Best Crossword Apps 2026: Free, AI, and NYT Compared
Best crossword apps of 2026: our top free pick, the best for the NYT classic, and the best AI app for puzzles on any topic. Find your match in 60 seconds.
Looking for the best crossword puzzle app? Whether you want a quick daily challenge, AI-generated puzzles on any topic, or classic newspaper-style construction, there's an app for that. We tested and compared the most popular crossword apps in 2026.
There is no single best crossword app: the NYT Crossword leads for classic, hand-crafted puzzles, while Grid Genius is the best free pick for AI-generated crosswords on any topic, with a built-in maker. Here's how the top apps compare.
How we compared these apps. We check every price against the app's own store listing rather than a press release, and we played the daily puzzle on each one so the notes reflect real solving, not just feature lists. The last pass was July 2026, and it changed two entries below: one app we had recommended has quietly left both stores, and another turns out to be ad-supported after all. The picks weigh how generous the free tier is, how good the hints are, and how the app feels on a phone, not download counts or star ratings.
The Best Crossword Apps at a Glance
Short on time? Here are the top picks by what you care about most. For most people the best free crossword app is Grid Genius: a free daily challenge plus community puzzles, with no account needed to start. If you would rather not install anything at all, it also runs in a browser at play.gridgenius.app, alongside the other options in our roundup of free online crossword puzzles.
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Quick Comparison
Grid Genius is the only app with AI-powered hints and custom topics, and the daily challenge is completely free with no account needed. Tap a filter to see who keeps up.
| App | Price | Daily | Custom topics | Maker | AI hints | No account | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grid Genius | Free / $7.99 mo | iOS · Android · Web | |||||
NYT Crossword | $39.99/yr or ~$5/mo | iOS · Android · Web | |||||
Redstone | Free (ads) | iOS · Android | |||||
CodyCross | Free (ads + IAP) | iOS · Android | |||||
Wordscapes | Free (ads + IAP) | iOS · Android | |||||
Little Crossword | Free (ads) | iOS · Android | |||||
Penny Dell | Free (ads) + IAP | iOS · Android |
The 7 Apps, Reviewed
01Grid Genius
Editor's pickGrid Genius takes a fundamentally different approach to crosswords: instead of a fixed library of human-constructed puzzles, it uses AI (Google Gemini) to generate infinite unique puzzles on any topic you choose.
Try it right here. This is a live demo of the AI hints:
Want the full story of what the AI is doing there? Read our deep dive into the AI crossword generator with clues, which writes every clue (and the answer key) for you, or the companion guide to making your own crossword when you would rather supply the words yourself.
- AI-generated puzzles on any topic: Enter any topic ("Taylor Swift," "Organic Chemistry," "90s Sitcoms") and get a unique puzzle made just for you
- AI hints that help you think: Instead of just revealing answers, Grid Genius uses AI to generate contextual clues that nudge you toward the answer. Multiple progressive hints per clue, each more helpful than the last. No other crossword app has this.
- 3 difficulty levels × 3 grid sizes: 9 combinations from Mini Easy to Large Hard
- Built-in crossword maker: Create custom puzzles with the free Word List Builder and Freeform Editor, plus AI Generation (3 free per account, then 1 free AI puzzle a day, unlimited on Pro). Share any puzzle for free
- Daily challenge: A new puzzle every day with global leaderboard and streak tracking
- Cross-platform sync: Play on iPhone, Android, or web and pick up where you left off
Most of what has landed since the spring has been about solving with other people rather than alone. You can now challenge a friend to a duel on the same grid and settle it on a scorecard, turn a handful of plain facts about someone into a personalized crossword for a birthday or an anniversary, or send a Know Me Test to a group chat and find out who actually knows you. Generating a puzzle also has a clue style switch now: Straight for clear definitions, Punny when you want the clues to earn a groan.
