Comparison

OGS Notify vs Surround

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

Head to head
About

OGS Notify

Receive instant notifications for your Go games on online-go.com. This app helps you avoid timing out by alerting you to new moves, paused games, and the stone removal phase. It provides a quick overview of your current games and displays updated rankings.

Highlights
  • Push notifications for game moves
  • Today widget for game overview
  • Alerts for paused games and stone removal
  • Displays updated ranking system
  • Opens games in preferred browser
Features
Read full description

OGS Notify notifies you, when one of your Go games at the famous online-go.com server is waiting for you. Never time out on any of your go games! You can instantly get an overview over your current games. • Push notification gives you a glance of the board. Immediately see the played move! • Use the Today widget to get a quick overview of waiting games. • OGS Notify shows you when a game is paused manually, by vacation or weekend. You will also see when the game is in the stone removal phase. • Displays the ranking based on the new rating system • Open the games in your preferred browser ## If you use Facebook to authenticate at OGS: Please log into OGS and create a separate password at OGS under "Settings -> Account Settings". For the login in OGS Notify use your profile name and then created password!

About

Surround

Play the ancient strategy game of Go online with a global community. Engage in live or turn-based matches, observe ongoing games, and connect with other players. Receive timely notifications for your games and enjoy a sleek dark mode interface.

Highlights
  • Play live and turn-based Go games
  • Observe ongoing games
  • Chat with other players
  • Home screen widget for correspondence games
  • Notifications for game turns
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

Surround is a client to play Go online with other players on the website online-go.com (Online Go Server - OGS). OGS is a very popular Go Server with a friendly community, and this app aims to provide the best OGS experience on iPhones and iPads. Features: - Play Go with other Go players on OGS, either live games or turn-based (correspondence) games. - Observe other live games that are currently being played. - Chat with other players. - Get a glimpse of your correspondence games on your home screen with a widget. - Receive notifications when it is your turn in correspondence games. - Beautiful dark mode. There are many more features on OGS website that I plan to implement into the app gradually, so I hope to have your support to make it happen faster. Let me know if there is any feature you specifically want to have first. This app offers subscriptions for supporting the app's ongoing development. If you decide to participate in the subscriptions: - Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. - The subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. - You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. - All purchases are final. I cannot issue refunds for purchases charged to your Apple ID. The Terms of Use can be found at: https://files.honganhkhoa.com/SurroundTerms.html, and the Privacy Policy can be found at: https://files.honganhkhoa.com/SurroundPrivacyPolicy.html.

Screenshots

OGS Notify4 screens
Surround4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Surround at 84% against OGS Notify's 22%. Surround also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (4.6 vs 3.5). OGS Notify's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Surround is free to download; OGS Notify costs $0.99 up front. OGS Notify sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Surround sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Surround holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surround has 69 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of OGS Notify's written reviews are positive against 84% of Surround's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OGS Notify ships an update every 7 months, Surround fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
OGS Notify versus Surround: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOGS NotifySurround
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.5 (6 ratings)4.6 (69 ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.2% of reviews84.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings669 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGunther CronenbergHong Anh Khoa

Customer experience

OGS Notify

All ratings6 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral33.3%
Negative44.4%

Surround

All ratings69 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative10.5%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

OGS Notify

One-time2
  • Green tea for Gunther$2.99
  • Burrito for Gunther$7.99
4 purchases

Surround

Subscriptions4
  • Surround App Supporter$0.491 Month
  • Surround App Supporter$1.991 Month
  • Surround App Supporter$4.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Surround App Supporter$9.991 Month

Questions

Is OGS Notify free?
OGS Notify costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Surround free?
Surround is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OGS Notify or Surround?
Surround is rated higher. OGS Notify averages 3.5 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Surround averages 4.6 from 69 ratings.
Do OGS Notify or Surround have ads?
Neither OGS Notify nor Surround shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OGS Notify or Surround?
OGS Notify ships an update every 7 months, and Surround fortnightly. Most recently, OGS Notify was updated on October 13, 2026 and Surround on October 16, 2026.

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