Words With Friends Alternatives: 9 Best Games Like It (2026)
Words With Friends is a good game. People go looking for alternatives anyway, usually for one of three reasons: the ads between turns, the constant nudges to buy coins or a subscription, or the simple fact that a single match can drag on for days while you wait for someone to play their tiles. This is a list of nine real games that scratch the same itch, each one I have checked is still up and running in 2026. Most are turn-based apps like the one you already know. One of them throws out turns entirely, which for a lot of people is the whole point.
Why people leave Words With Friends
Words With Friends launched in 2009 and Zynga still runs it. It took the Scrabble-style tile format and made it dead simple to play with anyone, anywhere, at your own pace. It is free, paid for by ads and in-app purchases, with a paid tier that strips the ads out. That is a normal setup for a free mobile game, and the game itself plays fine.
The complaints are usually about everything around the game. The ad load between moves wears on people. The ad-free version costs money. And because it is asynchronous, momentum dies the moment your opponent stops checking their phone. Some people love that slow rhythm. Others want a game they can actually finish in one sitting, or one they can spin up with friends without everyone downloading the same app first. The list below covers both camps. I will be straight about the downside of each, because a recommendation is worth nothing if it is all upside.
The 9 best Words With Friends alternatives
Nanagrams
Style: Real-time word race (Bananagrams-style)
Platform: Any browser, on phone, tablet, or laptop
Players: 1 to 8
Cost: Free, no ads, no account
Best for: People sick of waiting on turns who want a live game they can start in two minutes.
Nanagrams is the odd one out here, and that is on purpose. There is no shared board, no turns, and no points racking up square by square. Everyone gets the same tiles and races at the same time to build their own connected, crossword-style grid. The first player to use every tile in valid words wins. If you have ever stared at your phone hoping a friend would finally make a move, a game that finishes in one sitting hits different.
It runs in your browser with no download and no sign-up. For multiplayer, you create a private room and share the link, and those rooms include built-in voice and text chat, so it feels more like a group hanging out than a silent app match. You can also drop into the public lobby against strangers or practice solo against the clock. Multiplayer rounds typically wrap in about 12 minutes, so nobody is left waiting.
Honest caveat: this is a different game from Words With Friends, not a clone. There is no shared board and no points by square, so if you specifically want that turn-based format, look further down the list. It does play on phones, tablets, and laptops.
Wordfeud
Style: Turn-based tile game on a 15 by 15 board
Platform: iOS and Android (also Windows)
Cost: Free with ads; paid Premium removes them
Best for: People who want the Words With Friends format with less clutter.
Wordfeud is the closest thing on this list in pure feel. You place tiles on a board with bonus squares, you play against friends or random opponents, and you can run several games at once. The reason people switch to it is the interface: it is plainer and busier-feeling than Scrabble GO, with fewer animations and pop-ups in the way of the actual game. You pick your dictionary, including tournament word lists, and you can build custom boards. The free version has ads, and Premium clears them for a one-time fee. If you liked Words With Friends but wanted it to get out of its own way, this is the swap.
Scrabble GO
Style: Officially licensed Scrabble, turn-based
Platform: iOS and Android
Cost: Free with ads and in-app purchases
Best for: Scrabble purists who want the real, licensed game on a phone.
Scrabble GO is the official mobile Scrabble, run by Scopely under license from Hasbro and Mattel. If what you actually want is real Scrabble with the proper tile values and the real board, this is it. There are extras layered on top: Duels for fast head-to-head matches, Adventures for solo word puzzles, and a fair bit of social and reward stuff. That layering is also the main complaint. The interface can feel busy and pushy compared with the stripped-down classic game, and the monetization is hard to miss. But the core Scrabble underneath is solid and it has been downloaded tens of millions of times, so you will always find an opponent.
Word Chums
Style: Turn-based tile game with characters and solo bots
Platform: iOS and Android (also Windows)
Cost: Free with ads and in-app purchases
Best for: Players who want the WWF format plus solo practice and a friendlier vibe.
