# SmartGo One vs Go

The clearest difference is price: SmartGo One at Free against Go's $1.99. SmartGo One also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 45 months) and ratings volume (1.9K vs 1). Go's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 46) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

SmartGo One is free to download; Go costs $1.99 up front. SmartGo One sells 46 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Go asks for nothing beyond the download.

Go holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartGo One has 1.9K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of SmartGo One's written reviews are positive against 63% of Go's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

SmartGo One ships an update every 2 weeks, Go every 45 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SmartGo One | Go |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | [4.8 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/go-board-game/id1546283039/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.9K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **76.5% of reviews** | 62.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 45 months |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#194** |
| Size | 140 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) | [Stepan Grachev](https://appshunter.io/developer/1546283041) |

## 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 (46)**

| 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 |
| 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


### Go

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/go-board-game/id1546283039)

**Currently charting:** #194 Top Paid · Board (US App Store)

Engage in a strategic board game where the goal is to surround more territory than your opponent. Capture enemy stones by surrounding them. The game concludes when both players consecutively pass their turn.

**Highlights:** Surround territory to win, Capture surrounded enemy stones, Game ends on consecutive passes, Deep territory analysis, Convenient move navigation, Pleasant gameplay and interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SmartGo One free?

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

### Is Go free?

Go costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

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

Go is rated higher. SmartGo One averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Go averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do SmartGo One or Go have ads?

Neither SmartGo One nor Go shows ads.

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

SmartGo One ships an update every 2 weeks, and Go every 45 months. Most recently, SmartGo One was updated on September 25, 2026 and Go on September 21, 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.*