Comparison

Shredder 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

Shredder Chess

Engage in chess matches against a world champion AI, analyze your games, and solve numerous chess puzzles. This app offers adjustable difficulty and human-like play, helping you improve your skills anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Play against adjustable AI strength
  • Analyze games and identify mistakes
  • Solve 1000 built-in chess puzzles
  • Mimics human playing styles
  • Automatic strength adjustment
  • In-game coach for mistakes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Play better chess with Shredder Chess - the classic chess opponent, trainer and analysis partner for iPhone. Shredder gives you a chess opponent that adapts to your level, from casual beginner to strong club player. Play a quick game, solve tactics, get warned before mistakes and analyze your games to understand where you can improve. Whether you want to learn chess, sharpen your tactics or simply enjoy a good game, Shredder helps you make every move count. Why chess players choose Shredder: • Adaptive playing strength from beginner to master level • Optional auto-adjusting opponent that matches your play • Built-in coach that warns you before mistakes • 1,000 chess puzzles for tactics training • Game analysis to find mistakes and improve your play • Estimated Elo rating with progress diagram • Human-like playing styles, from passive to aggressive • Opening book with more than one million moves • Set up and analyze any position • Save games, share them by email and review later • Multiple boards and pieces • VoiceOver and accessibility support The Shredder chess programs have won 19 World Computer Chess Champion titles, making Shredder one of the most successful names in computer chess. Play a game. Solve a puzzle. Analyze your moves. Get stronger with Shredder Chess.

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

Shredder Chess4 screens
Chess Time4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Time at Free against Shredder Chess's $8.99. Chess Time also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 7 months). Shredder Chess's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment and iOS requirement 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; Shredder Chess costs $8.99 up front. Chess Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Shredder Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Time holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Time has 1.7K ratings behind it against 97, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Shredder Chess's written reviews are positive against 86% of Chess Time's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shredder Chess ships an update every 7 months, Chess Time every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Shredder Chess versus Chess Time: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShredder ChessChess Time
Price$8.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (97 ratings)4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.8% of reviews86.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings971.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
Best chart rank#99 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB42 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEiko Bleicher, Skizzix.comHaptic Apps LLC

Customer experience

Shredder Chess

All ratings97 ratings
Positive83.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative12.4%
Written reviews430 reviews
Positive82.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative12.8%

Chess Time

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

User reviews

Shredder Chess

From 97 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent chess engine
  • 👍 Adjustable difficulty level
  • 🎨 Great graphics and interface
  • 💡 Helpful puzzles and analysis
  • ⚖️ Accurate ELO rating system

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Lack of online play and multiplayer
  • 🔍 Limited opening book and game database
  • 📏 Issues with screen size and layout on larger devices

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

Shredder Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when loading new games
  • Incorrect move evaluation and scoring
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add online/multiplayer functionality
  • Expand game database and opening library
  • Improve interface for larger screens
  • Provide more detailed analysis and coaching

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

Shredder 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 Shredder Chess free?
Shredder Chess costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Time free?
Chess Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shredder Chess or Chess Time?
Chess Time is rated higher. Shredder Chess averages 4.3 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while Chess Time averages 4.7 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Shredder Chess or Chess Time have ads?
Chess Time shows ads; Shredder Chess does not.
Which is updated more often, Shredder Chess or Chess Time?
Shredder Chess ships an update every 7 months, and Chess Time every 10 days. Most recently, Shredder Chess was updated on September 24, 2026 and Chess Time on September 23, 2026.

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