NYT Spelling BeeIndependent companion

Difficulty · Transparent estimate

How hard was today's Spelling Bee?

Friday, October 16, 2026

Moderate, with a structural difficulty score of 35 out of 100.

BINPRU G
56Answers
2Pangrams
339Maximum
238Genius
Moderate35out of 100

What drives the estimate

Answer count5672.3th percentile
Maximum score33991.9th percentile
Average word length6.3997.9th percentile
Pangrams276.1th percentile

Genius requires 238 points, or roughly 31–46 words depending on which answers you find.

Most similar puzzles

Methodology

This unofficial estimate combines fewer answers (35%), a lower maximum score (35%), longer average words (20%), and fewer Pangrams (10%). Percentiles use puzzles available through this date. It measures puzzle structure, not official difficulty or real player completion rates.