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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Lumosity vs Sudoku.com

Lumosity 4.7★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner Lumosity
Sudoku.com 4.8★ · Free + IAP 60

Lumosity is better for dedicated brain training with varied games despite its high cost, while Sudoku.com is a good choice for traditional Sudoku, but its free version is heavily impacted by ads.

Full reviews: Lumosity · Sudoku.com

Lumosity offers a diverse range of brain-training games, valued for cognitive improvement, though many users find its subscription model expensive. Sudoku.com provides a classic Sudoku experience, but its free version is plagued by an excessive number of intrusive ads, making the paid ad-free option almost a necessity.

Head to head

Features and Game Variety edge: LumosityR4R5R9R11
Lumosity Lumosity offers a variety of brain-training games that users find fun, challenging, and helpful for cognitive function, including memory and decision-making R5R11. However, some users report a lack of new games and updates, and find certain games confusing or poorly explained R4R9.
Sudoku.com Sudoku.com focuses on the classic Sudoku puzzle, with users appreciating its ease of play and ability to stimulate their minds . Some users enjoy daily challenges and other mini-games within the app, but recent changes to scoring and daily challenge access have caused frustration . Users also desire features like dark mode and improved hint systems .
Ease of Use and User Experience tieR3R5R9R15
Lumosity Lumosity's games are generally considered easy to pick up, with short playtimes R5. However, some users find game instructions unclear, leading to frustration R9. The app has also faced issues with age restrictions, account problems, and progress tracking R3R28R31. Some users dislike the timed nature of many games R15.
Sudoku.com Sudoku.com is praised for making Sudoku easy and fun to play . However, a significant number of users report issues with the app's performance, including overheating phones and excessive battery drain . The hint system is sometimes criticized for being too strong or providing incorrect information .
Reliability and Support tieR10R28R31R37
Lumosity Lumosity has faced significant reliability issues, with users reporting problems logging in, lost streaks, deleted accounts, and unresponsive customer support R10R28R31R37.
Sudoku.com Sudoku.com users report issues with the app causing phone overheating and battery drain . While not directly about support, the inability to exit ads and the perceived lack of developer response to ad complaints suggest potential support shortcomings .
Price and Value tieR1R7R12R16
Lumosity Lumosity's free version is very limited, offering only a few games per day, which frustrates many users R1R12R24R34. The paid subscription is widely considered expensive, with complaints about price hikes, unfair monthly vs. yearly subscription practices, and unwanted charges after trials R1R7R16. Some users feel the benefits are unproven for the high cost .
Sudoku.com Sudoku.com's free version is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of intrusive ads that interrupt gameplay frequently R63R64R66R67. The price to remove ads, around $15, is considered outrageous for a simple Sudoku game R97R115.
Pick Lumosity if

You are looking for a dedicated brain-training app with a variety of games to challenge different cognitive abilities, and you are willing to pay for a subscription to access the full features R5R17.

Pick Sudoku.com if

You primarily want to play Sudoku and are either prepared to tolerate frequent ads in the free version or willing to pay a one-time fee to remove them R95.

Evidence note: Both apps have a free-to-play model with in-app purchases. Lumosity's negative reviews often stem from the limited free content and the high cost of its premium subscription, while Sudoku.com's negativity is almost entirely due to the overwhelming number of ads in its free tier. Paid users of both apps generally report higher satisfaction.

