Make a cryptogram from any quote
A cryptogram is a short text in which every letter has been swapped for a different letter; the solver’s job is to work the swaps out from word shapes, repeated letters and common endings. This cryptogram maker builds one from any quote or message you paste: it generates a seeded substitution cipher in which no letter stands for itself, optionally reveals a few letters as hints, and lays out the puzzle with blank lines under the code letters — ready to solve on screen or to print with an answer key.
It is used for classroom logic practice, puzzle books, escape-room clues, party invitations and secret notes between friends. The attribution line, hint count and a letter-frequency row (as in newspaper cryptoquotes) are all optional.
Enciphering, the on-screen solver and the PDF and PNG exports run entirely in your browser.
How to use the Cryptogram Maker
- Paste a Quote or message (at least 8 letters; up to 600 characters). Accents are removed and letters are upper-cased; punctuation and spaces stay visible in the puzzle.
- Add an Attribution and Title, choose how many letters are revealed as hints, and keep or change the Seed.
- Press Make cryptogram. The encoded text appears with a key row of cipher letters underneath.
- To solve on screen, type a plain letter under each cipher letter (or click a letter in the puzzle to jump to it). Check marks wrong letters, Reveal shows the answer, Clear guesses keeps only the hints.
- Choose Paper and Orientation, then Print, Download PDF (puzzle + key) or save a page as PNG. Copy the encoded text to send the puzzle as a message.
Cryptogram Maker features
True derangement cipher
Every letter maps to a different letter and none maps to itself, which is the rule solvers expect from a cryptoquote.
Hints you control
Reveal 0 to 6 letters; hinted letters are printed in blue on the puzzle and locked in the on-screen key row.
Letter-frequency row
An optional count of each cipher letter, the classic nudge towards E, T, A and O.
Solve on screen
A key row fills every occurrence at once; clicking a letter highlights all its copies; the checker marks only wrong letters.
Puzzle and key pages
The key page shows the filled-in puzzle, the plain text and the full plain-to-code table.
Seeded
The same text and seed always produce the same cipher, so you can reprint a puzzle or share the seed with a co-solver.
How to solve a cryptogram
- One-letter words are almost always A or I; two-letter words are usually OF, TO, IN, IT, IS, BE, AS, AT, SO, WE, HE, BY, OR, ON, DO, IF, ME, MY, UP, AN, GO, NO, US, AM.
- A three-letter word that appears several times is probably THE or AND.
- An apostrophe followed by one letter is usually ’S or ’T; followed by two it is often ’RE, ’VE or ’LL.
- Doubled letters are most often LL, EE, SS, OO, TT, FF, RR, NN or PP.
- The most frequent letters in English prose are E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H and R — compare with the frequency row on the printed puzzle.
- Common endings: -ING, -ION, -TION, -ED, -LY, -ER, -EST.
Choosing a good quote
Quotes of 60–200 letters work best: long enough to give the solver repeated letters and short words to anchor on, short enough to fit one page. Famous lines are easier because solvers may recognise them; original messages are harder. Avoid texts with unusual spellings or many names. Shakespeare and other public-domain authors are safe to print and share. For a different kind of word puzzle, try the Crossword Maker or Word Search Maker; to hide text for real, use Text Encryption.
Cryptogram Maker FAQ
Is a cryptogram the same as a Caesar cipher?
No. A Caesar cipher shifts every letter by the same amount, which is easy to break by trying 25 shifts. A cryptogram uses an arbitrary one-to-one substitution, so it must be solved by reasoning about letter patterns.
Can a letter stand for itself in the puzzle?
Never. The generator rejects any mapping in which a letter would encode to itself and tries again, so the puzzle follows the standard cryptoquote convention.
Which letters are revealed as hints?
They are picked at random (from the seed) among the letters that actually appear in the text. Change the seed to get different hints.
Does the puzzle keep punctuation and numbers?
Yes. Spaces, punctuation and digits are printed as they are; only the letters A–Z are enciphered. Accented letters are converted to their plain form first.
Can I share the puzzle without printing?
Copy the encoded text and send it as a message, or send the PNG of the puzzle page. Keep the answer key page for yourself.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Everything, including the PDF, is generated in your browser.