- ·Free tier: daily challenges, community puzzles, sharing, and the full maker (Word List Builder + Freeform Editor)
- ·Free AI: 3 generated puzzles to start plus 1 more each day; 2 hints to start, 1 more free daily, and up to 3 more from rewarded ads
- ·Pro ($7.99/month or $49.99/year): unlimited AI puzzles, unlimited hints, news-grounded puzzles, premium themes, ad-free
- –Puzzles are AI-generated, so you do not get the editorial voice of a named human constructor
- –No downloadable offline library: puzzles load from the server, so a plane without wifi means printing a PDF first (progress does survive a dropout and syncs later)
- –Free AI generation is capped (3 to start, then 1 a day), so heavy creators need Pro
- –The daily archive only goes back to launch, so there is no decades-deep back catalogue like a legacy newspaper app
Best crossword app for Android
On Android, Grid Genius is the pick if you want AI-generated puzzles on any topic, progressive AI hints, and a built-in maker, with a free daily challenge and no account to start. The app is available now on Google Play. If you would rather have a large library of traditional puzzles on Google Play today, Crossword Puzzle Redstone is the solid free alternative.
02NYT Crossword
The New York Times Crossword is the gold standard of crossword puzzles. Human-constructed by professional setters, edited by Will Shortz, and steeped in decades of tradition. Worth knowing before you go looking for it: the app is listed in the stores as NYT Games: Wordle & Crossword, and the crossword now shares it with the rest of the NYT puzzle stable.
- Legendary quality: Each puzzle is hand-crafted and meticulously edited
- Progressive difficulty: Monday (easiest) through Saturday (hardest), with a larger Sunday puzzle
- Mini crossword: A quick 5×5 daily puzzle included for free
- Massive archive: Access to thousands of past puzzles
- Community: The most active crossword community and discussion culture
- ·The Mini and Wordle are free
- ·Full subscription: the App Store listing showed a $39.99 yearly plan and monthly options in the $5 to $6 range when we checked in July 2026
- ·Sold as the NYT Games bundle (Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles, Sudoku, Pips and the Midi)
- –No custom topics, you solve what's published
- –No puzzle creation tools
- –Subscription required for full puzzles
- –Difficulty curve can intimidate beginners (Saturday puzzles are notoriously hard)
03Crossword Puzzle Redstone
Redstone offers a massive library of free crossword puzzles from indie and professional constructors. No subscription required for the core experience.
- Huge free library: Thousands of puzzles with new ones added regularly
- No subscription: Core gameplay is completely free (ad-supported)
- Clean interface: Well-designed solving experience on mobile
- Multiple difficulty levels: Easy through expert
- Offline support: Download puzzles to solve without internet
- ·Free, ad-supported
- ·No subscription tiers
- –Ad-supported (can be intrusive)
- –No custom topics or puzzle creation
- –Quality varies across different constructors
- –No web version
04CodyCross
CodyCross reinvents the crossword format. Instead of a traditional grid, it uses themed adventure worlds with connected word puzzles.
- Unique format: Horizontal-only answers that spell out a mystery word in a vertical column
- Themed worlds: Progress through themed chapters (Inventions, Planet Earth, Seasons, etc.)
- Story mode: Narrative adventure that gives context to each puzzle set
- Social features: Team challenges and events
- ·Free with ads
- ·In-app purchases
- ·Energy system limits free play
- –Not a traditional crossword: the format is different
- –Heavy monetization through in-app purchases
- –Can feel grindy at higher levels
- –Energy system caps free play
05Wordscapes
Wordscapes isn't a crossword in the traditional sense: it's a word-building game where you form words from a set of scrambled letters to fill a crossword-style grid.
- Accessible gameplay: Simple swipe-to-spell mechanic
- Relaxing atmosphere: Beautiful nature-themed backgrounds
- Massive content: Thousands of levels across scenic locations
- Daily puzzle: A new challenge every day
- ·Free with ads
- ·In-app purchases for hints
- –Not real crosswords (no clues, you guess words from letters)
- –Ad-heavy free experience
- –Gets repetitive at higher levels
- –In-app purchases for hints
06Little Crossword Puzzles
If you only have five minutes, Little Crossword Puzzles delivers bite-sized crosswords with just 6-7 clues each.
One caveat, added July 2026. We could not find this app under that name on either store when we last checked: the App Store entry we had on file now returns nothing, and the Google Play package is gone too. Small indie puzzle apps get pulled quietly, so treat this entry as a description of the category rather than a live download link. If the five-minute solve is what you are after, the free NYT Mini and the Mini grid size in Grid Genius both fill the same slot and are definitely still there.
