PeopleFun Sudoku Alternatives Without the Subscription

PeopleFun's Sudoku is free with ads, and the only way its listing offers to remove them is a subscription (Ads Free Subscription, $2.99). The best alternatives either have no ads at all, like Sudoku Royale, or remove them with one payment: Brainium Sudoku, Sudoku by Mind The Frog, nerByte Sudoku and Sudoku.com all sell one-time ad removal, and Good Sudoku sells a one-time full game unlock. If you like PeopleFun's scores and Runs, two of these keep a scoring side too. Here is what each one does, and where PeopleFun is still the better app.

What PeopleFun's Sudoku offers

It is one of the oldest sudoku apps on the App Store, listed since 2010, with 663,589 US ratings. The listing describes classic 9x9 sudoku at four levels (Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert) with a scoring twist: points for speed, accuracy and completed rows, columns and boxes, and Runs that build as you solve puzzle after puzzle without breaking your streak. Scores go to Game Center leaderboards, so you can compare with friends. You get pencil notes, hints, undo and auto-check, and the listing says you can turn those helpers off for a cleaner challenge. It runs on iPhone and iPad.

The friction is the ad model. PeopleFun's listing says it shares personal information with advertising partners to personalize ads, and ad-free play is "an optional ad-free subscription". The listing does not say how often the subscription bills, so check the purchase screen. If you play sudoku for years, a recurring charge adds up in a way a single purchase does not.

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.

Ad-free play, scores and tools compared

The alternatives

Sudoku Royale: no ads, nothing to subscribe to

Sudoku Royale is our app. It has no ads, no in-app purchases and no subscription, so there is nothing to compare with PeopleFun's subscription price. It plays classic sudoku at six levels; the top two, Master and Extreme, sit above an Expert level and unlock after a few solves at the level below. If PeopleFun's leaderboards are what you will miss, the Daily Challenge has a leaderboard against friends and the world, a streak counter and an archive of past days, and there is a weekly Belts league fed by every solve. It is weaker on two things PeopleFun lists: there is no undo, and mistake checking is always on (a wrong number is rejected the moment you place it), so you cannot switch it off. It is also new, with only a handful of ratings so far.

Brainium Sudoku: the closest swap for score chasers

Brainium's listing describes a scoring system for competing with yourself or friends, global and friend leaderboards, and daily puzzles that earn points and gold checkmarks. Its hints explain the logic behind the answer. It also lists auto-fill and auto-clear notes, an optional error check, landscape play with a left-handed option, and iPad keyboard support. Ads go with a one-time Remove Ads purchase at $11.99. Our Sudoku Royale vs Brainium page compares it with ours in detail.

Good Sudoku: for players who want to get much better

Zach Gage's app lists over 70,000 puzzles, five levels, three daily modes that get harder through the week with global leaderboards, and AI hints that look at your answers and notes to find the technique you are missing. Its hardest puzzles need techniques like Swordfish and XYZ-Wings. Its listing does not mention ads; the paid item it shows is Full Game Unlock at $4.99, a single payment.

Sudoku by Mind The Frog: plain and quick

The listing promises no long intros or slow animations, six levels from easy to "diabolical", undo and redo, automatic and manual notes, conflict highlighting and up to ten grids in progress at once. It plays on or offline. Ads can be removed with a one-time Remove Ads purchase at $1.99.

nerByte Sudoku and Sudoku.com

nerByte's listing offers explanatory step-by-step hints, landscape and portrait play, adjustable number size and unrestricted offline play, with Sudoku No Ads at $7.99. Sudoku.com is the most rated sudoku app in the US; it has daily challenges with trophies, seasonal events and an auto-check you can turn on or off, like PeopleFun's. Its Sudoku.com No Ads purchase is $14.99. See our Sudoku.com alternatives if you are leaving that one too.

Where PeopleFun's Sudoku is still the better pick

• You love the scoring. Points for speed and for finishing rows and boxes, plus Runs across puzzles, are its own design. Brainium is the nearest match, but no app here copies Runs.
• You want undo and an optional auto-check together. Sudoku Royale has neither: no undo, and checking cannot be turned off.
• You only play a few minutes a day. If the ads do not bother you, it costs nothing, and a short daily session never needs the subscription.
• You trust a long track record. It has been on the App Store since 2010.

Which should you choose?

If the subscription is your reason for leaving, any one-time option above ends the question, and Brainium keeps the scoring feel closest. If you would rather pay nothing and see no ads, and can live without undo, try Sudoku Royale. For more ways to compare, see the best sudoku apps without a subscription, the best sudoku apps with no ads and the full sudoku app comparisons hub.