Best Puzzle Games Without a Subscription, App by App

Most puzzle games we checked can be played without a subscription, but "no subscription" rarely means "nothing to pay". Of the 21 puzzle and brain apps we checked, Sudoku Royale is the only one with no ads and nothing to buy. Good Sudoku sells a single unlock, and Blockudoku a single ad removal. Most of the rest pair a one-time ad removal with coins, hints or lamps you buy again and again. The brain training apps and NYT Games are built around a subscription.

We sorted every app by the names of the paid items on its US App Store listing, and where a name was vague ("VIP Package", "Premium Access") we checked the subscription terms in the description. Where neither says, the table says "unclear" rather than guessing.

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.

How each app charges

Nothing to buy

Sudoku Royale is our app, so take this with that in mind: it has no purchases, no subscription and no ads. The only currency, shurikens, is earned by solving and spent on avatar outfits. It is also only one kind of puzzle, classic sudoku, so it fills one slot on your phone, not all of them.

Arcadia Zen Math lists no in-app purchases at all, but its age rating notes advertising, so you pay with your attention instead. It is a calm equation crossword with an offline mode, per its listing.

Pay once and you are done

Good Sudoku sells a Full Game Unlock for $4.99 and nothing else, and its listing carries no advertising label. It is the closest thing on this list to buying a game outright. Blockudoku's only paid item is Blockudoku No Ads at $14.99: the game stays the same, only the ads go. Neither has anything to renew or top up.

One-time ad removal, then consumables

This is the most common model among casual puzzle games. You can remove ads once, but help (hints, tips, keys, coins) is a separate item you buy as you use it up. Nonogram.com, Number Match, IQ Boost and Brain Out all work this way. Nonogram.com, for example, lists Nonogram.com No Ads ($14.99) next to coin packs: Nonogram.com No Ads $14.99, Tiny Pack of Coins $2.99, Small Pack of Coins $4.99, Medium Pack of Coins $9.99 and more. There is no subscription to cancel, but there is also no ceiling on what a heavy hint user can spend.

Two names here are vague. Number Match lists "Premium Access" items, and Brain Out a "Weekly Card"; neither listing explains whether they renew. Check the item in the app before you tap buy.

Crossmath, Playdoku and Woodoku name no ad removal at all. Crossmath sells coins, hints and tickets plus a "Crossmath Premium" tier, Playdoku sells coin packs and bundles, and Woodoku's items are called "Package 1", "Package 2" and so on, with no description on the listing.

A subscription on offer, but optional

Vita Mahjong, Brain Test, Brain Test 2 and Braindom sell a subscription and also a one-time ad removal, so you can avoid the subscription. Vita Mahjong's Mahjong Ads Remove costs $5.99, next to weekly, monthly and yearly plans. Brain Test sells Remove Ads + 1000 bulb for $3.99, while its description spells out a weekly VIP Package with a free trial that renews automatically. Braindom's description says its premium package renews weekly. Cancel a trial you do not want at least 24 hours before it ends, as these listings note.

Subscription first: brain training and NYT Games

Elevate, Peak, Lumosity, Impulse, MindPal and NYT Games make their money from subscriptions. The training apps offer a free tier or trial and put most of the library behind Pro or Premium; MindPal's description also mentions a lifetime plan, the one pay-once route in this group. NYT Games is a New York Times subscription product; Wordle is free to play, and its listing says subscribers can solve the archive of past puzzles. We compare their ads on the brain games without ads page.

Where a subscription is the better deal

• You want dozens of different games. Several brain training apps list 40 or more games in one place. A single-puzzle app cannot match that.
• You live on daily word puzzles. NYT Games bundles the Crossword, Spelling Bee, Connections and more. Nothing here replaces it.
• You would spend more on hints. If you keep buying coin or lamp packs, a flat plan can cost less. Count what you spent last month.

Our pick

If you want a puzzle game that never asks for money, start with Sudoku Royale for logic and add a one-time purchase app like Good Sudoku or Blockudoku if you want more. If you play sudoku mostly, our sudoku apps without a subscription page sorts every sudoku app the same way. See also the best logic puzzle apps, offline puzzle games and our sudoku app comparisons.