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 verified every price listed here against each app's own listing in June 2026, and we played the daily puzzle on each one so the notes reflect real solving, not just feature lists. 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.
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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 / $4.99–$7.99 | iOS · Android · Web | |||||
NYT Crossword | $39.99/yr or $4.25/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 + 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:
- 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 Plus/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
- ·Free tier includes daily challenges, community puzzles, sharing, the full maker (Word List Builder + Freeform Editor), and 3 AI puzzles included
- ·Plus ($4.99/month): 5 AI puzzles/day, 15 hints, ad-free
- ·Pro ($7.99/month): Unlimited AI puzzles, unlimited hints
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.
- 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
- ·Mini crossword is free
- ·Full subscription: $39.99/year or $4.25/month
- ·Sold as the NYT Games bundle (Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee and more)
- –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.
- 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
- –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, with a clean, ad-free solving experience. 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
- Ad-free gameplay: Solving is not interrupted by ads
- Free sampler: Starts with a free set of puzzles, with more available via in-app purchase
- ·Free sampler
- ·In-app purchase packs
- –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 includes 3 free AI generations (Plus adds 5 per day, Pro is unlimited). Crossword Puzzle Redstone also offers thousands of free traditional crosswords.
Penny Dell Crosswords is the best free pick that never interrupts your solve with ads. A New York Times subscription also removes ads from the full crossword. Grid Genius is ad-free on Plus and Pro, and even on the free tier the daily challenge is not interrupted mid-solve.
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. Little Crossword Puzzles is another good beginner option.
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 Plus/Pro). Created puzzles can be shared via link or printed as PDF for free.
NYT Crossword, Redstone, CodyCross, Wordscapes, and Little Crossword Puzzles all support offline play with downloaded puzzles. Grid Genius supports printing puzzles as PDF for offline solving.
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.