# Which Sudoku app is right for you? Six iPhone and iPad apps compared > Six Sudoku apps for iPhone and iPad compared on ads, price, difficulty levels, hints and sync, using facts from their App Store listings. Every Sudoku app has the same grid and the same rules. They differ in whether they show ads, how they charge, how they grade difficulty, how they feel to use and what they add on top, such as hints, daily puzzles or technique lessons. This page compares six of them for iPhone and iPad. I am Edvin Lindén and I make one of the six, [Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited](https://edvinlinden.se/sudoku/). Everything this page says about the other five comes from official sources, meaning their US App Store listings and their developers' own websites, and none of it from my own impressions. Where those sources say nothing, the page says "Not confirmed". Prices are in US dollars from the US App Store. - Page: https://edvinlinden.se/sudoku/which-sudoku-app-is-right-for-you/ - Facts checked: 6 October 2026, US App Store ## The six apps side by side | | Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited (made by the author) | Classic Sudoku! | Good Sudoku | NYT Games | Sudoku by Brainium | Sudoku.com | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free | $4.99 | Free to download | Free to download | Free | Free | | Ads | No | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes | | In-app purchases | None | None listed | Full Game Unlock, $4.99 | Subscriptions | Remove Ads, $11.99 | Sudoku.com No Ads, $14.99 | | Subscription | No | None listed | None listed | Optional, monthly plans listed from $4.99 | None listed | None listed | | Difficulty levels | 5 | No named levels, 100 puzzles | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | | Hints | No | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | | Notes | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | | Daily puzzle | No | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes, daily puzzles only | Yes | Yes | | Languages | 6 languages | English | English | English | 17 languages | 17 languages | | Requires | iOS 18.6 | iOS 10.0 | iOS 13.0 | iOS 18.0 | iOS 15.0 | iOS 15.0 | | Last updated | October 2026 | November 2020 | July 2025 | September 2026 | June 2026 | September 2026 | | App Store | [Get app](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6757938217?pt=2191183&ct=edvinlinden-se&mt=8) | [Get app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1488838275) | [Get app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1489118195) | [Get app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id307569751) | [Get app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id418044512) | [Get app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1193508329) | All six run on both iPhone and iPad. "None listed" means the App Store listing shows no such purchase. A table cannot show how an app feels to use, so the screenshots on each listing are worth a look before choosing. ## Which app fits which need Start from what matters to you. Each answer names every app whose listing or developer confirms it. - **No ads.** Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited has no ads and nothing to buy. Good Sudoku+ is part of Apple Arcade, where Apple states there are no ads and no in-app purchases. Sudoku.com and Sudoku by Brainium show ads and each sells a one-time removal, at $14.99 and $11.99. NYT Games declares advertising on its listing. For Good Sudoku and Classic Sudoku! the listings do not say either way. - **Costs nothing at all.** Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited is free with nothing to buy. Sudoku.com and Sudoku by Brainium are free to play with ads. The Sudoku in NYT Games is playable without a subscription. Good Sudoku is free to download, and its listing does not say how much is playable before the $4.99 unlock. - **Plays offline.** Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited generates every puzzle on the device and works without a connection. Apple says Apple Arcade games play online or offline, which covers Good Sudoku+. The other listings do not mention offline play, which is different from saying they need a connection. - **Stays simple.** Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited is classic Sudoku with notes, undo and statistics, and has no daily challenges, events or leaderboards. Classic Sudoku! lists three features: 100 puzzles, themes and hints. - **A daily puzzle.** Sudoku.com, Sudoku by Brainium and Good Sudoku all have daily puzzles next to their regular ones, and Good Sudoku adds global leaderboards for them. NYT Games offers daily puzzles only, three a day. Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited has no daily puzzle. - **Hard puzzles.** Good Sudoku names the techniques its hardest puzzles require, including Jellyfish and Swordfish. Classic Sudoku! says its advanced puzzles are built around difficult techniques. The Extremely Hard level in Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited requires chains and coloring. Sudoku.com has six levels and Sudoku by Brainium tops out at Expert, without a published grading method. NYT Games stops at hard. - **Learning techniques.** Good Sudoku lets you practise techniques one at a time and tracks which ones you have learned. The hints in Sudoku by Brainium explain the reasoning behind each step. The hints in Classic Sudoku! are written by its two hosts. Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited has no hints and no lessons. ## Each app in brief The same six points for each app. ### Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited By Edvin Lindén. - **What it is.** The app I make. It is a classic Sudoku app for iPhone and iPad that generates every puzzle on the device. - **How it makes money.** It does not. The app is free, with no ads, no in-app purchases and no subscription. I build it as a passion project. - **Difficulty.** Five levels from Easy to Extremely Hard, graded by the solving techniques each puzzle needs. - **What it offers.