# SmartGo One vs Surround

The clearest difference is monetization model: SmartGo One at free with in-app purchases against Surround's subscription. SmartGo One also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (2K vs 75). Surround's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SmartGo One sells 47 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month 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.

SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartGo One has 2K ratings behind it against 75, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of SmartGo One's written reviews are positive against 82% of Surround's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

SmartGo One ships an update every 10 days, Surround fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SmartGo One | Surround |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992/reviews)** | [4.5 (75 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surround-online-go-client/id1535010544/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2K** | 75 |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews | **82.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 156 MB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) | [Hong Anh Khoa](https://appshunter.io/developer/381809256) |

## What reviewers say

### SmartGo One

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992)

Learn, play, and improve at the ancient game of Go. This app offers adjustable board sizes, a strong AI opponent, and tools to study professional games and solve Go problems. It's designed for players of all skill levels, from beginners to masters.

**Highlights:** Adjustable board sizes (9x9 to 19x19), Strong KataGo game engine, Study professional game records, Solve Go problems and tutorials, Pattern matching for move suggestions, Territory estimator, Game recording and annotation

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (47)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SmartGo One Pro – Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Pro Games and Features | $29.99 | per year |
| Just Enough Japanese 1 | Free | one-time |
| Key Concepts in Life and Death | $2.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Master Collection | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 2: Medium | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 3: Hard | $3.99 | one-time |
| Counting Liberties | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Monkey Jump | $4.99 | one-time |
| Double Digit Kyu Games | $5.99 | one-time |
| Go: A Complete Introduction | $5.99 | one-time |
| How Not to Play Go | $5.99 | one-time |
| Encyclopedia of Go Principles | $5.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Black to Play 30-25 Kyu | $5.99 | one-time |
| The Workshop Lectures 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Rethinking Opening Strategy | $6.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 1 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 2 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 3 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Correct Joseki | $7.99 | one-time |
| “The Theory of Go” | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 4 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Buddhist Philosophy Game of Go | $8.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 1 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Basic Techniques of Go | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 3 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Get Strong at Life and Death | $9.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Mini Go by Mark Tomlinson | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fuseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fundamental Principles of Go | $11.99 | one-time |
| The Basics of Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| Joseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| A Survey of the Basic Tesujis | $11.99 | one-time |
| Tesuji | $11.99 | one-time |
| Tesuji for Beginners | $14.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, vol. 4 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 1 | $14.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, Vol. 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Invincible | $24.99 | one-time |
| Essential Go Proverbs | $24.99 | one-time |
| Pro – Lifetime Unlock | $99.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome app
- 👍 Great for playing and learning Go
- 📚 Excellent integration with Go books
- 🔍 Powerful analysis and review features
- 💻 Seamless experience across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🤔 Unintuitive user interface for beginners
- 💰 Paywall for full 19x19 board and some features
- 🤖 AI too strong for novice players

**Reported bugs**

- Illegal move detection issues on certain board positions
- Problems with missing variations or incorrect answers
- Inconsistent behavior when passing moves

**Requested features**

- Add read-only mode
- Improve move suggestion explanations
- Introduce difficulty settings for AI
- Integrate online play functionality
- Provide more randomness in AI moves


### Surround

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surround-online-go-client/id1535010544)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Surround App Supporter | $0.49 | per month |
| Surround App Supporter | $1.99 | per month |
| Surround App Supporter | $4.99 | per month |
| Surround App Supporter | $9.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SmartGo One free?

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

### Is Surround free?

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

### Which has better reviews, SmartGo One or Surround?

SmartGo One is rated higher. SmartGo One averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Surround averages 4.5 from 75 ratings.

### Do SmartGo One or Surround have ads?

Neither SmartGo One nor Surround shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SmartGo One or Surround?

SmartGo One ships an update every 10 days, and Surround fortnightly. Most recently, SmartGo One was updated on October 26, 2026 and Surround on October 27, 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.*