Free mini crossword alternatives
If you want a free 5×5 right now, start on this page’s home grid. If you want a newspaper’s own clues, the Guardian, LA Times, and today’s Boston Globe are the cleanest free doors.
| Place | Today | Older puzzles | Catch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This site | Free 5×5 | Every date we have published | Original clues, short archive so far | First-party product |
| The Guardian | Free | Full series | No account, per their puzzles note | 1 publisher · Guardian FAQ and archive |
| LA Times | Free with ads | About two weeks | Optional account for streaks | 2 sources · LA page and independent guide; archive depth is single-source |
| Boston Globe | Free | Subscribers only | Sunday is 7×7 | 2 sources on free play; subscriber archive from Globe page |
| USA Today | Free two-minute mini | Not found | 120-second framing | 1 source · publisher page |
| Fox News | Free, no account | Date picker since 18 Oct 2026 | Under three minutes, their wording | 1 source for date picker; publisher confirms free play |
| Puzzmo | Today free | Plus subscription | Current Plus price not quoted | 1 publisher · Puzzmo pages |
| The Atlantic | Latest 3 free | Subscription | Not a full free archive | 1 publisher archive; Mashable independently lists free access |
| minicrossword.com | Free daily | 7 days, then a free account | Their FAQ, one source | 1 source · own FAQ |
| playminicrossword.com | Free | About 90 days | Their FAQ, one source | 1 source · own FAQ |
What “free alternative” should mean
After the Times mini moved behind a subscription, roundups started calling almost any small crossword a replacement. Some of those lists include puzzles that only give you three free days, or that hide the archive behind an account. I split “you can play today” from “you can play last month.” The Atlantic is a good example. Mashable listed it among free alternatives. The Atlantic’s own archive page says the latest three are free and the rest need a subscription. Both sentences can stand. The useful one depends on whether you missed a week.
minicrossword.com says the product is free forever with no paywall, and also says the full archive wants a free account after seven days. playminicrossword.com describes about 90 days of free archive and a change, from 10 November 2026, to a 5:00 a.m. Eastern turnover. I am reporting their pages, not endorsing them as the same puzzle as ours.
How to choose
Want newspaper prose and a long back catalog at no charge: start with the Guardian. Want a familiar American 5×5 this week: LA Times, and remember the picker is short. Want Sunday to feel bigger: Boston Globe, and do not expect the archive for free. Want a two-minute cap: USA Today’s mini says 120 seconds. Want no login at all on our own clues: stay here. The home grid does not ask for an email.
Questions
What is the best free mini crossword?
It depends on the catch you can live with. For no account and a long archive, the Guardian’s pages say that. For an original grid on this domain, use the home page.
Is the Atlantic fully free?
No. The latest three are free. The rest of the archive is a subscription, on their archive page.
Does this site replace the Times puzzle?
It replaces the habit of a daily 5×5. It does not contain Times clues or Times answers.
Sources
Public-source check: 2026-11-04. Pages from the same publisher count as one source.
- Mashable: 11 free alternatives
- The Atlantic archive
- minicrossword.com
- playminicrossword.com
- LA Times mini
- LA Times independent mini guide
- Boston Globe mini
- USA Today two-minute mini
- Fox News mini
- Fox mini date picker guide
- Puzzmo crossword
- The Guardian puzzles note