Brain Out Alternatives: What Going Ad-Free Costs

Brain Out's shop is built around keys, a Weekly Card and ad removal (Remove Ads, $4.99). Its rivals Brain Test, Brain Test 2, Braindom and IQ Boost play much the same way and charge in much the same way, so switching riddle games rarely saves money. If what you want is a puzzle with no ads and nothing to buy, you have to change the kind of puzzle: a logic game such as sudoku, where Sudoku Royale is free with no purchases at all.

Eyewind's Brain Out has been on the App Store since 2019 and has 247,738 US ratings. Its listing opens with "What is your IQ level?" and says the game evaluates logical thinking, reflexes, memory and creativity. We make no claims of that kind about Brain Out or any app on this page, ours included; what we can compare is what each one contains and what it charges.

The App Store facts

From each app's US App Store listing, checked October 26, 2026. Prices and paid items change, so check the listing before you buy.

What going ad-free costs in each riddle app

Every riddle app here notes advertising in its App Store age rating. The question is what it takes to make the ads stop, and whether that is a one-time purchase or something that renews.

The cheapest listed ad removal among the riddle apps is IQ Boost's Remove Ads Sale at $0.99. Apple shows only an app's top in-app purchases, so a listing can hold more items than these.

Brain Out's keys, in plain terms

The listing sells keys in several sizes (6 key items among the purchases Apple shows), plus Remove Ads + 10tips $4.99. It does not say on the listing what a key unlocks, so open the shop in the game before you buy. All its listed paid items are: Key x 10 $1.99, Remove Ads $4.99, Key x 40 $4.99, Weekly Card $1.99, Great Value $4.99.

If you pay for one thing, a one-time ad removal is the purchase that lasts. A Weekly Card, whatever it contains, is the kind of item that adds up over a year.

If you want the same jokes: other riddle games

Brain Test and Brain Test 2

The closest match in tone. Brain Test's hints run on lamps, and its listing describes a weekly VIP subscription with a free trial that bundles no ads, a stack of lamps and cheaper hints. Brain Test 2 wraps its riddles in short stories and says it works offline. Our Brain Test alternatives page covers that series in more depth.

Braindom

More varied than Brain Out: alongside the riddles there are word games, color tricks, trivia and who-is-lying mysteries. Its listing describes a weekly premium package without ads. Details are on our Braindom alternatives page.

IQ Boost

The nearest to Brain Out's IQ framing (its listing leans on IQ scores even harder). It is also the only riddle app here with no subscription-style item among its listed purchases: just tip packs and ad removal.

If you want a puzzle you can always solve by thinking

A Brain Out answer is meant to surprise you, which means you often cannot reason your way to it. You try things until one works, or you spend a key. Logic puzzles trade the surprise for fairness: the rules are stated up front, nothing is hidden, and every correct move can be proven from what is on the screen.

Sudoku Royale

Our own app. It is free with no ads, no in-app purchases and no subscription. Hints are free too, though they only appear after you have been stuck for a while, and they name the technique and the cell rather than giving the number away. Each wrong number is rejected the moment you place it, so you are never twenty moves into a broken grid. If you are new to sudoku, start with the 88-level Journey or read up on hidden singles, the first technique most people need. What you give up: Brain Out's humor and variety, undo (there is none), and Android.

Nonogram.com

A picture logic puzzle from Easybrain: number clues tell you which squares to shade, and a drawing appears when you finish. It has ads and sells coins, so it fixes the puzzle problem but not the paying problem.

Which riddle app suits which player

• Families playing together: Brain Test. Its listing stresses family friendly graphics and no timers.
• Players who want a story: Brain Test 2, where the riddles hang off recurring characters.
• Players who get bored of one format: Braindom, which switches between riddles, word games and mysteries.
• Players who want to pay once and be done: IQ Boost, whose listed items are packs and ad removal rather than anything weekly.
• Players who are tired of riddles: a logic puzzle, because every app in the riddle group charges for help in the same way.

When Brain Out is still the better pick

• Short, silly breaks. A riddle takes a minute. Even an easy sudoku takes several.
• Sound and slapstick. Its listing promises funny sounds and witty effects. Logic puzzles are quiet by design.
• You never pay anyway. If the ads do not bother you and you skip the shop, the price question does not apply.
• Android. Brain Out is on Android; Sudoku Royale is not.

The short answer

Same humor: Brain Test or Braindom, and pay once for ad removal in the one you keep. No ads and no shop at all: get Sudoku Royale and play the Daily Challenge. More options are on the puzzle games with no ads page and our sudoku app comparisons.