Updated: 25 May 2026 · Reading time: 4 minutes
You’re at guess 4. Two greens, one yellow, half the alphabet eliminated. Your candidate list is somewhere between 3 and 15 words and you can’t tell which one is right.
This is when a Wordle® solver earns its keep. Here’s how to use one effectively, when to use one ethically, and how our solver tool works.
What is a Wordle® solver?
A free tool that takes your current guesses (the colours revealed) and returns a filtered list of all English words that still match. Not a cheat. A smart dictionary lookup.
You feed it:
- Letters placed correctly (green)
- Letters in the answer but wrong position (yellow)
- Letters ruled out (grey)
- Word length (5 for standard Wordle®, 6-7 for variants)
It returns candidates that satisfy ALL constraints simultaneously.
When to use a solver
Situation 1: 4 guesses, 5+ candidates
Manually working out which is most likely is hard. The solver doesn’t tell you the answer — shows you candidates so you pick the most common-feeling word.
Situation 2: About to lose a streak
Insurance. One use of a hint is much smaller than a streak reset.
Situation 3: Want to learn faster
Run the solver AFTER each puzzle (won or lost) to see how the candidate list would have narrowed at each step. Builds pattern intuition in days instead of weeks.
When NOT to use a solver
- Guess 1 or 2. No advantage. Stick with a fixed starter.
- When impatient. Half the fun is working it out.
- Every day on autopilot. “Did I really solve it?” feeling fades fast.
How our solver works
Three main inputs on the Wordle® Hint Solver:
Word length dropdown
Default 5 letters. Switch to 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 for variants like Word Hurdle (6).
Correct Letters (Green) boxes
Five slots. Put green letters in the position they appeared.
Valid Letters (Yellow) boxes
Same five slots. Put yellow letters in the position they appeared. The solver knows they belong ELSEWHERE.
Absent Letters (Grey) boxes
Type all grey letters, no positions needed. The solver removes any word containing them.
Strict Search toggle
ON: only returns words where ALL your input letters appear. Keep ON for Wordle®.
UPDATE button
Returns the candidate list, sorted by commonness.
A worked example
You’re at guess 3. Played CRANE (C grey, R yellow pos 2, A grey, N grey, E green pos 5) then PIOUS (P grey, I yellow pos 2, O green pos 3, U grey, S grey).
What you know: R and I in answer (not pos 2), O in pos 3, E in pos 5, C/A/N/P/U/S not in answer.
Solver inputs: green O pos 3 + E pos 5, yellow R + I in pos 2, grey C/A/N/P/U/S, strict ON. Click UPDATE.
Returns candidates like HORDE, FORGE, GORGE. Pick FORGE or HORDE — common middle letters.
Getting the most out of any solver
- Enter ALL grey letters. Not just recent ones.
- Double-check yellow positions. Yellow goes where you TRIED it, not where you THINK it belongs.
- Check your work, don’t replace your thinking. Hypothesise first, then verify.
- Sort by frequency. Most-common candidate is usually the right guess.
Is using a solver “cheating”?
Eternal Kiwi Wordle® debate. Three positions:
- Pure purist: Never use a solver. Losses are losses.
- Pragmatist (most common): Use when stuck. Wins still count personally.
- Casual: Use from guess 1 every day. Wordle® is a fun ritual.
No “correct” position. NYT doesn’t track solver usage.
The takeaway
A Wordle® solver is best treated as insurance, not autopilot. Use when stuck, when your streak matters, or when you want to learn faster.
Our Wordle® Hint Solver handles 2-7 letter puzzles, sorts by commonness, runs entirely in your browser. Free, no signup, no spoilers above the fold.
Wordle® is a registered trademark of The New York Times Company. This site is an independent fan companion not affiliated with The New York Times Company.