe runs most days, NYT Games and USA Today's puzzles. They also use American spelling, so COLOR, not COLOUR, will usually be the answer.

The exceptions are worth seeking out. The Globe's Daily Cryptic comes from the Times in the UK, so it follows British conventions. The Weekender and the Globe Mini are made for the Globe. And in French, La Presse and Le Devoir publish their own grids. If you are new to cryptics, our guide to the art of crossword clues explains how a cryptic clue is built, and our how to solve crossword puzzles guide covers the basics.

How to choose

• You want the most Canadian crossword app. The Globe and Mail, for The Weekender and the Globe Mini.
• You want a cryptic. The Globe's Daily Cryptic, or Fraser Simpson's weekly cryptic in the same app.
• You solve in French. La Presse+ on an iPad for free, Le Devoir on a phone with an account.
• You already pay for Apple News+. Use its crosswords before buying anything else.
• You want the hardest American crosswords. NYT Games.
• You want a free daily crossword on your phone. Puzzle Page or Daily Themed Crossword.
• You want a crossword about something you love. Grid Genius, from the Habs to your book club's last read.

Frequently asked questions