Sudoku Royale vs NYT Sudoku: Free App or Subscription?

NYT Sudoku gives you one puzzle a day in each of three modes (easy, medium and hard) inside the NYT Games app, which sells a monthly Games subscription listed at $4.99 to $5.99 on the US App Store. Sudoku Royale gives you one Daily Challenge plus unlimited practice puzzles at six levels, free, with no ads and nothing to buy. Pick NYT if sudoku is one of several Times puzzles you already pay for; pick Royale if you want more sudoku than three grids a day without a subscription.

One thing to know up front: NYT Sudoku is not a separate app. It lives inside NYT Games next to Wordle, Connections and the Crossword, so the App Store numbers below describe the whole games app, not sudoku alone.

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.

The daily puzzle, side by side

The NYT Games listing describes Sudoku in three lines: fill each box with 1 to 9, and play a new puzzle every day in easy, medium or hard mode. The rest of the listing's feature lists are worth reading closely, because Sudoku is missing from them. Stats, badges, the friends leaderboard, the puzzle archive and the hint forums are each listed for named games, and Sudoku is not one of the names.

What you pay for

NYT Games is free to download. Its listing shows several "Games - Monthly" plans and a separate Crossword subscription, and its archive of past puzzles is described as a subscriber feature. The listing does not say which of the three daily sudokus a non-subscriber can play, so check inside the app before you assume either way. Its App Store age rating also notes advertising.

A subscription makes sense when you play several Times games. If you open the app mainly for Wordle and the Crossword, sudoku comes along as a bonus. If sudoku is the only reason you would subscribe, you are paying every month for three grids a day.

Sudoku Royale has no price at all: no ads, no in-app purchases and no subscription. The Daily Challenge, every Practice level, the 88-level Journey and the Dojo drills are open from the first launch, and you do not need an account. The only shop in the app sells avatar outfits for shurikens, a currency you earn by solving.

When three a day is not enough

The NYT format suits a fixed routine: easy over breakfast, hard on the train. Once you finish, you wait until tomorrow. Sudoku Royale's Daily Challenge is a single puzzle, so for the daily ritual alone NYT gives you more. The difference is what sits around it. Practice has unlimited puzzles at Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert, Master and Extreme, with no mistake limit and no countdown, and the higher levels unlock as you solve. Master and Extreme go past a typical "hard": their puzzles call for techniques like X-Wing and XY-Wing.

If you get stuck, Practice has a hint that names the technique and the cell without giving you the number, and links to the lesson for it. The Dojo then drills that pattern on a timer. NYT's listing describes nothing similar for Sudoku.

Where NYT Sudoku is the better pick

• You already subscribe to NYT Games. Sudoku is then part of something you pay for anyway, next to the Crossword and Spelling Bee.
• You want to choose the difficulty of your daily. NYT publishes easy, medium and hard every day. Royale has one Daily Challenge.
• You want one app for every daily puzzle. Royale is sudoku only.
• You want a long track record. NYT Games has been on the App Store since 2009 and has 297,885 US ratings. Sudoku Royale launched in 2026 and has 11 so far.
• You play on Android or the web. Royale is iPhone and iPad only.

Where Sudoku Royale is the better pick

• You only want sudoku. No subscription for a bundle of word games you do not play.
• You want past days. The Daily Challenge archive goes back to January 2026, free.
• You want a streak and a ranking for your sudoku. Royale keeps your current and best streak and ranks your daily time against friends and the world.
• You want to get better, not just play daily. Hints that name the technique, a Journey that teaches one per chapter, and the Sensei coach, which builds practice from your own recent games.

Two limits to know. Royale's Daily Challenge needs an internet connection, and there is no undo button: every number is checked as you place it and a wrong one is rejected.

Which should you choose?

If you pay for NYT Games and like the three-level daily, keep it; the puzzles are a fine routine. If you came to NYT for sudoku and found yourself wanting more puzzles, a free archive or help with harder grids, download Sudoku Royale and play both. More options are in our NYT Sudoku alternatives, the best daily sudoku apps, the sudoku apps without a subscription and every matchup on the comparisons page.