Word Chums plays nearly identically to Words With Friends, on a 15 by 15 board, two to four players, against friends, randoms, or computer bots it calls Chumbots. The two things that set it apart: a word-strength indicator that nudges you toward better plays as you build a word, and the option to grind solo against bots at different levels when no friend is online. It also has a cuter, more cartoonish style with collectible characters, which you will either enjoy or ignore. It is one of the higher-rated word apps on Android. Like the others, it is free with ads and sells upgrades.
Lexulous
Style: Turn-based tile game, 7 or 8 tiles per rack
Platform: Browser and apps
Cost: Free
Best for: People who want a board-style game without downloading anything.
Lexulous is the pick if you want the turn-based board format but would rather not install an app. It plays in any browser at lexulous.com, against friends, random opponents, or the computer at different difficulties. Its own twist is the rack: you can play with seven or eight tiles, and the scoring is tuned a little differently from Scrabble. There is also a post-game analyser that shows the best move you missed, which is genuinely useful for getting better. It has been around a long time and the interface shows its age in spots, but it is free and it works on a laptop without any setup.
Wordscapes
Style: Single-player word puzzle (swipe to spell)
Platform: iOS and Android
Cost: Free with ads; optional ad removal
Best for: Solo players who want a relaxing puzzle, not a head-to-head match.
Wordscapes is not a competitor game, and it is worth being clear about that. There is no opponent. You get a wheel of letters and a small crossword grid to fill, and you swipe to spell every word that fits. It is calm, level-based, and very polished, with scenic backgrounds you unlock as you go. People who left Words With Friends because they were tired of waiting on other humans often land here, because it is purely you against the puzzle. The downside is the ads between levels in the free version. If you want a quiet vocabulary workout rather than a match, it is one of the best of its kind.
Word Connect
Style: Single-player connect-the-letters puzzle
Platform: iOS, Android, Windows
Cost: Free with ads
Best for: Casual solo play, including offline on a plane or commute.
Word Connect is another solo puzzle rather than a match. You get a small ring of letters and connect them into every valid word to clear the level, with thousands of levels and a daily challenge. The thing it has going for it that the bigger apps do not: it works offline, so it is a decent pick for flights or spotty signal. It is simple to the point of being mindless, which is either relaxing or boring depending on your mood. There are several apps with this name, so it is a category as much as one game, but the format is the same wherever you land. Free, ad-supported.
Classic Words Solo
Style: Single-player Scrabble against the computer
Platform: iOS and Android
Cost: Free
Best for: People who want a clean, ad-light Scrabble game with no opponent to wait on.
Classic Words Solo is exactly what the name says: a no-frills tile game where you play Scrabble against the computer, offline, at the pace you choose. It uses real tournament word lists (NWL and SOWPODS) and includes built-in definitions, which makes it a quiet way to study while you play. There is no multiplayer, so it will not replace games with your friends, but the AI gives a real fight at higher levels, and the minimalist design keeps the ads and clutter way down compared with the big social apps. If you mostly play to kill time and beat a computer, this is a tidy choice.
Wordle
Style: Daily five-letter guessing puzzle
Platform: Browser (New York Times Games)
Cost: Free for the daily puzzle
Best for: A 30-second daily ritual you can share with friends.
Wordle is nothing like Words With Friends to play, but it earns a spot because of how people use it: as the shared word game everyone does each day. One five-letter word, six guesses, green and yellow feedback, free in a browser with no app. It is single-player, but the social part is everyone solving the same word and comparing how it went. If you want a small daily fix instead of a full game, this is the one. The catch is that it is over in a minute, and the archive of past puzzles sits behind the NYT Games paywall, though the daily stays free.
