NYT Spelling Bee

Difficulty · Transparent estimate

How hard was today's Spelling Bee?

Friday, September 18, 2026

Tricky, with a structural difficulty score of 61 out of 100.

CINQTU A
41Answers
1Pangrams
209Maximum
147Genius
Tricky61out of 100

What drives the estimate

Answer count4140.4th percentile
Maximum score20948.1th percentile
Average word length5.6675.1th percentile
Pangrams132.4th percentile

Genius requires 147 points, or roughly 21–34 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.