** I designed it to be free of distractions, with a familiar number pad and simple controls. It plays offline, needs no account and syncs between iPhone and iPad through iCloud. Notes update themselves, undo is unlimited and there are statistics per difficulty. - **Limits.** There are no hints, no technique lessons and no daily puzzle, and it plays classic Sudoku only. It needs iOS 18.6, the newest requirement of the six, and there is no Android or web version. - **App Store privacy label.** The label lists a device ID and usage data, not linked to identity. The app collects anonymous usage data by default, which can be switched off in its Privacy screen. - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6757938217?pt=2191183&ct=edvinlinden-se&mt=8 - More about Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited: https://edvinlinden.se/sudoku/ ### Classic Sudoku! By Cracking the Cryptic (Nick Carney). - **What it is.** A collection of 100 hand-made classic Sudoku puzzles presented by Cracking the Cryptic, the YouTube Sudoku channel hosted by Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe. - **How it makes money.** It costs $4.99 up front. The listing shows no in-app purchases. - **Difficulty.** There are no named levels. The listing says the puzzles cover a wide range of difficulty and were play-tested by people instead of a computer. Solving puzzles earns stars, and stars unlock more puzzles. - **What it offers.** Every puzzle was chosen by a person, and the hints are written by the two hosts. The listing says the advanced puzzles are designed to help solvers understand the techniques involved. - **Limits.** The collection ends at 100 puzzles. The app is in English only and was last updated in November 2020. Notes and ads are not mentioned on the listing. - **App Store privacy label.** The developer has not provided privacy details to Apple. - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1488838275 ### Good Sudoku By Zach Gage. - **What it is.** A classic Sudoku app by Zach Gage built around learning the game, with more than 70,000 puzzles. - **How it makes money.** It is free to download, with one in-app purchase called Full Game Unlock at $4.99. The listing does not say what is playable before the unlock. A separate edition, Good Sudoku+, is part of Apple Arcade. - **Difficulty.** Five levels, graded by technique. The developer says the app lays out which techniques each level requires, and names XYZ Wings, Hidden Quadruples, Jellyfish and Swordfish for the hardest puzzles. - **What it offers.** Techniques can be practised one at a time outside puzzles, and the app keeps track of the ones already learned. Hints point to the next technique a puzzle needs. There are three daily modes with global leaderboards, a custom mode for entering a puzzle from elsewhere, and iCloud sync. - **Limits.** The app is in English only and was last updated in July 2025. Whether the free version shows ads is not confirmed. - **App Store privacy label.** The label lists data not linked to identity, including a device ID and advertising data under third-party advertising. - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1489118195 - playgoodsudoku.com: https://www.playgoodsudoku.com/ ### NYT Games By The New York Times Company. - **What it is.** The New York Times puzzle app. Sudoku is one of eleven games named on the listing, next to Wordle, the Crossword and Connections. - **How it makes money.** It is free to download, and the Times help center lists Sudoku among the games playable without a subscription. A Games subscription, with monthly plans listed from $4.99, opens the full catalog. The listing declares advertising. - **Difficulty.** One new puzzle a day at each of three levels: easy, medium and hard. The Times has not published how they are graded. - **What it offers.** Sudoku sits in the same app as the other Times games. Progress syncs through a New York Times account, and playing without one keeps progress on the device. - **Limits.** There are three Sudoku puzzles a day. The app is in English only and needs iOS 18.0 or later. Hints and notes for Sudoku are not mentioned on the listing. - **App Store privacy label.** The label includes data that may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies. - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id307569751 - What a Games subscription includes: https://help.nytimes.com/360011158491-New-York-Times-Games/360052272251-New-York-Times-Games-Subscription ### Sudoku by Brainium By Brainium Studios. - **What it is.** A classic Sudoku app from Brainium Studios with an unlimited supply of puzzles, in 17 languages. - **How it makes money.** It is free and shows ads. One in-app purchase, Remove Ads, costs $11.99. - **Difficulty.** Five levels: Breezy, Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert. Brainium has not published how they are graded. - **What it offers.** The Hint button explains the technique behind the next step with animations, which Brainium describes as teaching why the answer is what it is. The app also has daily puzzles, statistics, achievements, leaderboards, auto-fill notes, landscape play and iPad keyboard support. - **Limits.** The listing declares advertising, which the Remove Ads purchase addresses. Offline play and syncing between devices are not mentioned on the listing. - **App Store privacy label.** The label includes data that may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies. - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id418044512 - brainium.com: https://brainium.com/games/sudoku/ ### Sudoku.com By Easybrain. - **What it is.** A classic Sudoku app from Easybrain with thousands of puzzles, in 17 languages. - **How it makes money.** It is free and shows ads. One in-app purchase, Sudoku.com No Ads, costs $14.99. - **Difficulty.** Six levels, which Easybrain describes as running from quick and easy puzzles to extremely challenging grids. Easybrain has not published how they are graded. - **What it offers.** Daily Challenges with trophies, Seasonal Events, and tournaments with a leaderboard. The app also has hints, notes that update themselves, optional auto-check and statistics. - **Limits.