Quick comparison
| Game | Turn-based or real-time | Free? | Players | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanagrams | Real-time | Yes, no ads | 1 to 8 | Live races with voice chat, no app |
| Wordfeud | Turn-based | Free with ads | 2 | Closest WWF feel, cleaner interface |
| Scrabble GO | Turn-based | Free with ads | 2 | Official licensed Scrabble |
| Word Chums | Turn-based | Free with ads | 2 to 4 | Solo bots, word-strength hints |
| Lexulous | Turn-based | Yes | 2 | Plays in a browser, post-game analyser |
| Wordscapes | Solo puzzle | Free with ads | 1 | Relaxing, polished, level-based |
| Word Connect | Solo puzzle | Free with ads | 1 | Works offline, thousands of levels |
| Classic Words Solo | Solo vs computer | Yes | 1 | Clean offline Scrabble, real word lists |
| Wordle | Daily puzzle | Daily free | 1 | Shared daily word, plays in browser |
Turn-based or real-time: pick your lane first
Almost everything on this list is turn-based, the same as Words With Friends. You make a move, you put the phone down, you come back when your opponent has played. That format is great for a slow game with a far-away friend and terrible if you actually want to play with someone right now. The wait is the single biggest reason people get frustrated with the genre.
Real-time is the other way to do it. Everyone plays at once and the game is over in one sitting. That is the gap Nanagrams fills. Create a room, send the link, and your group is racing the same tiles within a couple of minutes, voice chat included, no app to install on anyone's phone. It is a different kind of game from the board-and-points style, closer to a Bananagrams speed round, but the social energy of everyone playing together beats a turn notification by a mile. If you are deciding between the two formats, we broke down the tradeoffs in Scrabble vs Bananagrams, and there is a full walkthrough of live play in our online multiplayer guide.
Which one should you pick?
- You want to play with friends right now, together: start a Nanagrams room and share the link. Real-time, no waiting, no app.
- You want Words With Friends but cleaner: Wordfeud is the closest swap, with a simpler interface.
- You want real, official Scrabble: Scrabble GO, accepting that it comes with extra social and store features.
- You want the board format without an app: Lexulous in a browser.
- You want a solo puzzle, no opponents: Wordscapes or Word Connect to relax, or Classic Words Solo to play Scrabble against a computer.
- You just want a daily ritual: Wordle.
For more ideas on getting a group going, see our guide on playing word games with friends. And if you lean toward the race over the slow board game, the Nanagrams rules walk through the DRAW, SWAP, and GRAMS mechanics in a couple of minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to Words With Friends?
It depends on what you want. If you love the turn-based, board-and-points format and just want a different app, Wordfeud and Word Chums are the closest matches, and Scrabble GO is the official Scrabble version. If you are tired of waiting days for an opponent to move, Nanagrams is a free, real-time game you play in a browser with up to 8 people at once, with voice chat in private rooms.
Are there free apps like Words With Friends?
Yes. Wordfeud, Scrabble GO, Word Chums, Wordscapes, Word Connect, and Classic Words Solo are all free to download. Most are ad-supported with optional paid upgrades to remove ads. Nanagrams is free with no ads and no account required, and it runs in your browser instead of as an app.
What is the closest game to Words With Friends?
Wordfeud is the closest in feel. It uses a 15 by 15 board with bonus squares, plays turn-based against friends or random opponents, and the simpler interface is what a lot of people actually wanted from Words With Friends. Word Chums is also very close and adds solo play against bots. Scrabble GO is the closest to real Scrabble since it is the officially licensed version.
Is there a real-time alternative to Words With Friends?
Most Words With Friends alternatives are turn-based, so a game can stretch over days. Nanagrams is real-time: everyone gets the same tiles and races at the same moment to build a connected crossword grid, so a round finishes in one sitting (multiplayer games typically end in about 12 minutes). It is a Bananagrams-style speed game rather than a points-on-a-shared-board game, so it plays differently, but nobody waits on a turn.
Can you play a Words With Friends alternative in a browser without an app?
Yes. Most alternatives are mobile apps, but a few run in a normal web browser. Lexulous plays in a browser for a turn-based, board-style game, and Nanagrams plays in a browser for a real-time race with no download and no sign-up. Nanagrams supports live multiplayer for up to 8 people with a shared room link.
Skip the app, the ads, and the waiting
Nanagrams is free, plays in your browser with no sign-up, and lets up to 8 friends race in real time with voice chat.