Frequently asked

Is Lumosity truly free?
No, Lumosity is not truly free; while it offers a limited selection of games, most content is locked behind a paid subscription that many users consider expensive R1R12R24R34.
Does Sudoku.com have too many ads?
Yes, Sudoku.com is widely criticized for having an excessive number of intrusive ads that frequently interrupt gameplay, with many users stating they spend more time watching ads than playing R63R64R66R67.
Is Lumosity worth the price?
User opinions on Lumosity's value are mixed; some find it worth the price for brain training benefits R17, but many others feel it's too expensive, especially given unproven benefits and issues with pricing models R7R16R21.
Can I play Sudoku.com without ads?
Yes, you can play Sudoku.com without ads by purchasing a premium subscription, which users confirm removes the ads R95R110. However, the price to remove ads, around $15, is considered outrageous by some users R97R115.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R4] Lumosity 2/5 · US PLS FINISH MAKING HIGHWAY HAZARDS: PLS FINISH MAKING HIGHWAY HAZARDS
  2. [R5] Lumosity 5/5 · US Fun app: The games are both fun and challenging. Each game is short so they are great when you have a few minutes to kill.
  3. [R9] Lumosity 3/5 · US Maybe: Some games are great and too many don’t explain the how well enough. Its frustrating too often.
  4. [R11] Lumosity 4/5 · US Just started: Enjoying the challenge variety of games
  5. [R3] Lumosity 3/5 · US Umm fix: I’m 12 and it’s not letting me in
  6. [R15] Lumosity 3/5 · US Hurry Up and Think!!!!: I have a strange relationship with this app. At least once a year, I think, “I should download Lumosity and buy a membership.” Only to realize it’s already downloaded onto my iPad. Then I think, “Oh, why did I stop using this?” Then I start playing again and quickly realize why. Almost every game is timed. Hurry up and do math. Hurry up and memorize these orders. Hurry up a
  7. [R10] Lumosity 1/5 · US Not working at all: I have been using the paid this app for several years. However, in the past week I have not been able to log on, being sent in cereals by AI, not getting responses to my email, etc. VERY FRUSTRATED- PLEASE FIX THIS!
  8. [R28] Lumosity 2/5 · US App prob: This is the second time in as many weeks that my progress has not been counted ! I’m at almost 1500 days and it’s frustrating trying to get answers from the app
  9. [R31] Lumosity 1/5 · US Lost 126 day streak: I lost my 126 day streak along with all my badges simply because I wanted to change my email address. Now they are acting as if I am brand new and having me start all over. Support is absolutely the worst I have ever dealt with.
  10. [R37] Lumosity 1/5 · US Sign in: Ridiculous!!!!!! Hardest time ever on an app to reset password !!!!!!!
  11. [R1] Lumosity 2/5 · US Not Actually Free: Like Impulse and every single one of these apps, it's not actually free. You have a limited selection of things you can do unless you pay an unfair amount of money per month. Just make the app a one time purchase instead of lying about being free and helping.
  12. [R7] Lumosity 1/5 · US Liars: It costs a fortune you learn only after a huge time waste. It data mines worse than the fed. Only good to age 55.
  13. [R12] Lumosity 3/5 · US Paying 😔: I wish you didn’t have to pay to use Lumosity. Most people try to find websites to better them selves and we shouldn’t have to pay to do that
  14. [R16] Lumosity 2/5 · US Great App, bait and switch payment plan: I have found Lumosity to be a fun and challenging app. I thought about doing a trial subscription, but when I tried to subscribe for a monthly plan, it immediately shifted to a yearly subscription. I am a musician, and there are music apps that try to do this same thing, and worse, after having a free trial subscription, they charge you and make it impossib
  15. [R24] Lumosity 3/5 · GB Not much to do…: I like the app but there is not much that I can do so it would be really nice if they let us use five games instead of three, and add more stuff to do for free 🥺🙏
  16. [R34] Lumosity 2/5 · US The games are cool but not free: The games are fun, but 90% of the games on the app are locked. You have to pay to access more.
  17. [R63] Sudoku.com 3/5 · US Too many ads!: I really like this game and would love to give it 5 stars but the amount of ads and the length really take away from it. Sometimes the ads are so frequent and so long that I don’t even know what I was looking at when they interrupted me. Can you control some of that? Please!
  18. [R64] Sudoku.com 1/5 · US Ads: I wish I could give this more stars. I liked it at first, but I can’t go two minutes without an intrusive ad popping up on my phone. You have to watch an ad before you play and after you play and even though you just watched one after you played it immediately shows one before you play so there’s two ads between each one.
  19. [R66] Sudoku.com 3/5 · US Too many ads: Fun game but way too many ads. Ads in the beginning, ads during the game, ads if you need a second chance, ads if you don’t.
  20. [R67] Sudoku.com 1/5 · US Ads, Ads, Ads: You’ll spend more time waiting for ads to finish than actual game play. The absurd amount of ads is tiring.
  21. [R17] Lumosity 5/5 · US La mejor app para el cerebro: Desde que la baje mi memoria han mejorado muchísimo. Vale la pena comprarla no importa el precio para tu cerebro mejora. 👍👍👍
  22. [R21] Lumosity 3/5 · GB Too expensive.: I love it. I do hope you will be able to make it more affordable
  23. [R95] Sudoku.com 5/5 · US Best and worst: Best, if pay there are no ads. It times you across all play. You get lots of metrics. Worst, eventually you’ll be asked to rate and if you don’t write a review it will keep coming up, not all the time, but too often.
  24. [R97] Sudoku.com 1/5 · US Constant ads for sudoku: They aren’t doing anything revolutionary here, just made a sudoku app. Some ads I could understand but they take it overboard. A payment to get rid of ads I could understand but $15 is crazy, I’d pay $5 at most. What a sad state the app ecosystem is in.
  25. [R110] Sudoku.com 5/5 · US Too many adverts: Supposed to not have advertisements but they are non stop! Used to be only between games, now I am even interrupted during play with advertising. Very annoying!! I’m looking for another app
  26. [R115] Sudoku.com 1/5 · US Ads galore, outrageous price to remove: Ads before you start playing, multiple adds interrupt a single game while playing, ads after a game. $14.99 to remove ads, outrageous price for a simple game of sudoku. I don’t believe so many others rated it as good.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store