On 2 September 2026 the New York Times launched a set of weekly bonus puzzles, and one of them is a Wordle variant called Wordle in 1. It is free to sample right now. It is not going to stay that way — the bonus puzzles are ultimately for subscribers.
That is worth pausing on, because it is the fourth Wordle feature in two years to land on the paid side of the line. The daily puzzle is still free. Almost everything built around it is not.
Here is exactly where the line sits today.
What you still get for free
| Feature | Status |
|---|---|
| The daily Wordle puzzle | Free — and still no ads |
| Playing a custom puzzle someone sent you | Free — you only pay to create one |
| Sharing your grid of colored squares | Free |
| Wordle in 1 and the other bonus puzzles | Free to sample at launch, then subscriber-only |
What now costs money
| Feature | Since | What you lose without it |
|---|---|---|
| WordleBot | Paywalled | The post-game analysis of your guesses |
| Wordle Archive | May 2024 | 1,000+ past puzzles. Free users get none of them. |
| Creating custom puzzles | Nov 2025 | You can play friends' puzzles but not make your own |
| Bonus puzzles (Wordle in 1) | Sep 2026 | The weekly variants, once sampling ends |
The subscription that unlocks these is NYT All Access, reported at around $1.25 a week for the first year and roughly $6.25 a week after that. Pricing varies by region and changes over time, so treat those as indicative rather than a quote.
What this actually means for how you play
The daily puzzle being free is not in question, and there is no sign that changes. What has changed is everything around it.
You cannot practice. This is the real loss. The archive holds over a thousand past puzzles, which is the natural way to get better — play old ones, see patterns, build instincts. Free users get one puzzle a day and nothing to train on. That is not a small gap if you are trying to improve rather than just maintain a streak.
You cannot see why you lost. WordleBot told you whether guess three was actually a good guess or whether you got lucky. Without it you find out you failed, but not what you did wrong.
You cannot start the game. You can be sent a custom puzzle and you can solve it. You cannot make one for someone else. The social direction only runs one way unless you pay.
Is it worth it?
Honestly, for some people yes. If you also do the Crossword, Connections and Spelling Bee, All Access is reasonable value and the archive is genuinely good.
If you only play Wordle, you are paying a subscription to practice a free game. That is a harder case to make, and it is the reason the free alternatives kept growing rather than disappearing after the acquisition.
We compared the two directly in NYT Wordle vs the free alternatives, and the short version has not changed: the official daily puzzle is the better daily puzzle. Everything else is available free elsewhere.
Want unlimited puzzles without a subscription?
Unlimited play at three difficulty levels, a daily challenge, and real-time duels with friends - no account needed, completely free.
Play Wordle Unlimited - FreeWhat "Wordle in 1" actually is
Worth knowing, because the name confuses people. It is not the daily Wordle with fewer guesses.
You get five rounds. Each round gives you one clue and has exactly one valid solution, and you have a single guess. Get all five to win. It is a vocabulary and lateral-thinking test rather than a deduction game — the color feedback that defines normal Wordle barely matters when you only guess once.
It sits alongside Connections 3x3, Colorful Strands and an Easy Mode Crossword in the weekly bonus drop, released at midnight local time like the main puzzles.
The pattern worth noticing
Look at the dates together — May 2024, November 2025, September 2026 — and the direction is consistent. The daily puzzle stays free because it is the funnel. Everything that makes you a better or more social player moves behind the subscription.
That is a completely normal business model and there is nothing scandalous about it. But it is worth knowing which side of the line you are on, especially if you assumed Wordle was still the free thing it was in 2021.
If practice is the part you actually want, that is the one thing free alternatives do well — unlimited Wordle really is free, and you can play against friends without anyone subscribing to anything.
Feature availability and pricing verified against published reporting, current to 5 September 2026. Subscription pricing varies by region.