Comparison

Deep Green vs Chessmate

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

Head to head
About

Deep Green

This app provides a classical chess experience with a clean, native interface and customizable piece designs. It supports open game formats, offers a unique chess engine with adjustable strength, and features a private, ad-free environment.

Highlights
  • Clean, native user interface
  • Customizable chess piece designs
  • Open game format (PGN/FEN)
  • Adjustable strength chess engine
  • Private and ad-free experience
  • System-level integration
Read full description

A no-nonsense classical chess app. - CLEAN UI: Deep Green offers a distraction-free experience in a clean, native user interface, with Liquid Glass on iOS 26 and later. - CUSTOM PIECE DESIGN: Beautiful chess set designed specifically for Deep Green and rendered at high resolution in both outline and 3D throughout the app. - MADE FOR IPAD: Dedicated menu bar, multiple windows, and refined trackpad, mouse, and Apple Pencil support. Squares highlight as you hover over the board. - MADE FOR IPHONE DUO: Adapts to both displays and every pose. The board centers on the fold like a folding chess board, and the game controls follow the system into the vertical bar. - TIGHT SYSTEM INTEGRATION: System-level sharing, drag and drop, AirDrop, undo/redo, contextual menus, Quick Look previews of chess files, Dark Mode, high contrast support and more. - OPEN GAME FORMAT: Games can be shared, saved, copied, pasted, imported, exported in the ubiquitous, open source PGN and FEN formats. Deep Green can open chess files straight from the Files app. - UNIQUE CHESS ENGINE: Enjoyable opponent with adjustable strength, praised for its humane gameplay, developed for Deep Green on the Apple Newton more than 25 years ago. - TWEAKABLE APPEARANCE: Engage the knights in the game by having them turn towards the center of the board, apply a humane, slightly random placement of the pieces. - IN YOUR LANGUAGE: Available in English, German, and Danish. - MODERN ARCHITECTURE: Written in Swift as a fully native app – modern, maintainable, and prepared for the future. - PRIVATE, AD-FREE: No ads, no tracking, no analytics, no nonsense. If you like Deep Green, please rate it favorably on the App Store.

About

Chessmate

Analyze chess positions with multiple top-tier engines, including Stockfish. Customize engine settings, compare results, and explore any chess position with full FEN support. Ideal for serious players looking to sharpen their tactics and prepare for tournaments.

Highlights
  • Next Best Move Analyser
  • Multi-Engine Support (Stockfish)
  • Local & Remote Engines
  • Custom Engine Profiles
  • Time Travel Through Moves
  • Full FEN Support
  • Deep Engine Customisation
Features
Read full description

Chessmate is the ultimate companion for serious chess players and enthusiasts who want to go beyond the board. Analyse positions with unmatched precision, compare results from multiple top-tier chess engines (including Stockfish 16.1, 17 and 17.1), and dive deep into engine configuration - all in one sleek, powerful app. Whether you're prepping for a tournament or just want to sharpen your tactics, Chessmate lets you load, tweak, compare, and explore any chess position like never before. Local or remote engines, flexible setups, full FEN support - your next best move is always within reach. Key Features: > Next Best Move Analyser Instantly evaluate and visualise the optimal next move from any position using powerful chess engines. > Multi-Engine Support Run multiple engines side-by-side, including Stockfish 16.1, 17, and experimental builds — with more on the way! > Local & Remote Engines Use engines installed on your device or connect to remote ones for advanced cloud-based analysis. > Custom Engine Profiles Per Board Save multiple boards, each with their own engine configurations for tailored analysis. > Time Travel Through Moves Navigate backward and forward through board changes to revisit and reanalyse past positions. > Full FEN Support Easily load or export boards using the FEN format for seamless sharing and documentation. > Deep Engine Customisation Fine-tune engine options and search depth to match your strategy or test different scenarios.

Screenshots

Deep Green4 screens
Chessmate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Chessmate at free against Deep Green's paid. Chessmate also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). Deep Green's advantage is ratings volume (77 vs 3). On price, review sentiment, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chessmate holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Deep Green has 77 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 66% and 67% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deep Green ships an update every 4 months, Chessmate every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Deep Green versus Chessmate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeep GreenChessmate
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (77 ratings)4.3 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.0% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings77 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB0 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCocoa StuffEdward Mann

Customer experience

Deep Green

All ratings76 ratings
Positive71.1%
Neutral5.3%
Negative23.7%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral9.9%
Negative24.1%

Chessmate

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

Deep Green

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when promoting pawns
  • Board orientation issues when rotating device
  • Unresponsive UI elements
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Game saving and loading functionality
  • Online/multiplayer mode
  • Customizable board/piece themes
  • Difficulty settings for beginners
  • Indicators for check, checkmate, and draw

Chessmate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Deep Green

No in-app purchases

None

Chessmate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Deep Green free?
Deep Green is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chessmate free?
Chessmate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Deep Green or Chessmate?
Chessmate is rated higher. Deep Green averages 3.9 out of 5 from 77 ratings, while Chessmate averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Deep Green or Chessmate have ads?
Neither Deep Green nor Chessmate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Deep Green or Chessmate?
Deep Green ships an update every 4 months, and Chessmate every 5 weeks. Most recently, Deep Green was updated on October 29, 2026 and Chessmate on October 24, 2026.

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