# SmartGo One vs Chess

The clearest difference is ads: SmartGo One at none against Chess's shown. SmartGo One also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 46%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 weeks). Chess's advantage is ratings volume (6.8K vs 2K) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SmartGo One sells 47 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Chess sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for SmartGo One against 4.9 for Chess. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2K and 6.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of SmartGo One's written reviews are positive against 46% of Chess's.

SmartGo One ships an update every 10 days, Chess every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SmartGo One | Chess |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992/reviews) | **[4.9 (6.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-chess-online/id1547549647/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2K | **6.8K** |
| Positive reviews | **76.8% of reviews** | 46.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 4 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 156 MB | 282 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) | [Wuhan Dobest Information Technology Co, Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/917530329) |

## 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


### Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-chess-online/id1547549647)

Play chess against AI or other players online. Features adjustable difficulty, hints, and multiple game modes. Save your progress and develop your strategy to become a chess master.

**Highlights:** Selectable board skins, Adjustable game difficulty, Hint function, Endgame mode, AI mode, Two-player mode, Save game progress

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

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| VIP Per Week | $0.99 | per 7 days |
| VIP Per Month | $1.99 | per month |
| VIP Per Month | $15.99 | per year |
| Hint*30 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads B | $0.99 | one-time |
| Badge*120 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Analysis*15 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Hint*65 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Badge250 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Chess Online-Remove Ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| Analysis*75 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Badge*500 | $5.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent online play
- 🎮 Good computer play
- 🎉 Very fun game
- 🤩 Amazing and super good

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy online play
- 💤 Freezes and crashes mid-game
- 🔍 False advertising (not 3D as shown)
- 🕰️ Stalemate issues with AI
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with data collection

**Reported bugs**

- Pieces making impossible moves
- Touch screen becoming unresponsive
- Game declaring draws on clear checkmates
- Disconnections and network issues

**Requested features**

- Add online multiplayer with friends
- Option to disable stalemate rule
- Improve AI's understanding of checkmate


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SmartGo One free?

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

### Is Chess free?

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

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

Chess is rated higher. SmartGo One averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Chess averages 4.9 from 6.8K ratings.

### Do SmartGo One or Chess have ads?

Chess shows ads; SmartGo One does not.

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

SmartGo One ships an update every 10 days, and Chess every 4 weeks. Most recently, SmartGo One was updated on October 26, 2026 and Chess 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.*