Comparison

Chess vs Chess Time

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

Head to head
About

Chess

Enjoy a classic chess experience on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. This app offers a clean interface, beautiful graphics, and intuitive gameplay perfect for casual players. Play against a computer opponent, review game history, and track your progress.

Highlights
  • 1- or 2-player games on one device
  • Tap-to-move piece selection
  • Highlights legal moves
  • Full game history and move list
  • Built-in chess clock
  • Get hint feature
  • Undo moves
Features
Read full description

tChess Lite is the popular chess game designed just for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. tChess is like a virtual chess board on your device. It's fun and easy to use--perfect for the casual player! This game features a very clean UI design and beautiful graphics. tChess is a fast and stable program. Pick up a game in your free time... and there's no problem listening to your music while you play. (tChess Lite is a fully-functional version of tChess for casual chess players. If you're an active player and want enthusiast-level features, take a look at tChess Pro, which is over 1000 ELO stronger and has received rave reviews from Grandmaster Susan Polgar, PE's Chess Cast, and iPhone app critics.) tChess Lite Features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games (on the same device, no network connection required) - Tap-tap to move pieces - Highlights legal moves - View full game history in the Move List - Go back or forward move by move and replay completed games - Built-in chess clock - "Get hint" feature to improve your game - Easy to undo moves - Saves your game automatically if you exit the program or take a call - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 1200 - Computer opponent is the most fun and realistic for beginners and casual players - Use the Profile feature to play rated games and track your progress - Over 15,000 openings for fresh, varied games tChess Lite is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.

About

Chess Time

Engage in online chess matches with friends or players worldwide. This app supports correspondence play with extended move times and offers features like in-game chat and customizable themes. Track your progress with an auto-calculated ELO rating.

Highlights
  • Online correspondence chess
  • Play with friends
  • Global player matchmaking
  • In-game chat
  • Customizable chess sets and themes
  • Auto-calculated ELO rating
  • PGN export
Read full description

Free online chess - Invite your friends or play against anyone in the world. Chess Time is a full featured online correspondence chess app allowing a player up to multiple days to make a move. Create and play multiple at length chess games. Chess Time features: A global audience of real chess players. Invite friends to play online games. In-game chat. -- Play chess against friends that have other mobile devices. Multiple Chess sets and themes. Play un-rated games to train without affecting your score. -- Auto-calculated ELO chess rating. Export completed games as PGN. Chess Time will send a notification for each move and a reminder for you to move. We recommend enabling notifications. ——————————— -- SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE --- PREMIUM Membership Subscription Options: - Monthly Premium Subscription - Yearly Premium Subscription Premium Membership features: * No Ads * 75 Simultaneous Active Games — Additional 25! * Compete with Premium Members * Exclusive Premium Leaderboard * Daily PGN Emails — Completed game PGNs are emailed daily! Perfect for players studying their games. — TERMS & DETAILS — Chess Time Premium features are only guaranteed on up-to-date iOS devices. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged the same amount for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a Free Trial, if offered, is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Prices may vary by location. Terms of Use: http://chesstimeapp.com/Terms-and-Conditions.php Privacy Policy: http://chesstimeapp.com/Privacy-Policy.php

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Chess Time4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Time at Free against Chess's $0.99. Chess Time also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 77). Chess's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, review sentiment 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Chess Time is free to download; Chess costs $0.99 up front. Chess Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Chess against 4.7 for Chess Time. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Time has 1.7K ratings behind it against 77, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 85% and 86% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 5 months, Chess Time every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Chess versus Chess Time: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessChess Time
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (77 ratings)4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.4% of reviews86.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings771.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB42 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTom KerriganHaptic Apps LLC

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings77 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews267 reviews
Positive85.4%
Neutral8.2%
Negative6.4%

Chess Time

All ratings1,659 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews260 reviews
Positive86.2%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.5%

User reviews

Chess

From 77 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 💡 Helpful hints and features
  • 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
  • 🧠 Challenging AI opponent

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Limited difficulty levels
  • 🤖 AI can be predictable at times
  • 💤 Lack of online/multiplayer options

Chess Time

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🌍 Cross-platform play
  • 📊 Detailed player stats and rankings
  • 💬 In-game chat functionality
  • 🕰️ Flexible time controls for games

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited customization options
  • 💰 Ads can be intrusive
  • 🔒 Lack of robust anti-cheat measures
  • 🖥️ Outdated or basic user interface

Bugs and requests

Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent pawn movement rules
  • Stalemate issues and computer refusing to resign
  • Connectivity problems with Game Center

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to set up custom board positions
  • More difficulty levels and ELO ratings
  • Online/multiplayer functionality
  • Notification options for opponent moves
  • Chess puzzle/training mode

Chess Time

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game incorrectly declaring draws on checkmate
  • Inability to castle or move pieces in certain situations
  • Notification issues across different devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to invite friends to watch ongoing games
  • Option to disable move analysis for rated games
  • Faster move processing and real-time gameplay
  • More diverse chess piece and board designs
  • In-app purchase to remove ads permanently

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Chess Time

Subscriptions2
  • Chess Time Premium$1.991 Month
  • Chess Time Premium - Annual$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • IOS Chess Time Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Time free?
Chess Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess Time?
Chess Time is rated higher. Chess averages 4.6 out of 5 from 77 ratings, while Chess Time averages 4.7 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Chess or Chess Time have ads?
Chess Time shows ads; Chess does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess Time?
Chess ships an update every 5 months, and Chess Time every 10 days. Most recently, Chess was updated on September 21, 2026 and Chess Time on September 23, 2026.

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