# Chess vs Hexpawn

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hexpawn at none against Chess's 1. Hexpawn also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). Chess's advantage is ratings volume (60 vs 8) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 10.1). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hexpawn asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Chess against 4.5 for Hexpawn. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess has 60 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 100% of Hexpawn's.

Chess ships an update every 4 months, Hexpawn every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chess | Hexpawn |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (60 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-simple-defense/id1152972555/reviews)** | [4.5 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hexpawn/id1457214400/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **60** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 42 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 10.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Chess King](https://appshunter.io/developer/1096660597) | [Garrett Milovich](https://appshunter.io/developer/1232968333) |

## What reviewers say

### Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-simple-defense/id1152972555)

Master defensive chess skills with over 3000 interactive exercises. This app acts as a personal coach, providing hints and explanations to improve your game. It's designed for beginners to consolidate fundamental defensive tactics.

**Highlights:** Over 3000 defensive exercises, Interactive coach with hints and explanations, Improve defensive tactics, Track ELO rating changes, Offline play capability, Play positions against computer

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full course | $3.99 | one-time |


### Hexpawn

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hexpawn/id1457214400)

This game features a chess AI that learns from every game you play. It starts with minimal knowledge but improves with each win, making it increasingly challenging. Experience a unique take on machine learning through strategic gameplay.

**Highlights:** Adaptive AI opponent, Learns from player wins, Increasing difficulty, Simple pawn-only moves, Machine learning demonstration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chess free?

Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Hexpawn free?

Hexpawn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Chess or Hexpawn?

Chess is rated higher. Chess averages 4.6 out of 5 from 60 ratings, while Hexpawn averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.

### Do Chess or Hexpawn have ads?

Neither Chess nor Hexpawn shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Chess or Hexpawn?

Chess ships an update every 4 months, and Hexpawn every 3 days. Most recently, Chess was updated on November 6, 2026 and Hexpawn on November 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*