Killer Sudoku by Sudoku.com Alternatives (2026)

If you want to keep playing killer sudoku, the two closest alternatives to Killer Sudoku by Sudoku.com are Sudoku: Classic Puzzle Games and Sudoku: Brain Puzzle Games: both list killer puzzles next to classic sudoku, in one app. If you are leaving because of the ads and are happy to go back to classic 9x9, Sudoku Royale has no ads and nothing to buy, but it has no killer mode at all. That second point matters, so it comes first: most sudoku apps on the App Store are classic only, and dedicated killer apps are rare. Below is what each option offers, what it charges and what it does not do.

Why players look for an alternative

Killer Sudoku by Sudoku.com is Easybrain's killer-only app, on the App Store since 2020 with 218,315 US ratings. Its listing promises thousands of levels, daily challenges with trophies, seasonal events with medals, and hints and notes. It is free with ads, and the paid item its listing shows is Killer Sudoku No Ads at $14.99. The usual reasons to move on are the ads, that one-time price, or wanting killer and classic puzzles under one roof instead of two separate Easybrain apps.

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.

Which alternatives have killer sudoku

If you want to keep playing killer

Sudoku: Classic Puzzle Games

This is the closest swap. Its listing names Killer Sudoku, X-Sudoku and Hyper Sudoku as variations beside classic puzzles at four levels (Easy to Expert), plus a daily challenge with streaks, hints with step-by-step guides, notes, an auto-check you switch on, and offline play. It shows ads, and the paid items listed are called Sudoku Premium (Sudoku Premium $4.99, Sudoku Premium $39.99). The listing does not spell out what Premium includes, so read the purchase screen before paying.

Sudoku: Brain Puzzle Games

OAKEVER's app is mainly classic sudoku (its listing says over 5,000 handcrafted puzzles at four levels) with Killer Sudoku and Letter Sudoku as extra modes. It lists undo and redo, duplicate highlighting, dark mode, offline play and multiplayer tournaments. Its pricing is the busiest here: weekly, monthly and yearly subscriptions, battle tickets, and a Remove Ads item at $4.99. The listing text calls it an ad-free game environment, while its App Store age rating says it contains advertising and it sells ad removal, so expect ads unless you pay.

If you are ready to go back to classic sudoku

Plenty of killer players started on classic sudoku and drift back when the arithmetic stops being fun. The classic techniques still matter in killer: a hidden single or a naked pair works the same way inside cages. Three classic options without killer:

• Sudoku Royale. Classic 9x9 at six levels, Easy to Extreme, with no ads, no purchases and no subscription. Its hints name the technique instead of giving the number, and the 88-level Journey teaches one technique per chapter. The limits for a killer player: no killer or any other variant, no undo, and it runs on iPhone and iPad only.
• Sudoku Now! Five levels up to Master, with hints its listing says teach solving techniques, auto-updating notes and unlimited undo. Ads can be removed with the No-Ads Pack at $12.99.
• Sudoku Master. No killer either, but its listing offers 6x6 and 16x16 grids beside 9x9, if what you liked about killer was a change from the standard puzzle.

Where Killer Sudoku by Sudoku.com is still the better pick

• You only want killer. It is the one app here built entirely around cages, so killer is the main menu rather than a side mode.
• You like Easybrain's events. Daily trophies and seasonal medals are the same system as in Sudoku.com, which some players already know from the classic app. Our Sudoku Royale vs Sudoku.com comparison covers that side.
• A single payment is fine with you. Its ad removal is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, unlike the weekly, monthly and yearly plans Sudoku: Brain Puzzle Games sells.

Which should you choose?

To keep solving cages, try Sudoku: Classic Puzzle Games first for the widest set of variants, or Sudoku: Brain Puzzle Games if you want killer as a side dish to classic play. To leave the ads behind and return to classic sudoku with hints that teach, get Sudoku Royale and accept that killer is not part of it. For a wider look, see the best killer sudoku apps, how killer compares with other sudoku variants, our Sudoku.com alternatives and every page on the sudoku app comparisons hub.