Best Wordle Starting Words, Ranked by Data

Updated March 2026 · 7 min read · By Travis Cook

Your first Wordle guess matters more than you think. A good opener eliminates hundreds of possible answers in one shot. A bad one wastes a turn on letters that barely exist in the answer list. Here's what the actual letter frequency data says, and the strategy that gets most people to 3 or 4 guesses consistently.

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The 10 Best Starting Words

Ranked by letter frequency in the actual Wordle answer list. Best words hit common letters in their most common positions with no repeats.

Rank	Word	Why It Works
1	SLATE	Tests S, L, A, T, E, which are the five most common letters in Wordle answers. Strong position coverage.
2	CRANE	C, R, A, N, E cover high-frequency letters with good positional spread.
3	TRACE	Similar to CRANE but with T in the first position, which is more common there.
4	SALET	Mathematically optimal by some simulations. Tests S, A, L, E, T.
5	CRATE	C and R in early positions test common consonant clusters.
6	STARE	S and T together test the two most common starting consonants.
7	ROATE	Top-rated in information theory analysis. Not a common word, but allowed as a guess.
8	RAISE	Tests R, A, I, S, E, adding the vowel I to the mix.
9	ADIEU	Tests four vowels (A, I, E, U) at once. Great for identifying which vowels are present.
10	ARISE	Five common letters with no repeats and strong positional matches.

The Most Common Letters in Wordle

Some letters show up constantly. Others are almost useless. Here's how often each appears in Wordle answers:

E appears in about 46% of Wordle answers. A appears in 39%. R appears in 34%. O and T both appear in about 29%. L, I, S, N each appear in 24-28%. C, U, Y appear in 17-18%.

Letters like Q, Z, X, J each show up in under 2% of answers. Starting with any of these is basically throwing a turn away.

Should You Start With Vowels or Consonants?

Two approaches, both legitimate:

Vowel-first (ADIEU, AUDIO) nails down which vowels are in play. Every answer has at least one, most have two. Downside: you learn zero consonants, which are what actually distinguish between words.

Balanced (SLATE, CRANE) mixes two vowels with three common consonants. You get info on both in one guess. This is the stronger play because knowing the answer has A and E still leaves hundreds of options. Add R and the field shrinks fast.

The Perfect Second Word

Your second word should test completely different letters. If SLATE came back all gray, your next guess shouldn't contain S, L, A, T, or E. Try CHORD, PRION, or BUNCH.

Some people always play the same two-word combo regardless of results: SLATE + CRONY, CRANE + SHOUT, ADIEU + CRONY. That tests 10 unique letters in two guesses, which is a lot of information heading into guess 3.

Strategy for Guesses 3 Through 6

Eliminate, don't guess. After two guesses, resist the urge to go for the answer. Use guess 3 to knock out unknowns. If you know it ends in -IGHT but the first letter could be L, N, R, S, or T, a word like LINER tests three at once.

Watch for doubles. SPEED, GEESE, DADDY. Your opener only tests each letter once, so repeats hide until late. If you're stuck between options, check if any have a doubled letter.

Common endings help. -IGHT, -OUND, -ASTE, -ATCH, -ANCE. If you've got the last 2-3 letters, run through words that end that way.

Don't panic on guess 4. Average for experienced players is 3.7. Getting it in 4 is fine. You've got two more.

Words to Avoid as Openers

Don't open with:

Repeated letters (MOOSE, TEETH, LLAMA). You're testing 4 unique letters instead of 5. Save doubles for later.

Rare letters (Q, Z, X, J). Starting with JAZZY guarantees mostly gray tiles.

Proper nouns and obscure words. Not in the Wordle dictionary anyway.

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Hard Mode Strategy

Hard mode forces you to use every confirmed letter in subsequent guesses. No more throwing away a guess on random elimination letters. Your opener matters even more here. Stick with SLATE or CRANE and build from what you learn each round.

About the Author

Travis Cook creates fun, data-driven content for MayoCalc. Because even silly questions deserve good math.

Wordle Strategy FAQ

What is the best starting word in Wordle?

Based on letter frequency analysis, SLATE, CRANE, and TRACE are among the strongest openers. They test the most common letters (E, A, R, S, T, L, C, N) without repeating any. SALET is mathematically optimal by some simulation methods but is a less common word.

Is ADIEU a good first word?

ADIEU is a strong choice if you want to identify vowels quickly, since it tests four of the five vowels (A, D, I, E, U). However, it only tests one consonant (D), so you learn less about the consonant makeup of the answer. A balanced word like SLATE usually provides more overall information.

What is a good average Wordle score?

For experienced players, an average of 3.5 to 4.0 guesses is considered good. Getting it in 3 is great, 4 is solid, 5 is fine, and 6 means you scraped by. Consistently solving in 2 is rare and involves some luck.

Should I use the same starting word every day?

Most experienced players use the same opener every day. Consistency lets you develop intuition for how to respond to different color patterns. Switching your opener randomly means you never build that pattern recognition.

How many Wordle answer words are there?

The original Wordle answer list contained 2,309 words. The New York Times has made some modifications since acquiring the game, removing a few words and hand-curating the daily selections, but the total pool remains roughly the same size.

Sources

The New York Times: Official Wordle game (NYT)

Related Tools

Filter remaining Wordle answers with the Wordle Helper, test how strong your passwords are with the Password Strength Calculator, or let fate decide with the Random Number Generator.

Note: Wordle is a trademark of The New York Times. This article provides strategy advice and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NYT. Letter frequency data is based on analysis of the publicly known original Wordle answer list.