Words With Friends vs. Scrabble: Letter Values Compared

· 2 min read

Words With Friends and Scrabble look almost identical: a grid, a rack of seven tiles and bonus squares. But the two games score words differently, so a play that’s great in one can be ordinary in the other.

Letter values that differ

Most letters are worth the same in both games. These are the exceptions:

Letter Words With Friends Scrabble
B 4 3
C 4 3
G 3 2
H 3 4
J 10 8
L 2 1
M 4 3
N 2 1
P 4 3
U 2 1
V 5 4
Y 3 4

What this means in practice:

  • B, C, L, M, N, P and U are worth more in Words With Friends, so everyday words score higher.
  • J is worth 10 in Words With Friends, the same as Q and Z.
  • H and Y are worth less, so short words like HEY score lower than they do in Scrabble.

The bingo bonus is smaller

Using all seven tiles earns a 35-point bonus in Words With Friends, compared with 50 points in Scrabble. Bingos are still worth chasing, but they decide fewer games in Words With Friends. Steady points from bonus squares matter relatively more.

The dictionaries differ

Words With Friends started from the ENABLE word list, the same list WordSolverBox uses. Scrabble uses its own official dictionaries. Most words are valid in both, but some short or unusual words are accepted in one game and not the other.

Scoring the same word in both games

Here are base tile scores, with no board bonuses:

  • JOKER: 18 in Words With Friends, 16 in Scrabble
  • BLUNT: 11 in Words With Friends, 7 in Scrabble
  • HONEY: 10 in Words With Friends, 11 in Scrabble

BLUNT scores over 50% more in Words With Friends, while HONEY actually scores less because of its H and Y. The differences add up over a game, so always check scores with the right system.

Use the right helper

Our tools score words with each game’s own values: