Last checked: 10 November 2026. Prices and platform notes below come from WordWeb Software’s official Crossword Compiler site unless linked otherwise.
Crossword Compiler is Windows desktop software from WordWeb Software (Brighton, UK). The current major release on the home page is Crossword Compiler 11. It is built for constructing individual crosswords and related puzzle types—American and cryptic grids, barred puzzles, word search, sudoku, shaped grids, and more—then exporting print layouts, PDFs, or web puzzles. If your job is polishing one grid at a time for a magazine, a newspaper submission, or a website applet, that center of gravity is a fit. If your job is generating dozens of themed interiors for KDP paperbacks every week, the workflow question is different, and the answer often sits in batch book tools instead of a constructor workbench.
What you get as a publisher
The features page lists broad puzzle support: cryptic, quick, and American styles; freeform and vocabulary grids; shaped puzzles; word search and sudoku; clues-in-squares, barred, and coded formats. You can print or export to PDF and other formats, and a licensed web publishing applet can embed puzzles on one website tied to the program license.
The FAQ states the app runs on Windows 10 and 11 (including Windows 11 ARM). There is no native Mac app; the vendor documents running Windows in Parallels on Apple Silicon or using Windows in the cloud. Plan on a Windows machine—or a Windows VM you control—before you budget time for a book line.
Crossword Compiler is not Puzzle Maker Pro. BookPublisherTools does not sell a full-size American or British newspaper crossword module—for example the 15×15 and 21×21 grids these constructor tools are built around. Our live crossword products are Regular Criss Cross and the Crossword Variations Bundle. Compare on that angle: Compiler-class tools optimize single-grid construction; Puzzle Maker Pro optimizes repeatable book pages from word lists and batch quantity settings, assembled through Instant Puzzle Books and Puzzle Book Studio on paid editions.
Subscription pricing (official, USD)
On the ordering page (re-checked 10 November 2026), WordWeb sells subscriptions on a yearly payment cycle. An active subscription is required to use the programs. The page lists these per-month equivalents in USD:
| Tier | Listed monthly (USD) |
|---|---|
| Basic | $2.42/month |
| Pro Bundle | $6.50/month |
| Business | $25/month |
Higher tiers add professional grid filling, WordWeb Pro dictionaries, premium word lists, and (on Business) additional licensed dictionaries plus a brandable web applet. The ordering page also links to a separate one-off purchase path for buyers who prefer not to subscribe. Confirm current amounts on that one-off page before you buy; do not assume they match the subscription tiers.
Re-fetch pricing before you publish a buying guide; currency and tiers can change without notice.
One puzzle at a time vs a book interior
Constructor software shines when each grid is bespoke: you chase crossing quality, tune clue tone, and export one perfect page. Puzzle-book publishing on KDP usually asks for repeatable page geometry, consistent clue or word-bank layout, answer keys in the back, and quantity in one session. Compiler can absolutely output PDF pages you paste into a book, but it does not replace a batch generator plus book assembler the way a dedicated publishing stack does.
That split is the practical fork:
- Choose Crossword Compiler when you want a mature Windows constructor, web export options, and puzzle-type breadth beyond crosswords—especially if you already live in Windows and you sell premium one-offs (a weekly web puzzle, a niche magazine grid, a custom applet).
- Choose a book-first toolchain when the product is “40 autumn crosswords” or a mixed crossword-and-logic interior with numbered solutions. Start from Crossword and fill-in puzzles for publishers for how our criss-cross products behave on KDP and Etsy, then read batch output, reuse, and export across crossword books when you are deciding how files should travel between titles—without treating that article as the only answer.
How it compares with CrossFire, Crosserville, and Exet
These four names show up together when publishers search for crossword compiler software. They are not interchangeable.
| Tool | Platform (official) | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Crossword Compiler (this article) | Windows desktop | Broad puzzle types, print/PDF, licensed web applet |
| CrossFire | Windows, Mac, Linux desktop | American 15×15 / 21×21-focused construction (see sibling article) |
| Crosserville | Browser; account to start | Cloud-saved grids, .puz / PDF export (see sibling article) |
| Exet | Browser web app | Open-source MIT constructor; local storage by default (see sibling article) |
CrossFire’s FAQ describes optimization for American newspaper-sized grids; Crosserville’s public pages emphasize custom grids, fills, and export formats in the browser. Exet’s about page documents a browser-based constructor with Exolve and .puz export. Puzzle Maker Pro sits on a different axis: book interiors from Regular Criss Cross and related variation types in the Crossword Variations Bundle, not newspaper-class 15×15 construction.
None of these replace clue-writing taste. Compiler gives you filling and layout power; you still own clue quality. For themed fill-in books without writing clues, our Word Fill modes on criss-cross products are the honest shortcut—see the fill-in guide linked above.
When Puzzle Maker Pro is the better match
Consider Puzzle Maker Pro when:
- You need Quantity batch runs and predictable page output for print, not one grid at a time.
- Your buyers expect a word-list-driven criss-cross or variation type you can ship this month on KDP or Etsy.
- You want Instant Puzzle Books to stitch title pages, tables of contents, and solution sections on every paid edition. Multi-collection books in Puzzle Book Studio unlock with Productivity or Time Saver, not on Creative alone. Interactive adds hosted web play on modules that sell it; it does not unlock multi-collection assembly. Productivity + Interactive is the bundled edition name when you need both Productivity-level book tools and interactive play on supported modules.
You can run Compiler for a flagship weekly grid and Puzzle Maker Pro for the paperback line—some publishers do. Just do not promise a newspaper-class crossword interior from Puzzle Maker Pro; that SKU does not exist here.
Other puzzles you might like
For criss-cross and fill-in mechanics without constructor software, see Crossword and fill-in puzzles for publishers. For export, reuse, and batch output tradeoffs across tools, see how batch output, reuse, and export compare for crossword publishing.
Compare sibling constructors: Exet crossword software for publishers, CrossFire crossword software for publishers, and Crosserville crossword software for publishers.
Shop live products: Regular Criss Cross, Crossword Variations Bundle, and Instant Puzzle Books.