Opener Lab
Wordle Starting Word Rankings
Fifty leaders from a transparent screen of 182 strong starting words, tested with the same solver on 2,360 answers. Rank protects the six-turn solve first, then minimizes average guesses among wins; information and remaining answers describe turn one.
The screen combines 100 leaders from the prior complete benchmark with 100 current-pool one-step leaders; overlapping words are tested once. It is a focused current-policy comparison, not an exhaustive ranking of every accepted guess.
Top three openers
Top 50 Wordle openers
No extra failure is traded for a slightly lower average. Within the same solve rate, lower averages are better. Information and average remaining answers describe the opening move rather than the whole game.
Every word here solves the same set of answers within six guesses, and the whole table spans 0.033 guesses per game — 3.455 for SLANT to 3.487 for TRONE. Pick one you can remember; the ordering below is a tiebreak, not a gap.
| Rank | Word | Avg guesses | Information (bits) | Avg remaining | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLANT | 3.455 | 5.491 | 101.2 | No. 1 |
| 2 | SLART | 3.458 | 5.629 | 88.1 | vs SLANT |
| 3 | CARLE | 3.458 | 5.763 | 76.9 | vs SLANT |
| 4 | TRACE | 3.459 | 5.821 | 76.4 | vs SLANT |
| 5 | ROAST | 3.459 | 5.648 | 84.7 | vs SLANT |
| 6 | SLANE | 3.460 | 5.767 | 76.1 | vs SLANT |
| 7 | TARSE | 3.462 | 5.948 | 67.7 | vs SLANT |
| 8 | CARNE | 3.462 | 5.707 | 81.2 | vs SLANT |
| 9 | CRANE | 3.462 | 5.728 | 81.5 | vs SLANT |
| 10 | CRATE | 3.462 | 5.824 | 75.3 | vs SLANT |
| 11 | SALET | 3.465 | 5.836 | 72.9 | vs SLANT |
| 12 | LEAST | 3.467 | 5.751 | 80.0 | vs SLANT |
| 13 | TRICE | 3.469 | 5.626 | 88.8 | vs SLANT |
| 14 | CARSE | 3.470 | 5.759 | 76.8 | vs SLANT |
| 15 | CLAST | 3.470 | 5.366 | 117.8 | vs SLANT |
| 16 | REAST | 3.470 | 5.862 | 73.5 | vs SLANT |
| 17 | SLATE | 3.470 | 5.857 | 73.4 | vs SLANT |
| 18 | CARTE | 3.471 | 5.788 | 75.7 | vs SLANT |
| 19 | ROIST | 3.473 | 5.471 | 98.8 | vs SLANT |
| 20 | SAINT | 3.474 | 5.511 | 105.7 | vs SLANT |
| 21 | CANST | 3.477 | 5.258 | 123.8 | vs SLANT |
| 22 | ALIST | 3.478 | 5.480 | 103.1 | vs SLANT |
| 23 | CRINE | 3.478 | 5.505 | 98.9 | vs SLANT |
| 24 | LANCE | 3.478 | 5.511 | 93.7 | vs SLANT |
| 25 | RIANT | 3.478 | 5.544 | 90.7 | vs SLANT |
| 26 | LOAST | 3.478 | 5.521 | 92.4 | vs SLANT |
| 27 | CRONE | 3.478 | 5.501 | 96.7 | vs SLANT |
| 28 | TRAIN | 3.479 | 5.555 | 90.4 | vs SLANT |
| 29 | DRANT | 3.480 | 5.358 | 107.3 | vs SLANT |
| 30 | REACT | 3.480 | 5.685 | 82.3 | vs SLANT |
| 31 | PLAST | 3.481 | 5.240 | 135.2 | vs SLANT |
| 32 | SACRE | 3.481 | 5.705 | 78.0 | vs SLANT |
| 33 | SOREL | 3.481 | 5.673 | 77.6 | vs SLANT |
| 34 | CARET | 3.481 | 5.770 | 77.8 | vs SLANT |
| 35 | CROST | 3.482 | 5.308 | 118.1 | vs SLANT |
| 36 | EARST | 3.483 | 5.759 | 78.4 | vs SLANT |
| 37 | SCANT | 3.483 | 5.205 | 128.0 | vs SLANT |
| 38 | SNARE | 3.483 | 5.768 | 73.0 | vs SLANT |
| 39 | SLIPT | 3.483 | 5.058 | 161.2 | vs SLANT |
| 40 | SPART | 3.483 | 5.297 | 124.6 | vs SLANT |
| 41 | RAINE | 3.485 | 5.781 | 68.6 | vs SLANT |
| 42 | PRATE | 3.485 | 5.694 | 84.0 | vs SLANT |
| 43 | RANSE | 3.485 | 5.772 | 70.5 | vs SLANT |
| 44 | TORSE | 3.485 | 5.724 | 79.1 | vs SLANT |
| 45 | SAULT | 3.486 | 5.385 | 115.7 | vs SLANT |
| 46 | TAILS | 3.486 | 5.405 | 100.4 | vs SLANT |
| 47 | SANER | 3.487 | 5.733 | 71.9 | vs SLANT |
| 48 | TRANS | 3.487 | 5.438 | 94.1 | vs SLANT |
| 49 | SERAL | 3.487 | 5.742 | 75.0 | vs SLANT |
| 50 | TRONE | 3.487 | 5.680 | 80.6 | vs SLANT |
Suggested comparisons
Head-to-head matchups between top Wordle openers.
Common questions
Which starting word ranks first?
SLANT ranks first among 182 evaluated openers. It missed 0 of those answer tests; no opener in the screen missed fewer. Among games the solver finished within six, it averaged 3.45 guesses. The same solver played every answer from each evaluated opener; this is not an exhaustive ranking of every accepted guess or style of play.
What are the top 5 starting words?
The first five words in this bounded ranking are SLANT, SLART, CARLE, TRACE, ROAST. The order minimizes misses within six first, then average guesses among those wins. Information scores the opening row alone.
How are starting words ranked?
The six-turn test applies the same solver to a declared screen of 182 strong openers, with each opener played against 2,360 possible answers. It ranks exact misses first, then average guesses among wins. Information and average remaining answers are separate first-turn figures against the current list of 2,360 possible answers.