--- title: "How Long Does a Sudoku Take? Times by Level | Sudoku Flow" description: "How long a Sudoku takes, level by level, from games won in our app without a hint: the median time and the range the middle half of games fall in." url: https://sudokuflow.com/guides/how-long-does-sudoku-take/ language: en last_modified: 2026-11-06 --- [Sudoku guides](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/) # How Long Does a Sudoku Take? Times by Level How long a Sudoku takes, level by level, from games won in our app without a hint: the median time and the range the middle half of games fall in. Updated 2026-11-06 ## Quick answer In our app, the median game won without a hint takes about 3 minutes on Easy, 7 on Medium, 10 on Hard, 11 on Expert, 12 on Master and 10 on Extreme. These come from more than 279,000 games played between October 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026. - Easy: about 3 minutes. Medium: about 7. - Hard: about 10 minutes; half of the games take about 6 to 15. - Expert, Master and Extreme: about 11, 12 and 10 minutes. - Times are spread widely, so a slower game is not a bad game. - Only games won without a hint are counted. ## Typical times by level The median is the middle time: half of the games were faster, half slower. The last column is the range the middle half of games fall in, from the fastest quarter to the slowest quarter. | Level | Median (minutes) | Middle half of games (minutes) | |---|---|---| | Easy | 3 | 2 – 5 | | Medium | 7 | 4 – 10 | | Hard | 10 | 6 – 15 | | Expert | 11 | 7 – 17 | | Master | 12 | 8 – 19 | | Extreme | 10 | 6 – 16 | ## Is my time good? Compare it with the table. A quarter of the Hard games were won in about 6 minutes or less, and a quarter took about 15 or more, so anything in between is typical for Hard. Every level has a range like that, so one slow game says little. ## Why Extreme is not the slowest Extreme's median, 10 minutes, is lower than Master's 12. Our data cannot say why: it counts games, not players, and each level is played by whoever chooses it. ## Where the numbers come from They are totals from our app's anonymous usage data: classic games won without a hint between October 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026, at least 16,000 games per level, rounded to whole minutes. Nothing is broken down by player, country or device. [How to Solve Sudoku Faster →](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/solve-sudoku-faster/) [What each Sudoku difficulty level asks of you →](https://sudokuflow.com/data/sudoku-difficulty-levels/) ## Practice Every Find the Mistake puzzle on this site has exactly one wrong digit, and you can play each board right on its page. [Play the puzzles →](https://sudokuflow.com/puzzles/) ## Sudoku guides - [How to Find a Mistake in Sudoku](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/find-a-mistake/) - [7 Common Sudoku Mistakes and How to Avoid Them](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/common-mistakes/) - [Why Won't My Sudoku Solve? A Checklist](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/sudoku-wont-solve/) - [Naked Single vs Hidden Single](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/naked-single-vs-hidden-single/) - [Pointing Pair vs Box/Line Reduction](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/pointing-pair-vs-box-line-reduction/) - [X-Wing vs Swordfish](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/x-wing-vs-swordfish/) - [How to Start a Sudoku: The First Five Minutes](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/how-to-start-sudoku/) - [Stuck on a Hard or Expert Sudoku? The Technique You Need Next](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/stuck-on-hard-sudoku/) - [Sudoku Tips That Actually Work (and Is There a Formula?)](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/sudoku-tips/) - [How to Teach a Child Sudoku: 4×4, Then 6×6, Then 9×9](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/teach-kids-sudoku/) - [Can Every Sudoku Be Solved Without Guessing?](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/solve-without-guessing/) - [Which Sudoku Techniques Do You Actually Need? 60,000 Puzzles Counted](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/sudoku-techniques-you-need/) - [How to Solve Sudoku Faster](https://sudokuflow.com/guides/solve-sudoku-faster/) - [Do the Diagonals Count in Sudoku? 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We also make a Sudoku app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android. There are no ads in it at all, it works offline, and when you ask for a hint it shows you the technique instead of just filling in a number. [App Store iPhone, iPad, Mac](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6502922368?pt=125379530&ct=sudokuflow_web&mt=8) [Google Play Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rubigogames.sudoku&referrer=utm_source%3Dsudokuflow%26utm_medium%3Dweb%26utm_campaign%3Dsite) Sudoku Flow is made by Rubigo Games, the developer of the Sudoku app recommended on this site.