Comparison

Chess Premium vs Chess Royale

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

Head to head
About

Chess Premium

Enjoy a classic chess experience without ads or internet. Play against a challenging AI with adjustable difficulty or a friend offline. Features stunning visuals, instant auto-saves, and undo support for uninterrupted gameplay.

Highlights
  • No ads or internet required
  • Adjustable AI difficulty levels
  • Offline two-player mode
  • Stunning Retina display visuals
  • Instant auto-save
  • Undo support and score tracking
Features
Read full description

Chess Premium — The Chess Game Your iPhone Deserves No ads. No internet required. Just chess, beautifully designed for your iPhone and iPad. Whether you're picking up chess for the first time or looking for a worthy opponent at 2am, Chess Premium delivers. Play against a sophisticated AI with adjustable difficulty — from patient teacher to ruthless opponent — or hand the phone to a friend for a classic two-player match. What makes it Premium: • Stunning visuals built for Retina displays — not ported from another era • AI engine that actually challenges you, with difficulty levels that grow with your game • Offline play, always available — no Wi-Fi, no account, no nonsense • Auto-saves instantly when you take a call or switch apps • Undo support, configurable player names, and full score tracking No subscriptions. No ads. Buy once, play forever. Download Chess Premium and play your first game in seconds. ———— Love classic games? Optime makes a full suite of board and card games — including Backgammon Pro, Checkers Premium, and Sudoku. Search ""Optime Software"" to see them all.

About

Chess Royale

Engage in the classic game of chess with millions worldwide. This app offers AI challenges, multiplayer matches, and extensive training tools including puzzles and post-game analysis to improve your strategic skills.

Highlights
  • Play against AI
  • Multiplayer matches
  • Chess puzzles
  • Post-game analysis
  • Beginner and advanced training
  • Multiple game modes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

► THE ONLY CHESS APP YOU NEED Whether you’re a complete beginner or a highly experienced player, Chess Royale has everything you could need to enjoy one of the world’s greatest board games on your mobile device. Play with the AI, with friends, or with millions of strangers all over the world, then train your chess skills with tutorials, puzzles, and post-game analysis. One of the greatest things about chess is that there’s always something new to learn, and this beautifully designed app will allow you to keep on discovering the magic of chess and enhancing your love of the game day after day. ► WHY CHESS? ◾ With a history that stretches back over millennia, chess is both a vital cultural artefact and a beloved pastime that brings together millions of players all over the world. ◾ Renowned as a fierce test of the intellect, chess provides incredible training for your brain. Regularly playing chess and solving puzzles can train your strategic skills, develop logical and lateral thinking, help with learning and understanding psychology, improve your analysis and enhance your memory. ◾ It’s fun! Chess may be intimidating for beginners, but the more you learn and the better you understand the game, the more entertaining and rewarding it becomes. There’s some reason why it has remained among the most popular board games in the world for centuries, after all. ► WHY CHESS ROYALE? ◾ It pays to be popular: With over 50 000 000 players across all popular platforms, Chess Royale ensures there’s always a real opponent of similar skill online and ready to play in a variety of multiplayer formats. ◾ Endless variations: Not only can you challenge real players of different skill levels, you can also play in eight different modes. Play blitzes with varying time limitations, use the notifications system to play with friends when they’re online, test yourself in private against the game’s AI, and enter and arrange tournaments of various formats for more multiplayer fun. ◾ More than just a game: Chess Royale boasts more than 5000 chess puzzles to help you train specific aspects of your game. The app also features analysis tools that you can use post-match to help with your learning and development. And there is a trainer for beginners and more advanced players to get a better grasp of this intensely rich and complex game. Despite the wonders of modern technology, you’ll be hard pressed to find a mobile game that’s as challenging, enjoyable, and intellectually satisfying as chess. Whether you’re looking for just a new game to play online or a trainer to help you take the very first steps in exploring the magic of chess, Chess Royale offers something extra. Download the app now to discover the ultimate mobile chess environment. ►Vip Subscription: - You can subscribe to Vip membership to play without any ads, unlock all purchasable deck packs and play infinite puzzles every day. Also you can use infinite hints while solving chess puzzles - You are able to choose from three subscription options: a weekly subscription (free for the first 3 days) for $4.99 USD, a monthly subscription for $14.99 USD, an annual subscription for $79.99 USD - Subscription payments will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of your purchase and upon commencement of each renewal term. Subscription with a free trial period will automatically renew to a paid subscription. You can cancel your subscription or free trial in the iTunes settings at least 24-hours before the end of the free trial period. The cancellation will take effect the day after the last day of the current subscription period and you will be downgraded to the free service. - Please note that any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a premium subscription during the free trial period. - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase Privacy Policy: https://say.games/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://say.games/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Chess Premium4 screens
Chess Royale4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Royale at Free against Chess Premium's $9.99. Chess Royale also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (20K vs 5.4K). Chess Premium's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, device support 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 Royale is free to download; Chess Premium costs $9.99 up front. Chess Royale sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Chess Premium asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Premium holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.4K and 20K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Chess Premium's written reviews are positive against 60% of Chess Royale's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Premium ships an update every 3 months, Chess Royale every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Chess Premium versus Chess Royale: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess PremiumChess Royale
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (5.4K ratings) — better4.5 (20K ratings)
Positive reviews80.4% of reviews — better59.6% of reviews
Number of ratings5.4K20K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#30 — better#182
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB490 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptime Software LLCSayGames LTD

