SALET vs CRATE as a Wordle openerWordPilot AI

Optimal-opener claims travel further than the maths behind them. This page recomputes the comparison instead of repeating it.

Verdict

CRATE wins by 0.27 bits

Runner-up

salet

WordPilot pick

crate

Factor by factor

Every figure below is computed at page load by the same engine that answers your searches.

SALET compared with CRATE across each scoring factor
Factor	SALET	CRATE
Information revealedShannon entropy of the feedback split over the answer pool. One extra bit halves the words you still have to consider.	6.05 bits	6.32 bits
Words left on averageExpected size of the surviving pool from 574 candidates.	12	10
Worst caseLargest single feedback bucket — the unlucky outcome you have to survive.	30	28
Distinct clue patternsMore reachable colour patterns means the guess separates the pool more finely.	110	125

The reasoning

Measured over 574 everyday five-letter answers, SALET reveals 6.05 bits of information and CRATE reveals 6.32 bits. CRATE therefore leaves about 10 candidates on an average day against 12 for SALET.

The unlucky case matters as much as the average. SALET can strand you with 30 words still alive; CRATE can strand you with 28. A guess with a smaller worst case protects your third and fourth turns even when its average looks similar.

Neither word is "the answer" — an opener is a measuring instrument. The right one splits the pool as evenly as possible, which is exactly what the bits figure measures. SALET produces 110 distinct colour patterns and CRATE produces 125.

When SALET is the better play

SALET is still the better call if it is already consistent with clues you are holding: a guess that could itself be the answer can win the game outright, and 0.27 bits of information is a small price for that chance.