NYT Spelling Bee review

NYT Spelling Bee earns its place for adults who want a deeper daily word puzzle than Wordle. You see 7 letters and build as many words as you can, scoring more points for more words. It lives in the NYT Games app next to Letter Boxed, where you build words from letters around a square, plus Connections, Strands, the Crossword, the Midi and the Mini. The app adds hints and forums for Spelling Bee, badges, solving stats and a friends leaderboard, and subscribers can solve over 10,000 past puzzles. The Spelling Bee page invites players to subscribe for unlimited access, and the US App Store lists Games - Monthly offers starting at $4.99. That makes it the strongest bundle of daily word games here, but not the most generous free tier. We compared documented features and published prices only.

Who it is for

Adults who want several daily word puzzles from one publisher and are open to a small subscription.

Price

Free app with limited access; New York Times Games subscription from $4.99 a month on the US App Store.

Games - Monthly $4.99
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 10, 2026.

Key features

• Spelling Bee: build words from 7 letters to earn points
• Letter Boxed: build words from letters around a square
• Connections and Strands word puzzles in the same app
• Hints and forums for Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee and Strands
• Subscribers can solve over 10,000 past puzzles

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Several daily word puzzles from one publisher
• Strength: Badges, stats and a friends leaderboard
• Strength: Spelling Bee rewards longer words with more points
• Weakness: Unlimited access needs a New York Times Games subscription
• Weakness: Several monthly price offers are listed in the app
• Weakness: Spelling Bee has no live multiplayer

Key facts

• Games in the app: Crossword, Midi, Mini, Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Strands, Letter Boxed, Sudoku, Pips, Tiles
• Archive: 10,000+ past puzzles for subscribers
• Subscription: Games - Monthly from $4.99 on the US App Store
• Recognition: Editors' Choice on the App Store

Where it ranks

NYT Spelling Bee is No. 3 in our Best Free Word Games verdict.