# SmartGo One vs Lichess

The clearest difference is rating: SmartGo One at 4.8 against Lichess's 4.1. SmartGo One also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 53%). Lichess's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 47) and chart position (#43 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, 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. Lichess asks for nothing beyond the download.

SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2K and 775 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of SmartGo One's written reviews are positive against 53% of Lichess's.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | SmartGo One | Lichess |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992/reviews)** | [4.1 (775 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lichess/id1662361230/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2K** | 775 |
| Positive reviews | **76.8% of reviews** | 53.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | — | **#43** |
| Size | 156 MB | 109 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) | [LICHESS.ORG](https://appshunter.io/developer/968371783) |

## 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


### Lichess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lichess/id1662361230)

**Currently charting:** #43 Top Free · Strategy (US App Store)

Play chess online with millions of users, participate in tournaments, solve puzzles, and analyze games. This free and open-source application offers a comprehensive chess experience for players of all levels, with features for learning and casual play.

**Highlights:** Real-time and correspondence chess, Arena tournaments, Chess puzzles, Game analysis with Stockfish, Interactive study feature, Chess clock

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great interface
- 🚀 Smooth performance
- 💡 Useful resources for learning and analysis

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional UI issues
- 💡 Room for more customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Swipe-to-go-back gesture interferes with piece placement

**Requested features**

- Name of opening in opening explorer
- Ability to add and subtract additional things on the homepage
- Reset/replay button on puzzles


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SmartGo One free?

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

### Is Lichess free?

Lichess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

SmartGo One is rated higher. SmartGo One averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Lichess averages 4.1 from 775 ratings.

### Do SmartGo One or Lichess have ads?

Neither SmartGo One nor Lichess shows ads.

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

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