Crossword Maker for KDP
Type your answers and clues, get a print-ready crossword page and its answer key. Free, no account, no watermark, and the PDF is yours to publish and sell on Amazon KDP.
Built for publishers, not for worksheets
Most free crossword makers are built for a teacher who needs one sheet for Friday. A KDP interior is a different job: Amazon prints it at 300 DPI, binds it with a gutter, and rejects it if the type is too small or anything strays into the margin. The differences here are the ones that matter when you sell the result:
- Vector PDF, not a screenshot. Letters are text and grid lines are lines, so the page stays crisp at any print size.
- No watermark, no attribution line. Not on the free tier, not as a trial.
- Nothing dropped quietly. If an answer cannot cross the others, it is named under the preview. You find out before you print, not from a reader.
- The same output as the paid editor. The page is laid out and drawn the way a full Book Studio interior page is.
How to use it
- Write your list. One answer and clue per line, between five and twenty of them. No list yet? Load the ocean example to see how it works.
- Pick a grid size. 15×15 suits ten to fifteen answers. Go bigger for long answers, smaller for a tight, heavily-crossed grid.
- Name the puzzle. The title prints at the top of the page and names the downloaded file.
- Generate, then generate again. Each press lays the same answers out a new way, so keep going until you like the grid.
- Check the answer key in the tab above the preview, then download a two-page PDF or a ZIP of 300 DPI PNGs.
Clues that work in print
A crossword lives or dies on its clues. A few habits keep a page fair and keep the one-star reviews away:
- One answer per clue. “Large sea mammal” could be WHALE or SEAL. If two answers fit the clue and the letter count, add a detail that rules one out.
- Match the form. A plural clue takes a plural answer, a past-tense clue a past-tense answer. Solvers use this, and a mismatch reads as a mistake.
- Keep the level steady. A children’s puzzle with one trivia clue in it is a frustrating puzzle. Write every clue for the same reader.
- Keep clues short. Under about 50 characters reads well in a printed clue list and leaves room beside the grid.
From one page to a book you can publish
One crossword is not a book. KDP requires at least 24 pages for a paperback, and a crossword book that sells usually holds 50 to 100 puzzles with every one numbered, an answer section at the back, and margins sized for the final page count. Building that from single pages means renumbering each puzzle, rebuilding the answer keys into a section, and checking for repeats by eye.
Book Studio is the paid editor that does that part: a whole set of crosswords in one run, ready-made themed word and clue lists when you don’t want to write your own, numbered puzzles with a matching answer section, every KDP trim size, and an export checked against KDP’s print rules. You can still edit any puzzle on the canvas after it is made.
For the publishing side, trim, page count, categories and price, see How to publish a puzzle book on Amazon KDP.
Just want one to solve?
If you are here to solve rather than to publish, there is a free printable crossword ready to print, with its answers.
Frequently asked questions
Is this crossword maker really free?
Yes, and it needs no account. Every visitor gets a set number of free puzzles per day, shared by all the free puzzle makers and shown as a counter next to the Generate button. The PDF has no watermark and no attribution line.
Can I sell a crossword I make here on Amazon KDP?
Yes. The answers and clues are yours, and so is the page. There is no licence to attribute and no royalty. A single page is not a book, though: KDP requires at least 24 pages for a paperback.
Why did some of my answers not make it into the grid?
Every answer in a crossword has to cross another one. The maker places as many of your answers as it can and names any it could not fit right under the preview, so nothing goes missing without you knowing. A larger grid, a few more short answers, or answers that share common letters (E, A, R, S, T) usually fixes it.
How many clues can I use?
Five to twenty on the free page, on a grid from 11×11 to 21×21. Twenty clues fit comfortably on one 6×9 page with the clue list beside the grid. Larger sets belong in a book layout, where clues can run across pages.
How should I type my answers?
One per line: the answer, a dash, then the clue. A tab or a colon works too, so you can paste two columns straight from a spreadsheet. Spaces, hyphens and apostrophes inside an answer are dropped the way printed crosswords drop them, so ICE CREAM becomes ICECREAM. Accents are removed too.
Does it make an answer key?
Yes. Press Answer key above the preview to see the filled grid. It rides along in both downloads, so the PDF is two pages and the ZIP holds two PNGs, and it costs nothing extra: the daily counter is per puzzle, not per render.
What size is the PDF?
Two pages, the puzzle and its answer key, at 6×9 inches, the most common puzzle-book trim, with proper margins and type well above KDP's minimum size. That is a proof or a lead magnet rather than a book. Building the full interior is what Book Studio does.
Can I make a whole crossword book here?
Not on this page. It makes one puzzle at a time, from words you write yourself. Book Studio is the paid editor that builds the book: dozens of crosswords in one run with no repeats, themed word and clue lists if you don't want to write your own, numbered puzzles, an answer section at the back, and margins sized for your final page count.
Do you keep my clues?
No. Nothing about a generated puzzle is stored: no project, no saved copy, no file. The page is made and sent straight back to you, which is also why there is no shareable link.
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