Customer experience

Chess Premium

All ratings5,179 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews504 reviews
Positive80.4%
Neutral6.2%
Negative13.5%

Chess Royale

All ratings20,246 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews787 reviews
Positive59.6%
Neutral11.2%
Negative29.2%

User reviews

Chess Premium

From 5.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for practicing chess
  • 🚀 Fast gameplay
  • 💡 Adjustable difficulty levels
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 👍 No ads in premium version

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🐛 Issues with detecting checkmate
  • 🐛 Pawns moving incorrectly
  • 🐛 Pieces disappearing from the board
  • 🐛 Slow performance in premium version

Chess Royale

From 20K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🚀 Seamless matchmaking
  • 💡 Helpful chess lessons and puzzles
  • 🤩 Great for learning and improving chess skills

Room to improve

  • 🤬 Excessive and disruptive advertisements
  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 🕰️ Long wait times between games due to ads
  • 🤖 Suspicion of playing against bots instead of real players

Bugs and requests

Chess Premium

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Incorrect checkmate detection
  • Pawns moving in illegal ways
  • Pieces randomly disappearing
  • Slow performance after upgrade
  • Ads still showing after purchase

Requested features

6 requests
  • Option to turn off stalemate
  • Ability to save and load games
  • Notation or move history display
  • More board and piece theme options
  • Tutorials or strategic tips
Show 1 more
  • Ability to play against friends

Chess Royale

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Incorrect puzzle solutions being marked as wrong
  • Game losses due to connection issues or app freezes
  • Inconsistent trophy/ranking system
  • Inability to report cheating or suspicious behavior

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to play longer timed games
  • Option to disable ads for a one-time fee
  • More advanced chess analysis and training features
  • Improved matchmaking to pair players of similar skill levels

In-app purchases

None

Chess Premium

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Chess Royale

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Vip3 Days trial2 variants$7.997 Days
  • Monthly Vip$19.991 Month
  • Annual Vip$39.991 Year
One-time7
  • Tiny Coins Pack$0.99
  • Tiny Gems Pack$1.99
  • Gold Reserve 2$2.99
Show 4 more
  • Coins Pack Offer$3.99
  • Disable Ads Forever$4.99
  • Medium Gems Pack$6.99
  • Large Gems Pack$19.99

Questions

Is Chess Premium free?
Chess Premium costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Royale free?
Chess Royale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess Premium or Chess Royale?
Chess Premium is rated higher. Chess Premium averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.4K ratings, while Chess Royale averages 4.5 from 20K ratings.
Do Chess Premium or Chess Royale have ads?
Chess Royale shows ads; Chess Premium does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess Premium or Chess Royale?
Chess Premium ships an update every 3 months, and Chess Royale every 5 weeks. Most recently, Chess Premium was updated on October 29, 2026 and Chess Royale on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Chess Premium or Chess Royale?
Chess Premium currently peaks at #30 in the App Store charts, and Chess Royale at #182. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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