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There isn’t a unique top four: in TechRadar’s report of NYT WordleBot’s normal-mode rankings, five words tie at 99/100—SLATE, CRANE, TRACE, CRATE and CARTE. If you need four picks, use SLATE, CRANE, TRACE and CRATE, but CARTE shares their reported score. The choice changes in hard mode, where CLASP is reported as WordleBot’s preferred opener.
Which Wordle openers top the reported normal-mode ranking?
TechRadar’s account of NYT WordleBot gives five starters the same 99/100 skill score in normal mode: SLATE, CRANE, TRACE, CRATE and CARTE. The evidence supports a five-way tie, not a ranked list with a distinct fourth-place word. The scores and answer-history status below reflect TechRadar’s reporting, accessed October 8, 2026; rankings can change as the bot or answer list changes.
| Word | Reported WordleBot score | Answer history in TechRadar’s report |
|---|---|---|
| SLATE | 99/100, normal mode | Past answer |
| CRANE | 99/100, normal mode | Past answer |
| TRACE | 99/100, normal mode | Past answer |
| CRATE | 99/100, normal mode | Past answer |
| CARTE | 99/100, normal mode | Not previously used as an answer at the time of the report |
These are useful probing words because they test several different letters at once. A green or yellow result narrows the possibilities; gray letters help rule options out. WordleBot’s skill score is one way to compare openers, not a guarantee that a particular first guess will make a puzzle easy.
What should you start with in hard mode?
TechRadar reports CLASP as WordleBot’s preferred hard-mode opener. SCALD and PLACE are also reported at 99/99. Hard mode requires you to use revealed hints in subsequent guesses, so a strategy that works well in normal mode need not be the preferred hard-mode choice. TechRadar’s rankings were accessed October 8, 2026.
#1 Best Overall
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Why does another analysis recommend IRATE?
Different rankings answer different questions. NYT Game Solver ranks IRATE first in its candidate-reduction analysis, with about 47.6 possible answers left on average across its stated set of 1,810 real Wordle answers. It places RAISE second at about 48.4. Those are that solver’s results, not WordleBot’s scores or NYT’s recommendation. The candidate averages are reported by NYT Game Solver, accessed October 8, 2026.
A 2025 University of Leicester journal article describes another approach: scoring valid guesses using letter frequencies at each position. That method differs from WordleBot’s skill score, and its output depends on the word list used. Letter-frequency rankings, average remaining candidates and WordleBot skill scores should not be treated as interchangeable measures.
Rank #2
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Is ADIEU or AUDIO better than a mixed-letter opener?
A vowel-heavy opener can reveal vowel information quickly, but popularity alone does not show that it is the most efficient choice. A Denver Post-hosted account of NYT’s analysis says ADIEU was the most popular among leading human openers, while the bot favored SLATE, CRANE and TRACE. The account does not make popularity a measure of performance. The available reporting does not establish AUDIO as a superior starter.
For a practical choice, decide what you value: the reported WordleBot score, an independent method’s expected candidate reduction, or a familiar word you like using. For the reported normal-mode tie, choosing among SLATE, CRANE, TRACE, CRATE and CARTE is reasonable; in hard mode, consider CLASP, SCALD or PLACE instead.
Rank #3
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How current are these rankings?
The rankings here are attributed to TechRadar’s report, accessed October 8, 2026. The NYT Wordle page was blocked by robots.txt during the reporting, so these figures are not presented as a direct check of WordleBot in the NYT product. Starter rankings and answer history may change; CARTE’s “not previously used” status is specifically as reported at that time.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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Rank #4
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