** The listing declares advertising, which the No Ads purchase addresses. Offline play and syncing between devices are not mentioned on the listing. - **App Store privacy label.** The label includes data that may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies. - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1193508329 - easybrain.com/sudoku: https://easybrain.com/sudoku ## Why difficulty labels do not compare across apps An Easy puzzle in one app and an Easy puzzle in another are not the same measurement. There are two common ways to grade a Sudoku. One counts the numbers given at the start, on the idea that fewer givens make a harder puzzle. The other runs a solver over the puzzle and records which techniques it needs. The two can disagree, because a puzzle with few givens can still fall to plain scanning, and a puzzle with many can hide one step that needs an advanced technique. Two of the six developers say they grade by technique. Good Sudoku states that it lays out which techniques each level requires. Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited does the same, and its five levels are summarized below. Classic Sudoku! has no grades of that kind, since its 100 puzzles were made and play-tested by people. Easybrain, Brainium and The New York Times have not published how they grade, so a Hard in those apps cannot be mapped onto a Hard anywhere else. ### The five levels in Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited The difficulty of each Sudoku puzzle is based on the solving techniques it requires, rather than simply how many numbers are given at the start. Each level introduces more advanced ways of eliminating candidates. 1. **Easy.** Every square can be solved by scanning alone. Look for a row, column, or block where a number has only one possible place. Notes are never needed. 2. **Medium.** Scanning still does most of the work, but some steps require an extra piece of reasoning. By ruling a number out from part of a block or line, a square can be left with only one possible place for that number. 3. **Hard.** This is where notes start to become useful. Instead of placing numbers directly, you narrow down candidates. Some puzzles require patterns such as two squares sharing the same two candidates, or a number being restricted to a rectangle across two rows and two columns. 4. **Very Hard.** The puzzles require longer chains of eliminations. You may need to identify three squares that together contain only three candidates, or use a three-square wing to eliminate a candidate elsewhere in the grid. 5. **Extremely Hard.** The hardest puzzles in the app require advanced patterns and chains. These include chains linking squares through a shared block and coloring, where a single candidate is followed through the grid until a contradiction reveals which possibility must be eliminated. [Read the full description of each level](https://edvinlinden.se/sudoku/#difficulty) ## What "free" means Five of the six apps cost nothing to download, and they pay for themselves in different ways. - **Free with ads and a paid removal.** Sudoku.com and Sudoku by Brainium. Playing costs nothing and the app shows advertising. A one-time purchase, $14.99 or $11.99, removes the ads for good. - **Free download with a one-time unlock.** Good Sudoku. The download is free and a single $4.99 purchase unlocks the full game. The listing does not describe the free part. - **Paid up front.** Classic Sudoku! costs $4.99 before the first puzzle, and its listing shows nothing further to buy. - **Part of a wider subscription.** NYT Games lets you play its daily Sudoku without paying, and sells a subscription to the rest of its catalog. Good Sudoku+ comes with [Apple Arcade](https://www.apple.com/apple-arcade/), which Apple prices at $6.99 a month for a catalog of more than 200 games with no ads and no in-app purchases. - **Free with nothing to buy.** Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited. There are no ads and no purchases, so the app earns nothing. ## Questions about choosing a Sudoku app ### Is there a free Sudoku app for iPhone without ads? Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited is free and has no ads and no in-app purchases. Of the other five apps compared here, none is confirmed as both free and ad-free by its App Store listing. Sudoku.com and Sudoku by Brainium are free with ads and sell a one-time removal, NYT Games declares advertising, and the Good Sudoku listing does not say. ### Which Sudoku apps run on an older iPhone or iPad? Classic Sudoku! needs iOS 10.0 or later and Good Sudoku needs iOS 13.0. Sudoku.com and Sudoku by Brainium need iOS 15.0. NYT Games needs iOS 18.0 and Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited needs iOS 18.6, so those two only run on recent devices. ### Do these Sudoku apps need an account? Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited has no account at all. NYT Games can be played without logging in, in which case progress stays on the device, and a New York Times account syncs it. The other four listings do not say whether an account is needed. ### Which Sudoku apps sync between iPhone and iPad? Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited and Good Sudoku both sync through iCloud. NYT Games syncs through a New York Times account. Syncing is not mentioned on the listings for Sudoku.com, Sudoku by Brainium or Classic Sudoku!. ### Is the New York Times Sudoku free? Yes. The Times help center lists Sudoku among the games that can be played without a Games subscription. The NYT Games app offers one new puzzle a day at each of three levels: easy, medium and hard. ### Is Good Sudoku on Apple Arcade? Yes, as a separate app called Good Sudoku+. Its listing describes six difficulty levels where the standard edition describes five. Good Sudoku+ was last updated in October 2021 and the standard edition in July 2025. ## Get Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited If the app I make sounds like the right fit, it is free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Read more about Sudoku – No Ads, Unlimited](https://edvinlinden.se/sudoku/).