# Pocket Chess vs Memory Athlete

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Memory Athlete at 100% against Pocket Chess's 61%. Memory Athlete also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Pocket Chess's advantage is ratings volume (15K vs 3) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pocket Chess sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Memory Athlete sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Pocket Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Chess has 15K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 61% of Pocket Chess's written reviews are positive against 100% of Memory Athlete's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Pocket Chess ships an update every 2 months, Memory Athlete weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pocket Chess | Memory Athlete |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (15K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-chess/id1580054076/reviews)** | [4.3 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/memory-athlete/id6741810262/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **15K** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 61.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#90** | — |
| Size | 199 MB | 86 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Lessmore GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1579865033) | [Angelo Tricarico](https://appshunter.io/developer/691094363) |

## What reviewers say

### Pocket Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-chess/id1580054076)

**Currently charting:** #90 Top Free · Board (US App Store)

Enhance your chess skills with hundreds of challenging chess problems and puzzles. This app focuses on simplified boards to help you quickly recognize chess patterns and improve your game.

**Highlights:** Hundreds of chess problems, Checkmate in 2 and 4 puzzles, Simplified boards for pattern recognition, Improve chess game, Learn chess patterns faster

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Coin Bundle | $1.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $4.99 | one-time |
| Starter Package | $4.99 | one-time |
| Event Offer | $4.99 | one-time |
| Medium Coin Bundle | $5.99 | one-time |
| Large Coin Bundle | $11.99 | one-time |
| Super Coin Bundle | $25.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Improved chess skills
- 👍 Challenging yet fun puzzles
- 🤩 Addictive and engaging
- 🧠 Helps develop tactical thinking
- 📈 Tracks progress and skill level

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🙄 Excessive ads
- 💰 Expensive to remove ads
- 🐛 Some puzzles have issues
- 🤔 Opponent moves don't always make sense

**Reported bugs**

- Progress data loss
- Incorrect checkmate solutions
- Game freezing after certain moves

**Requested features**

- Ability to review past puzzles
- More advanced puzzles and levels
- Option to disable audio/music
- Sync progress across devices


### Memory Athlete

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/memory-athlete/id6741810262)

Enhance your memory and cognitive skills with a champion-inspired training app. Engage in structured exercises, track progress with detailed analytics, and compete globally. Build and share Memory Palaces to optimize recall.

**Highlights:** Memory Palace creation and sharing, Structured training modes (numbers, cards, images), Global rankings and leaderboards, Advanced progress analytics, Daily goals and achievements, Adaptive difficulty levels

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium - 1 Month | $1.99 | per month |
| Premium - 12 Months | $17.99 | per year |
| Premium - Lifetime | $24.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pocket Chess free?

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

### Is Memory Athlete free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Pocket Chess or Memory Athlete?

Pocket Chess is rated higher. Pocket Chess averages 4.6 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while Memory Athlete averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.

### Do Pocket Chess or Memory Athlete have ads?

Pocket Chess shows ads; Memory Athlete does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pocket Chess or Memory Athlete?

Pocket Chess ships an update every 2 months, and Memory Athlete weekly. Most recently, Pocket Chess was updated on November 3, 2026 and Memory Athlete on October 22, 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.*