Words with Mia / Guide
Best word search app without a timer, offline.
Most word search apps look alike in the store. They differ in what happens after the download: whether a board needs a connection, whether a clock runs, whether the words in your language are real words, and how the app makes money. This is how four of them compare, our own included. The facts come from the store listings of September 2026.
What to look for
Offline: a word search should work on a plane or in a waiting room. Check whether puzzles are generated on the device or downloaded per level.
Timer: a clock changes how you scan. It rewards tunnelling on one word; without it you scan the whole grid and finish sooner. Prefer an app where the timer is optional or absent.
Languages: many apps translate their word lists, which gives odd words in your own language. Look for apps with a separate word list per language.
Money: free apps live on ads, on subscriptions, or on both. Find out what one purchase removes and what stays free.
Words with Mia (OLYMPHEON)
Our own app, so read this as the maker's description. Every board is generated on the device, so the daily puzzle, the 250-level Word Path and the puzzle books all work offline. There is no timer and no opponent. It ships in 21 language versions, each with its own word lists and themes. The daily puzzle and the Word Path in your own language are free; extra languages come with a pass, and puzzle books can be bought one at a time. For iPhone, iPad and Android.
Word Search Explorer (PlaySimple Games)
The most-rated of the four on the App Store, built as a level-based journey through themed puzzles. The listing promises offline play, and the app comes in 29 languages. Free to download. A good fit if you want a long, structured progression rather than a board you set up yourself.
Word Search: Crossword Game (Easybrain)
Clean, polished and well rated, with daily challenges and trophies. The word lists exist in English, German and Russian only, so in other languages you play in English. Free to download. Choose it if daily challenges are what bring you back and English is fine.
Ultimate Word Search (Havos)
The most configurable of the four: grid size from 3 to 20, number of words, how many run backwards or diagonally, and word lists in 35 languages. The clock on screen can be hidden. Free with ads; one purchase removes them. The design is older, but if you want to set every rule yourself, this is the one.
Where to start
Try a board first: you can play a free word search in the browser right now, in 20 languages, without a download and without a timer. If it clicks, Words with Mia is free on the App Store and Google Play.