Best Sudoku App With Hints That Teach, Not Just Reveal

The best hint is one that tells you how to find the next number, not what it is. Four apps here say their hints do that: Good Sudoku reads your board and notes and points you to the technique you are missing, Brainium Sudoku explains the logic with animations, nerByte Sudoku gives step-by-step explanations, and Sudoku Royale names the technique and the cell and links to a lesson, without giving away the number. Sudoku Royale's hints are free, but only in Practice and only with a connection. Two apps sell hints in packs: Sudoku Puzzle: Brain Games and Sudoku Master.

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.

Three kinds of hint

Sudoku apps use the word "hint" for quite different things. Knowing which one an app gives you matters more than how many it hands out.

• Reveal. The app fills in a correct number. It gets you moving and teaches nothing; next time you hit the same position you will be stuck again.
• Point. The app shows where to look and names the technique that works there, such as a hidden single or a naked pair. You still make the move yourself.
• Explain. The app walks you through the reasoning step by step, often with highlighted cells, until the number follows.

The table sorts the apps by what their own listings say. Where a listing only says "hints" without describing them, we say so rather than guess.

Hints that teach: four apps compared

Good Sudoku has the most ambitious hint system. Its listing says a solver runs while you play, so when you stall it works out what you already know from your answers and notes, and nudges you toward the technique you need next. That also works on puzzles you type in yourself through Custom mode, as long as they follow standard rules. It is free to download with a Full Game Unlock at $4.99.

Brainium Sudoku calls its hint "the first and best smart hint system available". Its listing says each hint is unique to the puzzle, gives you the technique to make progress and shows it with animations and colored visuals. It shows ads unless you buy Remove Ads for $11.99.

nerByte Sudoku lists "explanatory hints" with step-by-step instructions, and it plays offline without restrictions, so it is the one to look at if you want explained hints on a plane. Ads go with Sudoku No Ads at $7.99.

Sudoku Royale takes the "point" approach on purpose. In Practice, after about 90 seconds without progress, a bulb lights up. Tap it and it highlights the cell and names the technique that solves it, then links to the lesson for that technique. You never see the number. The idea is that the second time you meet a pointing pair, you spot it yourself. The app has no ads and sells nothing, so there is no hint shop. The limits are real, though: hints exist only in Practice, not in the Daily Challenge, and they need an internet connection.

Hints you pay for

Two listings sell hints as consumables. Sudoku Puzzle: Brain Games lists 2 Hints $0.99, 15 Hints $4.99, 50 Hints $9.99, next to subscriptions; its listing also mentions unlimited undo and an eraser. Sudoku Master lists Offer Hints $1.99. Sudoku: Classic Puzzle Games does not sell hint packs, but its listing says its optional Premium subscription adds "20x Free Hints/Month", which suggests the free version rations them. Sudoku.com's listing names hints as a helper and sells only Sudoku.com No Ads at $14.99.

A rationed hint changes how you play: you save it for the moment you are truly stuck, which is not a bad habit. A paid one is a different matter. If you find yourself buying hints, an app with free teaching hints, or a few hours learning the techniques by difficulty, will save money quickly.

Using hints without spoiling the puzzle

• Check your notes first. A missing or wrong candidate is the most common reason a puzzle seems to have no move.
• Take the hint, then look away. Read the technique name and try to find the move before looking at the highlighted cells.
• Repeat what the hint taught. If the same technique keeps coming up, drill it. Sudoku Royale's Dojo has timed drills for each pattern.

Our guide to sudoku hints goes further into when a hint helps and when it gets in the way.

Where another app is the better pick

• You want hints offline. Sudoku Royale's need a connection; nerByte lists unrestricted offline play.
• You want hints in the daily puzzle too. Sudoku Royale only has them in Practice.
• You want the hint to read your own notes. Good Sudoku's listing describes exactly that.
• You want an animated walkthrough. Brainium's hints are built around animations.
• You want to undo after a hint. Sudoku Royale has no undo.

Our pick

For hints that teach and cost nothing, try Sudoku Royale, as long as you play Practice with a connection. For the deepest hint engine, Good Sudoku; for explained hints offline, nerByte Sudoku. If what you really want is a structured course rather than a rescue button, read the best apps for learning techniques. Every other matchup is on the comparisons page.