Comparison

Chessable vs Lotus Chess

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

Head to head
About

Chessable

Master chess openings, tactics, and endgames with a science-backed system. Learn from top players and retain moves through spaced repetition. Track your progress and join a community of players improving their game.

Highlights
  • Spaced repetition system
  • 1,000+ chess courses
  • Learn from top players
  • MoveTrainer® for practice
  • Offline mode (PRO)
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Master Chess Like a Grandmaster Chessable is the science-backed way to learn chess openings, tactics, and endgames—and actually remember them. Used by beginners and Grandmasters alike, our spaced repetition system ensures you’ll never forget a move again. What Makes Chessable Unique? • 1,000+ Courses – Learn from Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri, Judit Polgar and other top players, who help you understand each move—not just memorize them. • Spaced Repetition – Train smarter with MoveTrainer®. • Offline Mode – Download courses and study anytime, anywhere (PRO feature). • From First Moves to Mastery – Learn opening repertoires, crush endgames, and dominate tactics. Why Chessable Works… • Backed by Science: Our method is based on cognitive research for long-term mastery. • Trusted by 2 million+ Players: Join a community of chess improvers leveling up their game. • Progress You Can Feel: Track your improvement with stats and streaks. Don’t Just Take Our Word For It… • • • • • "Want to work on an opening repertoire? Check. Want to improve your endgame? Check. Want to dominate in the middle game? Check." - HeyBinet! • • • • • "The MoveTrainer is the real benefit. This allows you to practice the moves and see the variations set up and play out in real time." - Mazurekphoto If you like Chessable, try Chessable PRO for 7 days free! Upgrade for: • Access to 300+ short courses • Unlimited Variation Preview - get a sample of any paid course you want! • Full offline training - No Wifi? No problem. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available in the app. Terms of Use: https://www.chessable.com/terms/ Terms of use for auto-renewable subscriptions: Your subscription will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration selected) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Current subscription may not be canceled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes account settings after purchase. Privacy policy: https://www.chessable.com/privacy/ Find us on… Team: http://www.chessable.com/about Twitter: http://twitter.com/chessable Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chessable YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/chessable

About

Lotus Chess

Learn chess openings, analyze your games, and master endgames with interactive lessons and personalized training plans. This app adapts to your skill level, from beginner to advanced, offering insights based on your own gameplay and millions of real-player games.

Highlights
  • Personalized opening courses from your games
  • Learn 150+ chess openings
  • Interactive lessons for beginners
  • Instant game analysis with mistake identification
  • 60+ endgame lessons and practice positions
  • Daily personalized workout plans
  • Offline access to opening and endgame lessons
Features
Read full description

Learn chess the fast way. Lotus Chess teaches you 150+ openings, analyses your games instantly and shows you how to close out endgames, in just a few minutes a day. From complete beginners to 2300 Elo players. Rated 4.8/5. Most apps teach engine-perfect theory. Lotus Chess teaches the lines that win against real people. OPENINGS, BUILT FROM YOUR GAMES • Connect Chess.com or Lichess and get a personal opening course from your own games • Learn 150+ openings for White and Black • Train every line hands-on until it becomes natural • Lines picked from 100,000,000+ games for the best winning chances against real players FOUNDATIONS: LEARN CHESS FROM SCRATCH • New to chess? Start with the rules and basic ideas, step by step • 150+ short, interactive lessons, no experience needed INSTANT GAME ANALYSIS • See your accuracy for every game • Find your mistakes and blunders, move by move • Understand exactly where you lost the game ENDGAMES • 60+ lessons, from basic checkmates to advanced techniques • 180+ positions to play out against a human-like engine • Learn to close out winning positions DAILY WORKOUT • A personal training plan, ready every day • Build a daily chess habit with streaks • 100,000+ chess puzzles that match your level • Opening and endgame lessons work offline FREE AND PRO Start for free: • The first section of Foundations and Endgames • The first 2 sections and 2 crushing lines of every opening • 10 puzzles and 1 game analysis per day Lotus Chess Pro unlocks everything: • All openings, sections and crushing lines • The full Foundations and Endgame courses, with all training positions • Unlimited puzzles and game analysis Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account. Your subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. BUILT BY CHESS PLAYERS Lotus Chess was created by two brothers who started playing chess at age four. After building Math42, a math learning app with over 6 million downloads, they set out to build the best way to learn chess. Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: https://www.lotus-chess.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Chessable4 screens
Lotus Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

Chessable and Lotus Chess both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of Lotus Chess's written reviews are positive against 50% of Chessable's. Lotus Chess also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Chessable's advantage is ratings volume (6K vs 1.1K). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Chessable sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Lotus Chess sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Chessable against 4.8 for Lotus Chess. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chessable has 6K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Chessable's written reviews are positive against 86% of Lotus Chess's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chessable ships an update every 3 weeks, Lotus Chess weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Chessable versus Lotus Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessableLotus Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (6K ratings) — better4.8 (1.1K ratings)
Positive reviews49.9% of reviews86.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6K — better1.1K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB229 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChess.comLotus Chess UG

Customer experience

Chessable

All ratings5,985 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews337 reviews
Positive49.9%
Neutral10.4%
Negative39.8%

Lotus Chess

All ratings1,109 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews265 reviews
Positive86.4%
Neutral7.5%
Negative6.0%

User reviews

Chessable

From 6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent learning tool
  • 📚 Comprehensive chess courses
  • 🧠 Effective spaced repetition
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🎥 Helpful video instruction

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited search and navigation
  • 📵 Lack of offline access
  • 🔒 Issues with paid subscription
  • 🖥️ Inferior to web version

Lotus Chess

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Helps with learning openings
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Tailored advice based on actual games
  • 👍 Surprisingly large catalog of openings
  • 👍 Effective learning through repetition

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs in the coding of the app
  • 💡 Lack of explanations for the moves

Bugs and requests

Chessable

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inconsistent login and account issues
  • Unreliable offline functionality
  • Glitches with move tracking and progress
  • Video playback problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Analysis board and opening explorer
  • Ability to customize font size
  • Landscape mode support
  • Improved video playback controls
  • Syncing progress across devices

Lotus Chess

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Library to explain the WHY behind the moves
  • Link to an online library
  • Ability to remove pre-selected openings
  • Review of daily correspondence games

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Chessable

Subscriptions2
  • Chessable Monthly Membership$11.991 Month
  • Chessable Annual Membership$74.991 Year
4 purchases

Lotus Chess

Subscriptions4
  • Lotus Pro · Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Lotus Pro · Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Pro Subscription - 1 Year7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Subscription - 1 Year7 Days trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Chessable free?
Chessable is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lotus Chess free?
Lotus Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chessable or Lotus Chess?
Chessable is rated higher. Chessable averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6K ratings, while Lotus Chess averages 4.8 from 1.1K ratings.
Do Chessable or Lotus Chess have ads?
Neither Chessable nor Lotus Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chessable or Lotus Chess?
Chessable ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lotus Chess weekly. Most recently, Chessable was updated on November 3, 2026 and Lotus Chess on November 4, 2026.

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