Comparison

DigiChess vs LearnChess Academy

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

Head to head
About

DigiChess

Instantly convert chess board images into interactive digital representations. An AI recognizes pieces, eliminating manual setup and saving preparation time. Export positions to analysis engines or popular chess platforms.

Highlights
  • Image to digital board conversion
  • AI piece recognition
  • FEN description generation
  • Save and edit positions
  • Export to Lichess/Chess.com
Features
Read full description

DigiChess will let you instantly transform a picture taken of a 2D position into a dynamic representation on the screen. The trained AI will recognize all the pieces for you and accurately place them on the board, eliminating the need for any manual setup. Cut out all the preparation time and get straight to the material that follows a diagram! - Take a picture of the board and the position comes to life instantly - Makes use of an AI to quickly and accurately recognize all the pieces - Easily export the positions into analysis engines and studies through the FEN description generated by the AI - Save the positions for future reference - Make changes and corrections to the positions - tweak the playing perspective and piece types - One button export to Lichess or Chess.com analysis.

About

LearnChess Academy

Features
Read full description

Stuck at the same rating? You play every day, but your rating hasn't moved in months. More games won't fix that. Knowing what to study next will. LearnChess is a chess academy with a coach who reads your games. START AT YOUR LEVEL ‣ The Academy: 6 levels, from learning the rules to 2000+ ‣ 52 units of lessons, drills, tests and play-outs ‣ Start where you are, not at lesson one LEARN FROM YOUR OWN GAMES ‣ Import your games from Lichess and Chess.com ‣ Knighty, your AI coach, reads them and picks the one thing to fix first ‣ Short guided sessions built from positions in your own games ‣ Puzzles made from your own mistakes UNDERSTAND, DON'T MEMORIZE ‣ 190 lessons: 111 openings, 32 endgames, 33 tactics, plus a beginner track ‣ Every idea explained in plain language ‣ Build your opening repertoire and re-test it every 90 days PRACTICE EVERY DAY ‣ Rated puzzles and themed drills (forks, mating patterns, zugzwang …) ‣ Stockfish analysis, free for everyone ‣ Take a screenshot of any board and analyze it COMMUNITY ‣ Publish your own puzzles, comment, and climb the leaderboard Five minutes on your commute or an hour of deep study: LearnChess meets you where you are. Free: 10 rated puzzles a day, every beginner lesson, a preview of every Academy unit and advanced lesson, 5 screenshot scans a day, Stockfish analysis, and your first Coach diagnosis. Knight ($4.99/mo): unlimited puzzles, a new Academy unit and advanced lesson every week, a weekly Coach session, and 10 AI messages a day. Queen ($14.99/mo or $89.99/yr): everything unlimited, with a Coach session every day. Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each period (monthly or yearly) unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage in your App Store account settings. Terms: https://www.learnchess.ai/terms. Privacy: https://www.learnchess.ai/privacy.

Screenshots

DigiChess3 screens
LearnChess Academy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: LearnChess Academy at every 6 days against DigiChess's every 8 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. DigiChess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and LearnChess Academy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DigiChess ships an update every 8 months, LearnChess Academy every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 7 level
DigiChess versus LearnChess Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDigiChessLearnChess Academy
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.215.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSolnatrix Inc.Nikolas Burk

In-app purchases

1 purchases

DigiChess

One-time1
  • DigiChess Premium No Advertisements$7.99
3 purchases

LearnChess Academy

Subscriptions3
  • Knight$4.991 Month
  • Queen$14.991 Month
  • Queen$89.991 Year

Questions

Is DigiChess free?
DigiChess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LearnChess Academy free?
LearnChess Academy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do DigiChess or LearnChess Academy have ads?
Neither DigiChess nor LearnChess Academy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DigiChess or LearnChess Academy?
DigiChess ships an update every 8 months, and LearnChess Academy every 6 days. Most recently, DigiChess was updated on November 3, 2026 and LearnChess Academy on November 5, 2026.

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