Comparison

Chess ⁺ vs Chess King

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Chess ⁺

Enhance your chess abilities with this comprehensive training application. It offers a vast array of puzzles, tactical exercises, and learning modes for players of all levels. Track your progress with live statistics and enjoy a visually engaging experience.

Highlights
  • 2D & 3D chess pieces
  • Hundreds of levels
  • Thousands of exercises
  • Tactics training
  • Opening and endgame practice
  • Checkmate puzzles
  • Learning mode with hints
Features
Read full description

The most advanced chess training app. Improve your skills, learn tactics and strategies. Chess + was created with the goal to improve chess skills of every player. This app is perfect for any amateur or professional. Difficulty of tasks is dynamically adjusted to the skills and previous performance. Features: ● 2D & 3D chess pieces ● Hundreds of levels ● Thousands of exercises ● Tactics training ● Opening and endgame training and practice ● Checkmate puzzles ● Time and move limit puzzles ● Learning mode with best move hints ● Play chess in infinite rematch fights ● Live chess statistics and leaderboards ● Game boosters ● Mistake preventing (Learn how to play without mistakes in your chess games) ● Amazing 3D chess world, with cartoon graphics. ● No advertising Chess + is an offline application. You don't need internet to play online, but you can switch to online play using our other app. Play chess and learn various strategies and compare your results with friends. Chess + is completely free to play app, but you can purchase some optional in-game items. Download this free chess game and let the journey begin!

About

Chess King

Master the game of chess with this comprehensive learning app. It offers interactive lessons, puzzles, and analysis for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Improve your tactics and strategy with a personal chess trainer, available online and offline.

Highlights
  • 100+ learning courses
  • Interactive theoretical lessons
  • High-quality, double-checked puzzles
  • Personal chess trainer
  • Computer analysis
  • Offline support
  • Chess tasks for kids
Features
Read full description

Don't just play chess. Train like a master. Chess King teaches the game the way strong players are actually built — with a rigorous, structured curriculum, not a random feed of puzzles. 147 complete courses take you from your first move to advanced play, step by step. WHY CHESS KING IS DIFFERENT Most chess apps let you play. Chess King trains you. Every course is a real lesson built on classical training methods refined over 30 years — the same approach behind CT-ART, the tactics trainer used by serious players worldwide. You don't just solve a position and move on. Chess King gives you hints when you are stuck, explains the idea behind the right move, and shows you the striking refutation of the mistakes you might make. That is how understanding is built — not memorized. WHAT YOU GET - 147 structured courses covering tactics, strategy, openings, the middlegame, and endgames, organized by level from beginner to master. - Chess King University: 7 guided learning paths and 44 courses that give you a clear, ordered route to real improvement — no guessing what to study next. - Interactive theory: read the lesson, then play the moves on the board yourself. Learning by doing, not just reading. - Thousands of carefully selected exercises with graphic hints and full explanations. - Play against the computer to put what you have trained into practice. - A progress report for every lesson, so you always see how far you have come. TRAIN ON EVERY DEVICE Your subscription, purchases, progress, and rating sync automatically across web, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Train on your phone on the commute, continue on the web at home — your progress follows you. TRY IT FREE Preview courses before you commit. When you are ready, choose a monthly or yearly plan, or buy individual courses to keep forever. Chess King — train like a master. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Chess ⁺4 screens
Chess King4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess ⁺ at none against Chess King's shown. Chess ⁺ also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). Chess King's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Chess ⁺ sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Chess King sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Chess ⁺ against 4.8 for Chess King. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.9K and 2.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess ⁺'s written reviews are positive against 78% of Chess King's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ⁺ ships an update every 2 months, Chess King every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Chess ⁺ versus Chess King: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess ⁺Chess King
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.9K ratings)4.8 (2.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.3% of reviews — better78.4% of reviews
Number of ratings2.9K — better2.5K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB109 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperEntertainment 4Media AGChess King

Customer experience

Chess ⁺

All ratings2,866 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral5.3%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews184 reviews
Positive85.3%
Neutral6.0%
Negative8.7%

Chess King

All ratings2,501 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews324 reviews
Positive78.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative16.4%

User reviews

Chess ⁺

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great gameplay
  • 👍 Visually appealing
  • 💡 Helpful for learning chess
  • 🎓 Effective teaching of tactics and strategies

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 💰 Limited free content, requires in-app purchases
  • ⏱️ AI can take too long to make moves

Chess King

From 2.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ Best game in the world
  • 👍 Helpful for practice
  • 💡 Excellent tutorial and training content
  • 🎨 Well-chosen puzzles
  • 🧠 Improves pattern recognition and tactics

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive
  • 🐛 Crashes on iPhone and iPad
  • 🐛 Buggy after recent update
  • 🤔 Confusing interface and lack of instructions
  • 🤔 Difficult for beginners

Bugs and requests

Chess ⁺

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • AI freezing and not making moves
  • Game progress and achievements being reset
  • Connectivity issues with login and cloud sync

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to analyze and save past games
  • Option to play against other users online
  • More advanced training modes and challenges

Chess King

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes on M1 Macs
  • Doesnot work with iOS 13 dark mode
  • Doesnot show board and pieces in exercises
  • Cannot restore purchases
  • Doesnot sync progress across devices

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve user interface and design
  • Add more opening courses
  • Provide better explanations for moves
  • Allow resetting progress
Show 2 more
  • Improve syncing across devices
  • Add online chess mode

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Chess ⁺

One-time7
  • 10 Gem Pack$0.99
  • Starter Pack$1.99
  • 50 Gem Pack$4.99
Show 4 more
  • 100 Gem Pack$9.99
  • 250 Gem Pack$19.99
  • 500 Gem Pack$36.99
  • 1000 Gem Pack$69.99
10 purchases

Chess King

Subscriptions6
  • CT-ART: The Best Tactics7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Chess King University7 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Chess King Courses3 Days trial$11.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Chess King Maximum Pack1 Month trial$17.991 Month
  • Chess King Courses3 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Chess King Maximum Pack1 Year trial$119.991 Year
One-time4
  • Chess: From Beginner to Club$12.99
  • Chess Tactics for Beginners$12.99
  • Chess Opening Blunders$12.99
Show 1 more
  • CT-ART 4.0 (Chess Tactics)$17.99

Questions

Is Chess ⁺ free?
Chess ⁺ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess King free?
Chess King is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess ⁺ or Chess King?
Chess King is rated higher. Chess ⁺ averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while Chess King averages 4.8 from 2.5K ratings.
Do Chess ⁺ or Chess King have ads?
Chess King shows ads; Chess ⁺ does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess ⁺ or Chess King?
Chess ⁺ ships an update every 2 months, and Chess King every 3 weeks. Most recently, Chess ⁺ was updated on November 2, 2026 and Chess King on November 4, 2026.

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