# Chess vs Chess Puzzles

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chess Puzzles at every 3 days against Chess's every 6 weeks. Chess Puzzles also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (249 vs 11). Chess's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 87%) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Puzzles sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Chess Puzzles holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Puzzles has 249 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 87% of Chess Puzzles's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Chess ships an update every 6 weeks, Chess Puzzles every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chess | Chess Puzzles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-capturing-pieces-2/id1181402600/reviews) | **[4.8 (249 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-puzzles-tactics-trainer/id6748346536/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 11 | **249** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 87.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 42 MB | 113 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Chess King](https://appshunter.io/developer/1096660597) | [Sergei Tovmasian](https://appshunter.io/developer/1641137698) |

## What reviewers say

### Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-capturing-pieces-2/id1181402600)

Enhance your chess skills with over 1500 tactical exercises drawn from real games. This app provides hints, explanations, and refutations to help beginners improve their play and learn new combinations. It acts as a personal coach, adapting to your progress and offering interactive lessons.

**Highlights:** Over 1500 tactical exercises, Hints and explanations, Refutations of mistakes, Interactive theoretical lessons, Progress monitoring (ELO rating), Offline play

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

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


### Chess Puzzles

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-puzzles-tactics-trainer/id6748346536)

Master chess tactics with over 5 million puzzles from real games, personalized to your skill level. Understand mistakes, practice specific patterns, and track your progress to play better chess.

**Highlights:** 5M+ puzzles from real games, Personalized difficulty, Mistake analysis and learning, 64 tactical motifs and patterns, Progress tracking (rating, accuracy), 300,000+ composed chess problems

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

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Weekly | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Chess.PhD Premium (1 Week) | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Chess.PhD Premium (1 Week) | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Chess.PhD Weekly Premium | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Premium Annual | $29.99 | per year |
| Chess.PhD Premium (1 Year) | $49.99 | per year |
| Premium Annual | $49.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chess free?

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

### Is Chess Puzzles free?

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

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

Chess Puzzles is rated higher. Chess averages 4.5 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Chess Puzzles averages 4.8 from 249 ratings.

### Do Chess or Chess Puzzles have ads?

Neither Chess nor Chess Puzzles shows ads.

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

Chess ships an update every 6 weeks, and Chess Puzzles every 3 days. Most recently, Chess was updated on November 6, 2026 and Chess Puzzles on November 5, 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.*