Cryptogram maker
Free cryptogram maker. No sign-up, no ads, no watermark. Put up to 6 phrases on a sheet, or pick from 12 famous quotes, and print or download a PDF with the answer key, on US Letter or A4.
Preview
The preview redraws as you go. This is exactly the page that prints.
This free cryptogram maker puts any phrase into letter code: every letter is swapped for a different one, never for itself, and solvers work out the code. Give away up to four starter letters to help beginners. The answer key decodes each phrase and shows the full letter table.
Updated
How to make a cryptogram
- Give it a title. It prints across the top of the page.
- Type your phrases, one on each line, up to 6. Each can run to 200 characters.
- Add who said it, if you like, after a bar:
Hello there | Grandpa Joe. The credit prints under the puzzle. - Or pick a sample quote from the list of 12. They're all old enough to be free to print.
- Choose starter letters, from none to 4, and your paper: US Letter or A4.
- Print it, or download the PDF. Puzzles first, then the answers.
Press New code to scramble the same phrases a different way.
What you can type
Letters, numbers, spaces and everyday punctuation: . , ; : ! ? ' " ( ) & / and the hyphen. Numbers and punctuation stay as they are, which gives solvers a foothold. Accents print plain, so café becomes CAFE. Each phrase needs at least three letters.
Every phrase on a sheet gets its own code, so solving one doesn't give away the next.
Tips for solving
- One-letter words are almost always A or I.
- After an apostrophe, a single letter is usually S or T.
- Three-letter words that repeat are often THE or AND.
- Starter letters fill themselves in everywhere they appear. One or two turn a stuck beginner into a solver.
Ideas
- A family message for a party. Code a line about the guest of honor and put one on every plate.
- A quote a day on the classroom board. A short famous line with two starter letters makes a five-minute warm-up.
- A puzzle for a newsletter, credited to the person who said it.
Printing and the answers
Each code letter prints with a writing line above it, and words wrap whole, never split across lines. The answer pages give each phrase decoded and the table that turns code back into letters. Untick Print the answers to print the puzzles alone.
Cryptogram maker: questions
Is it really free?
Yes. No account, no sign-up, no ads.
Can a letter stand for itself?
No. The maker never codes a letter as itself, which is the standard rule for cryptograms. It also checks that no code word spells something rude.
Can I use my own quotes?
Yes, anything you type. The 12 samples are in the public domain in the United States. If you sell puzzles made from other quotes, make sure you have the right to print them; most quotes from books, songs and films still in copyright need permission.
Can I sell puzzles I make here?
Yes. Use them for anything: classrooms, newsletters, party games, or your own puzzle books for sale. You don't need to ask or pay. Free sheets keep one small line at the bottom of each page with our name and web address. A Pro version, coming later, will make sheets without that line and export a whole book at once.