Almost every sudoku app is free to download, so the useful question is what kind of free. Of the 13 apps below, Sudoku Royale and Sudoku Face Off are free with no ads and nothing to buy. Sudoku by Staple Games, Tripledot Sudoku, Stress Free Sudoku and Sudoku Color by MobilityWare are free with ads and sell no way to remove them. The rest are free with ads and sell a way out, either once or as a plan, and Good Sudoku sells a one-time full unlock. For the most sudoku for nothing, Sudoku Royale gives you every level, the daily puzzle and the lessons with no ads, on iPhone and iPad.
This page sorts the apps by the deal they offer, using the price, paid items and privacy headings on each US App Store listing. If ads are your only concern, the best sudoku apps with no ads goes deeper on them; if you are trying to avoid a weekly or yearly plan, see sudoku apps without a subscription.
The App Store facts
| App | Price and ads | Paid options listed | US rating | Last update | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sudoku Royale | Free, no in-app purchases | None listed | 4.8 from 11 ratings | October 23, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision |
| Sudoku Face Off | Free, no in-app purchases | None listed | 4.0 from 2 ratings | September 14, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision |
| Sudoku by Staple Games | Free, ads, no in-app purchases | None listed | 4.8 from 104,454 ratings | October 7, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision |
| Tripledot Sudoku | Free, ads, no in-app purchases | None listed | 4.7 from 104,197 ratings | October 22, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision |
| Stress Free Sudoku | Free, ads, no in-app purchases | None listed | 4.8 from 10,395 ratings | June 10, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision |
| Sudoku Color by MobilityWare | Free, ads, no in-app purchases | None listed | 4.8 from 34,922 ratings | August 6, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision |
| Sudoku.com | Free, ads (remove for $14.99) | Sudoku.com No Ads $14.99 | 4.8 from 1.87 million ratings | October 16, 2026 | iPhone, iPad |
| Brainium Sudoku | Free, ads (remove for $11.99) | Remove Ads $11.99 | 4.8 from 161,164 ratings | June 29, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision |
| nerByte Sudoku | Free, ads (remove for $7.99) | Sudoku No Ads $7.99 | 4.7 from 24,061 ratings | February 25, 2025 | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Sudoku Puzzle World | Free, ads (remove for $9.99) | Upgrade with Permanent Ad Removal $9.99 | 4.8 from 19,869 ratings | June 20, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision |
| PeopleFun Sudoku | Free, ads (remove for $2.99) | Ads Free Subscription $2.99 | 4.8 from 663,589 ratings | September 15, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision |
| Sudoku Puzzle: Brain Games | Free, ads, in-app purchases | Sudoku Pro - 1 Week $2.99, Sudoku Pro $7.99, Monthly Subscription $2.99 | 4.9 from 92,448 ratings | September 4, 2026 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision |
| Good Sudoku | Free, in-app purchases | Full Game Unlock $4.99 | 4.2 from 1,332 ratings | July 21, 2025 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision |
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 "free" means in each app
| App | Kind of free | What the free version includes (per its listing) | "Data Used to Track You" label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sudoku Royale | Free, no ads, nothing to buy | Everything: six levels, Daily Challenge, Journey, Dojo, hints | No |
| Sudoku Face Off | Free, no ads, nothing to buy | Live races, daily, classic, hard and Master puzzles ("Free in 2026") | No |
| Sudoku by Staple Games | Free with ads, nothing to buy | Classic puzzles, a hint, a Daily Challenge | Yes |
| Tripledot Sudoku | Free with ads, nothing to buy | Thousands of puzzles, hints, optional auto-check | Yes |
| Stress Free Sudoku | Free with ads, nothing to buy | Puzzles and a hint function ("100% FREE") | Yes |
| Sudoku Color by MobilityWare | Free with ads, nothing to buy | Color-grid puzzles, starting on smaller grids | Yes |
| Sudoku.com | Free with ads, one-time removal | Puzzles, hints, auto-check, Daily Challenges | Yes |
| Brainium Sudoku | Free with ads, one-time removal | Five levels, teaching hints, daily puzzles | Yes |
| nerByte Sudoku | Free with ads, one-time removal | Five levels, explanatory hints, offline play | Yes |
| Sudoku Puzzle World | Free with ads, one-time removal | Endless puzzles, tournaments, events | Yes |
| PeopleFun Sudoku | Free with ads, plans sold | Four levels, scores, Game Center leaderboards | Yes |
| Sudoku Puzzle: Brain Games | Free with ads, plans sold | Puzzles with undo and hints; hint packs also sold | Yes |
| Good Sudoku | Free download, paid unlock | Not itemized on the listing; a full unlock is sold | No |
Free with nothing to buy
Sudoku Royale and Sudoku Face Off list no in-app purchases and no ads. In Sudoku Royale that means the whole app, with nothing held back for a paying tier: all six levels from Easy to Extreme (the higher ones unlock as you solve, not as you pay), the Daily Challenge with its archive, the 88-level Journey, the Dojo drills and hints that name the technique. You do not need an account to start. The only shop sells avatar outfits for shurikens, which you earn by solving.
Sudoku Face Off's listing says "No ads. No subscriptions. Free in 2026." It is built for live races with friends and has solo modes on the side. The "in 2026" is worth noticing: it promises this year, not forever.
Free with ads you cannot pay off
Sudoku by Staple Games, Tripledot Sudoku, Stress Free Sudoku and Sudoku Color by MobilityWare show ads and list no purchase at all. That is simple in one way: there is no upsell. It also means that if the ads start to bother you, there is no button that makes them go away; the only options are putting up with them or switching apps. Airplane mode sometimes stops ads loading, but not reliably.
Free with ads, and a way out
Sudoku.com, Brainium Sudoku, nerByte Sudoku and Sudoku Puzzle World are free with ads and sell a single purchase that removes them. For an app you plan to keep for years, that can be the cheapest route to a quiet board; the prices are in the facts table, and they vary a lot between apps.
PeopleFun Sudoku and Sudoku Puzzle: Brain Games sell renewing plans instead. PeopleFun's listing describes its plan as an optional ad-free subscription. Sudoku Puzzle: Brain Games (Guru) mixes plans with consumables: its listing shows a paid hint pack next to the plans, so hints are one of the things it sells.
Free download, paid game
Good Sudoku is free to download and sells Full Game Unlock $4.99. Its listing does not say which parts are free before you buy, so treat it as a paid app with a trial. It is a strong app for technique practice, which is why many players pay; our Sudoku Royale vs Good Sudoku page compares the two.
What free costs you that is not money
An ad-funded app is paid for with your attention and, usually, your data. Apple's App Privacy section shows a "Data Used to Track You" heading when an app may link your data with other companies' apps and sites, typically for advertising. 10 of the 13 apps here carry that heading. Sudoku Royale's listing does not: it shows data linked to you and data not linked to you, but none used to track you.
The other hidden cost is design. When hints or undo are for sale, the app has a reason to make you want them. An app with nothing to sell has no reason to tune a puzzle against you.
Where a different app is the better free pick
- You are on Android. Sudoku Royale is iPhone and iPad only. Sudoku.com and Brainium Sudoku are also on Android and free with ads.
- You want help the app does not have. Sudoku Royale has no undo, no automatic pencil marks and no way to turn mistake checking off. Tripledot's listing has optional auto-check; Brainium lists auto-fill notes.
- You want everything offline. Royale's Daily Challenge, Dojo and hints need a connection. nerByte's listing says it is offline playable without restrictions; see the best offline sudoku apps.
- You want variants. Sudoku Royale is classic 9x9 only. See sudoku variants for what else exists.
- You want a long record. Sudoku Royale launched in 2026 and has 11 US ratings. Brainium Sudoku has been on the App Store since 2011.
Our pick
If free should mean no ads, no purchases and nothing locked, download Sudoku Royale. If you already like an ad-supported app and it sells a one-time removal, paying once is a fair deal too. Every matchup is on the comparisons page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best completely free sudoku app?
On iPhone and iPad, Sudoku Royale: no ads, no in-app purchases, no subscription, and every level, the Daily Challenge, the Journey and the Dojo included. Sudoku Face Off also lists no ads and no purchases, with the note "Free in 2026".
Are free sudoku apps really free?
The download is. Of the 13 apps compared here, 10 show ads and most sell something: a one-time ad removal, a subscription, hint packs or a full unlock. Only a few have nothing to buy.
Is Sudoku.com free?
Yes, with ads. Its listing sells Sudoku.com No Ads for $14.99 to remove them.
Which free sudoku apps do not track you?
On the App Store, look for apps without a "Data Used to Track You" heading in App Privacy. Of the apps compared here, Sudoku Royale, Sudoku Face Off and Good Sudoku do not show it.
Is Good Sudoku free?
It is free to download, and its listing sells Full Game Unlock $4.99. The listing does not spell out what the free part includes.
Do free sudoku apps have fewer puzzles than paid ones?
Not necessarily. Sudoku Royale, which is free with nothing to buy, has a library of about 500,000 puzzles with exactly one solution each. Good Sudoku, which sells a full unlock, lists over 70,000. What free versions more often limit is hints, undo or ad-free play, not the puzzles.