Best Wordle starting words

Your opener decides how fast you solve. We ranked the top 5-letter starters by expected information gain — how much each guess shrinks the candidate list on average. Pick one and load it into our solver.

Top 8 openers, ranked

• 1

  crane

  Highest average information gain across the full answer list.
  5.83 bits

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• 2

  slate

  Covers high-frequency S, L, A, T, E and pairs well with TRACE.
  5.81 bits

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• 3

  trace

  Strong vowel + consonant blend; classic expert opener.
  5.79 bits

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• 4

  raise

  Vowel-heavy — great for early vowel discovery.
  5.71 bits

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• 5

  audio

  Best opener if your strategy is to lock vowels first.
  5.45 bits

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• 6

  stare

  Eliminates ~92% of remaining words on average.
  5.69 bits

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• 7

  salet

  Mathematically optimal opener under hard mode.
  5.88 bits

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• 8

  roate

  Top opener under unrestricted (easy) mode.
  5.89 bits

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How we rank openers

Each starter is scored against the entire Wordle answer list. We simulate every possible feedback pattern (green / yellow / gray) and measure how much information bits each pattern reveals. Words with higher average bits leave you with a smaller candidate set — meaning fewer guesses to solve.

Pair your opener

For an even faster solve, pre-commit a strong second guess that covers letters your opener missed. Common high-coverage pairs:

• • CRANE → DOILY — covers 9 distinct high-frequency letters.
• • SLATE → CHIRP — finishes vowel + consonant scan in 2 guesses.
• • TRACE → MOULD — strong for hard mode players.