Custom Wordle
Pick a word, see how hard it is, and send a link. Free, no signup.
Type at least 3 letters to see how hard your word is.
What Is a Custom Wordle?
A custom Wordle is a Wordle puzzle where you choose the hidden word. You make it here, then send a link: your friend plays it with the usual green, yellow and gray clues.
People make a custom Wordle for all sorts of reasons: a birthday surprise, a spelling test, a clue in a scavenger hunt or a running joke in a group chat.
This custom Wordle maker is free and needs no signup. Your word can be 3 to 11 letters long, and it can be a name or an inside joke as well as a dictionary word.
The link does not show your word, so it stays a surprise. Unlike most makers, this one also tells you how hard your word is before you send it.
To create your own Wordle in under a minute, the box at the top of this page is all you need.
How to Make Your Own Wordle in 4 Steps
You can make your own Wordle in about a minute. The checker does the hard part: it tells you whether your custom Wordle will be a breeze or a brain-teaser.
Step 1: Pick a word
Type any word of 3 to 11 letters into the box. It can be a dictionary word, a name or an inside joke.
Step 2: Check how hard it is
The checker shows how many guesses our solver needs, which lookalike words share most of its letters, and whether players are likely to know it.
Step 3: Add a hint and choose the guesses
Give 4 to 8 guesses (six is the classic). Add an optional hint of up to 60 characters, which helps most with names.
Step 4: Share the link
Press Create link, then copy it or share it straight to a chat. Your friend opens it and plays: no app, no account.
What Makes a Custom Wordle Hard?
Words with five or more one-letter lookalikes took our solver 4.49 guesses on average, and 11.3% of them needed more than six. Across all 2,295 classic answers, only 0.7% did.
If you want your custom Wordle to be a real challenge, the letters matter less than the company your word keeps.
Lookalikes are the real trap
Take WATCH. Its family _ATCH holds seven answers: BATCH, CATCH, HATCH, LATCH, MATCH, PATCH and WATCH. Each guess can rule out only one or two of them at a time.
Our solver needed seven guesses for WATCH. A word with no lookalikes took 3.52 on average.
Double letters barely matter
Many players expect double letters to be the hard part. In our test, answers with a repeated letter took 3.67 guesses, against 3.56 for the rest.
They even needed more than six guesses less often: 0.4% against 0.8%.
Rare letters add a little
Words with J, Q, X, Z, V or K took 3.84 guesses on average, against 3.54. That is a small push, not a trap.
The words that stumped our solver
LOVER took nine guesses, the most of any classic answer. GONER and VAUNT took eight, and CRAZE, CRAZY, FOYER and GRAZE took seven each.
For more answers that trip players up, see our list of the hardest Wordle answers.
How we measured it
We solved every one of the 2,295 answers in our classic five-letter pool, opening with RAISE and then always guessing the possible answer that split the rest into the most color patterns.
The checker above runs the same solver on your word. Source:
scripts/generate-length-stats.mjs.
Pick the Right Length for Your Custom Wordle
A player who guesses any word that fits wins only 62.6% of three-letter games within six tries, against 98.1% at five letters.
Short words give fewer clues, so three- and four-letter puzzles are the hardest to finish. From 7 letters up, the same player won every game in our test.
So for a tough custom Wordle, go short and give two extra guesses. For a puzzle anyone can finish, pick six letters or more. Try the extremes in 3 Letter Wordle and 11 Letter Wordle.
Length also changes how a custom Wordle feels. A short word is over in a few quick guesses, win or lose; a long one is a slower, more satisfying hunt.
Custom Wordle Ideas for Every Occasion
Stuck for a word? Here are starting points for your next custom Wordle, each run through the checker so you know what you are sending.
Birthdays and names
Party words make a warm-up. For the main event, use the birthday person’s name and add a hint such as “Who turns 30 today?”.
- PARTY Easy
- CANDY Easy
- HAPPY Tricky
Classrooms and spelling lists
Pick a word from this week’s list. Everyday science words are easy for the solver, which makes them fair for younger players.
- PLANT Easy
- OCEAN Easy
- EARTH Easy
Valentine’s Day
LOVER is the hardest classic answer we found, so it makes a cheeky Valentine’s puzzle. HEART is the gentle option.
- LOVER Hard
- HEART Easy
- SWEET Fair
Halloween
Spooky words sit in the middle of the range: hard enough to be fun, easy enough to finish.
- GHOST Fair
- WITCH Fair
- SCARY Fair
Christmas and holidays
Send one a day in December as a homemade advent calendar.
- MERRY Fair
- CAROL Easy
- ANGEL Fair
Teams, clubs and offices
Team words work well in a group chat. Watch the lookalikes: a word can be quick for the solver and still sit in a big family.
- COACH Fair
- SCORE Tricky
- CHEER Easy
Names, Inside Jokes and Words Not in the Dictionary
Any 3 to 11 letters can be the answer to a custom Wordle, including a pet’s name or a word only your group uses. The checker tells you when a word is not in our list, so you can decide.
Players can always type your word as a guess. Their other guesses must be dictionary words, which keeps the colors meaningful: a guess of random letters would make the puzzle trivial.
A name is hard to solve from letters alone, because nobody expects it. Add a hint such as “Our cat” and it becomes fair. Offensive words are rejected.
What your friend sees
When your friend opens the link, they see the board, the number of letters and guesses, and your hint if you added one. Nothing else gives the word away.
After the last guess, the answer is revealed and they can share their result as colored squares, with your link attached so others can try the same custom Wordle.
A Make your own button then brings them back here to create your own Wordle in return.
Custom Wordle Makers Compared
How this custom Wordle maker compares with three others, as we found them in October 2026.
| Feature | This page | NYT Create | Strive Math | word.rodeo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to make a puzzle | Free | Games or All Access subscription | Free | Free |
| Word length | 3–11 letters | 4–7 letters | Any length | 3–15 letters |
| Hint | Yes | Yes | Not seen | Yes |
| Number of guesses | 4–8 | Not stated | Not seen | Creator sets it |
| Names and inside jokes | Yes | Some not accepted | Yes, “No Dictionary” mode | Not stated |
| Difficulty check | Yes | No | No | No |
Checked on each site in October 2026; NYT details from its launch coverage in late 2025. Features change, so check before you rely on one.
6 Tips for a Custom Wordle People Enjoy
- 01
Pick a word your players know
A puzzle is fun when the answer feels obvious afterwards. The checker flags words most players won’t know. - 02
Check the lookalikes before you send it
Five or more lookalikes push the average to 4.49 guesses. Great for a challenge, harsh for a beginner. - 03
Give short words more guesses
Even guessing sensibly, a player wins 86.1% of four-letter games in six. Eight guesses keep a short word fair. - 04
Add a hint for names and inside jokes
Nobody can rule a name in from the letters alone. One short clue fixes that. - 05
Don’t rely on double letters
Repeated letters added only 0.11 guesses in our test. Lookalikes do far more. - 06
Test the link before you share it
Open it in a private window to check the word, the hint and the number of guesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this custom Wordle maker free?
Can I use a name or a word that is not in the dictionary?
Can players see the answer in the link?
How many letters can a custom Wordle have?
Can I change the number of guesses?
Do players need an account?
Is this the New York Times puzzle creator?
Can I make a custom Wordle on my phone?
Can I make a Wordle for my class?
More Ways to Play
Made your custom Wordle? Warm up while you wait for your friend, or see every game in all Wordle games.