The top 20, by the numbers
| # | Word | Distinct letters | Coverage score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AROSE | 5 | 15,085 |
| 2 | ORATE | 5 | 15,068 |
| 3 | ARISE | 5 | 15,048 |
| 4 | RAISE | 5 | 15,048 |
| 5 | SERAI | 5 | 15,048 |
| 6 | ARITE | 5 | 15,031 |
| 7 | IRATE | 5 | 15,031 |
| 8 | RETIA | 5 | 15,031 |
| 9 | TARIE | 5 | 15,031 |
| 10 | ARIEL | 5 | 15,028 |
| 11 | REINA | 5 | 14,900 |
| 12 | ASTER | 5 | 14,786 |
| 13 | SERTA | 5 | 14,786 |
| 14 | STARE | 5 | 14,786 |
| 15 | STRAE | 5 | 14,786 |
| 16 | TARSE | 5 | 14,786 |
| 17 | TERAS | 5 | 14,786 |
| 18 | ARLES | 5 | 14,783 |
| 19 | ARSLE | 5 | 14,783 |
| 20 | LASER | 5 | 14,783 |
The score sums, for each distinct letter, how many of the 8,500 five-letter words contain it - so a high score means every guess slices the candidate pool hard whether letters land green, yellow or gray. The classic picks (SLATE, CRANE, ADIEU) all rank well, but the table is computed, not copied from folklore.
RATE MY OPENER
Opener strategy in three rules
- Five distinct letters, always. A repeated letter wastes a fifth of your information budget on turn one.
- Vowel-heavy openers (AROSE, ORATE, ARISE, RAISE, SERAI) locate the word's skeleton fast - strong if you like playing constraint-elimination through the solver.
- Your second guess matters more than your first. The elite move is a fixed opener pair covering 10 distinct letters - pick two top-table words with no overlap and play them blind.
Fun fact from the arena: this exact game is one of the hardest for AI language models - tokenization hides letter positions from them, which is why Word Duel produces upsets that chess never could.
Questions people actually ask
What is mathematically the best Wordle starting word?
By raw letter coverage across 8,500 five-letter words, AROSE tops our table. Anything in the top 20 is within a few percent - consistency matters more than the exact pick.
Is ADIEU actually a good opener?
It finds vowels fast but skips the high-value consonants R, S and T. Great for a locate-the-skeleton style, weaker for maximum elimination - the table shows exactly where it ranks.
Should I use the same starting word every day?
Yes, if it's a good one - a fixed high-coverage opener (or a fixed two-word pair) beats improvising, because your brain learns the follow-up patterns.