Chess Genius vs Lichess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess Genius
This award-winning chess program offers superb playing strength with hundreds of levels for all skill sets. It features a clear interface, displays game analysis, and allows for saving, loading, and sharing games. Enjoy features like hints, legal move displays, and unlimited take-backs.
- Hundreds of playing levels
- Displays thinking and analysis
- Save/load games in PGN format
- Hint and Tutor features
- Unlimited take back
- 2 player and self-play modes
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ChessGenius, award winning chess program. Superb playing strength. The author's chess programs have won ten World Championships. Packed with features for beginners and experts: * Simple, elegant user interface * Powerful, compact and fast * Hundreds of playing levels including easy, blitz and tournament levels. Network connection not required * Displays thinking. Who is winning, by how much and the moves that ChessGenius is planning. Also Chess clocks, Captured pieces and Opening name. e.g. B12 Caro-Kann * Save/load games in PGN format. Send games by email. Set-up position * Easy import / export of PGN database files with iTunes file sharing * Hint, Show legal moves and Tutor. ChessGenius can warn if a blunder/weak move is played and give the option of take back * Unlimited take back and step forward * Play against ChessGenius. Also 2 player, self play and analysis mode * Optional display of captured pieces and count of positions searched * Game is restored after exit and restart * All functions work in Portrait and Landscape
Lichess
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.
- Real-time and correspondence chess
- Arena tournaments
- Chess puzzles
- Game analysis with Stockfish
- Interactive study feature
- Chess clock
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Lichess is a free/libre, open-source chess application powered by volunteers and donations. Today, Lichess users play more than five million games every day. Lichess is one of the most popular chess websites in the world while remaining 100% free. The following features are available right now: - play real time or correspondence chess - play arena tournaments - play against online bots - solve chess puzzles from a wide variety of themes, online or offline - race against the clock in Puzzle Storm - analyse your games with latest Stockfish locally or on the server - board editor - study chess with a collaborative and interactive study feature - learn board coordinates - play over the board with a friend - watch live chess broadcasts from all major chess tournaments - watch Lichess TV and online streamers - use a chess clock for your over the board games - many different board themes and piece sets - custom background themes - translated into 55 languages
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Lichess at Free against Chess Genius's $5.99. Lichess also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 12 months) and ratings volume (662 vs 10). Chess Genius's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 52%) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 15.6). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Lichess is free to download; Chess Genius costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Lichess holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lichess has 662 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Chess Genius's written reviews are positive against 52% of Lichess's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Chess Genius ships an update every 12 months, Lichess fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Genius | Lichess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.9 (10 ratings) | 4.1 (662 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.9% of reviews — better | 51.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 662 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #53 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 86 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lang Software Limited | LICHESS.ORG |
Customer experience
Chess Genius
Lichess
User reviews
Chess Genius
From 10 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💪 Strong chess engine
- 🧠 Good for learning and practice
- ✨ Classic and well-established program
- 👍 Simple and effective interface
- 🚀 Fast performance
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 📉 Outdated graphics
- 🐌 Slow updates
- ⚠️ Incompatible with newer iOS versions
- ❓ Confusing interface/menus
Lichess
From 662 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great interface
- 🚀 Smooth performance
- 💡 Useful resources for learning and analysis
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional UI issues
- 💡 Room for more customization options
Bugs and requests
Chess Genius
Reported bugs
17 issues- App crashes frequently, especially when ending games
- Cannot access settings
- App crashes when starting new game or changing settings
- Not working with iOS 17
- Not working with iOS 14.3
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- Not working with iOS 6
- Menu buttons not working
- No menus appear after a game
- Opening names are incorrect
- Graphical issues (low-res, contrast issues)
- Pieces are cut off in landscape mode
- App feels buggy when moving pieces
- No ELO selection
- No strong selection
- Design for iPad is terrible
- Next best move feature sometimes unavailable
- Rule flaw: King can castle after being in check
Requested features
24 requests- Update for iOS compatibility
- Refresh and update the app
- Take advantage of iOS file app features
- Specify opening repertoire training
- Don't let playing style be trainer/hint man
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Improve graphics and piece sets
- Add ELO rating selection
- Add more opening book content
- Implement gesture controls (swipe for undo/redo)
- Add audible check/checkmate sounds
- Add opponent faces to computer levels
- Support for PGN download via email/internet
- Improve landscape mode functionality
- Add more analysis functions
- Add board coordinates display
- Add rating estimator
- Add more time control options
- Option to disable auto screen off
- Option to show captured pieces
- Option to auto-flip board in two-player mode
- Mac version of desktop program
- Dark mode option
- More board colors and piece sets
- Online play functionality
Lichess
Reported bugs
1 issue- Swipe-to-go-back gesture interferes with piece placement
Requested features
3 requests- Name of opening in opening explorer
- Ability to add and subtract additional things on the homepage
- Reset/replay button on puzzles
In-app purchases
Chess Genius
No in-app purchases
Lichess
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chess Genius free?
Is Lichess free?
Which has better reviews, Chess Genius or Lichess?
Do Chess Genius or Lichess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Genius or Lichess?
Other comparisons