- Ultra-quick: Most puzzles take 2-5 minutes
- Low commitment: No progression system or daily streaks to maintain
- Simple interface: No frills, just puzzles
- Free: Ad-supported but not aggressive
- ·Free, ad-supported
- –We could not find it listed on either store in July 2026
- –Very small puzzles only
- –Limited depth for serious crossword fans
- –No difficulty settings
- –No custom topics or creation tools
07Penny Dell Crosswords
Penny Dell brings the puzzles from the well-known Penny Press and Dell crossword magazines to mobile. Look for it as Penny Dell Daily Crossword on the App Store and Penny Dell Crossword Puzzles on Google Play. If a quiet solve is your priority, see our pick for the best crossword app with no ads.
- Trusted magazine puzzles: Crosswords from Penny Press and Dell, longtime print publishers
- Three difficulty levels: Easy, medium, and hard, so the whole family can play
- Ads can be cleared for good: the app is free with ads, and one in-app purchase removes them with no subscription to keep paying
- Free sampler: Starts with a free set of puzzles, with more collections available via in-app purchase
- ·Free with ads, plus a free sampler of puzzles
- ·Remove Ads was a one-time $19.99 in-app purchase on the App Store when we checked in July 2026
- ·Extra puzzle packs sold separately as in-app purchases
- –Ad-supported unless you buy Remove Ads, and the App Store listing carries the "Contains Advertising" label
- –Smaller free library than Redstone
- –No custom topics, puzzle maker, or AI hints
- –Traditional format only
How to Choose the Right App
Choose based on what matters most to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Grid Genius offers the most generous free tier: daily challenges and community puzzles with no account required. Everyone can create custom puzzles for free with the Word List Builder and Freeform Editor, and every account gets 3 AI generations to start plus 1 more free AI puzzle each day after that (Pro is unlimited). Crossword Puzzle Redstone also offers thousands of free traditional crosswords.
Every ad-free crossword app is paid for one way or another. Penny Dell sells a one-time Remove Ads purchase, so there is no subscription to keep paying. A New York Times subscription removes ads from the full crossword. Grid Genius is ad-free on Pro, and even on the free tier the daily challenge is not interrupted mid-solve. Free apps that carry no ads at all are rare, and the ones that claim it usually charge for puzzle packs instead.
Yes. Grid Genius provides free daily challenges with a global leaderboard and streak tracking, similar to the NYT's daily format but with AI-generated puzzles. The Mini crossword from NYT is also free.
Grid Genius offers Easy difficulty with common vocabulary and straightforward clues, making it accessible for beginners. The Mini (7x7) grid size is also less intimidating than a full 15x15 puzzle. The free NYT Mini is another gentle starting point.
Grid Genius is the only major crossword app with a built-in puzzle maker. It offers three creation methods: Word List Builder, Freeform Editor, and AI Generation (3 free per account, then 1 free AI puzzle a day, unlimited on Pro). Created puzzles can be shared via link or printed as PDF for free.
Crossword Puzzle Redstone advertises offline solving on its store listing, and Penny Dell sells puzzle collections you can play offline. Grid Genius loads puzzles from the server, so the offline route there is printing a puzzle as a PDF. Offline support changes between updates, so check the app's own listing for the word 'offline' before you rely on it for a flight.
On Android, Grid Genius is available on Google Play, with AI-generated puzzles on any topic, progressive AI hints, a built-in puzzle maker, a free daily challenge, and no account. Crossword Puzzle Redstone has a large free library of traditional puzzles on Google Play.
Grid Genius is a strong iPhone pick: a free daily challenge, AI-generated puzzles on any topic, and AI hints, with no account needed. The NYT Crossword is the classic choice for hand-crafted daily puzzles if you want a subscription.
Grid Genius offers a free daily crossword challenge online at play.gridgenius.app, with no account or subscription, plus a free crossword maker. The NYT Mini is another free online option, though the full NYT crossword requires a subscription.
A real crossword on any topic.
AI-generated puzzles with smart hints that help you think, not just give away answers. Free to play, no sign-up required.