Comparison

Chess.com vs Chess Timer

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

Head to head
About

Chess.com

Engage in online and offline chess matches with millions of players worldwide. Improve your skills through interactive lessons, over 500,000 puzzles, and powerful AI opponents. Compete in tournaments and explore various chess variants.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer chess
  • Offline play against AI
  • Extensive puzzle library
  • Interactive chess lessons
  • Tournament participation
  • Chess variants
  • Game analysis
Features
Read full description

Play chess lessons online with over 265 million players from around the world! Chess is known as the best strategy board game in the world! Enjoy unlimited 3D offline pocket chess games and improve your chess rating with 500,000+ puzzles, more than 20 million chess games a day, lessons, and over 100 powerful bot opponents. Unlock your inner chess master today! PLAY CHESS ONLINE: - 2 Player online chess mode is entirely free to enjoy with your friends. - Join tournaments with players online or friends and become a master. - Play games in real-time from one minute per game to 30 minutes or longer with friends. - Review your strategy and game lessons and lay out daily correspondence in online chess. - Play exciting chess variants in our app: chess960 (Fischer-Random), blitz chess, puzzle rush, bullet chess, puzzle battle, or blindfold. CHESS PUZZLES: - Enjoy 500,000 + unique puzzles. - Rated mode automatically adjusts to your skill level to help you improve. - Race the clock with a timer to beat your high score in Puzzle Rush. - Practice puzzles with specific themes in this strategy board game (checkmate in 1, in 2, in 3, blindfold, endgames, fork, skewer, sacrifice, timer, etc.) CHESS LESSONS: - Hundreds of quality chess lessons and online videos made by masters (Learn and practice your skills with chess problems) - Interactive puzzles tutorials with tips and game recommendations. - Learn all the chess rules and strategies in a step-by-step lesson plan (opening, endgame...) CHESS COACHING: - Learn from helpful and immersive visual chess coach lessons. - Review your games with the coach and learn the strategy of the board game for every move. - Play games with the coach, who will guide you through the fundamentals move by move and provide helpful hints as you play. PLAY CHESS ONLINE AGAINST THE COMPUTER: - Choose the level of computer opponent you want to play and set a timer. - Analyze your chess games offline and learn to see where you went wrong and how you can improve. CHESS COMMUNITY: - Join a community of more than 200M online chess players. Find friends! - More than 20M games played each day. - Compete to get your own rating and try to join the best player online chess leaderboards against other players. - Watch the most popular superstars: Hikaru, GothamChess, or Magnus! ... and MUCH MORE: - Play chess games offline against the computer and the clock with a timer. - Articles by the best coaches and masters. - Explore openings like Queen´s Gambit or Sicilian Defense. - Challenge and play with your friends in an online chess game. - Choose from 20+ board themes and 3D pieces. - Get in-depth performance stats about your games, puzzles, and lessons. Playing pocket chess online has never been so easy! Chess.com is the place to play chess games online with your friends and other players! Share your suggestions and comments. Our support team is happy to help you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! ABOUT CHESS.COM: Chess.com was created by chess players and people who love chess! Team: http://www.chess.com/about

About

Chess Timer

A straightforward dual timer designed for over-the-board chess and other two-player competitive games. It allows for customizable time increments, delays, and overtime limits, functioning as a simple chess clock or for games like Scrabble and Go.

Highlights
  • Dual timer for two-player games
  • Fischer, Bronstein, and simple delay increments
  • Overtime limits with penalties
  • Supports games like Scrabble and Go
  • Intuitive tap-to-switch interface
Features
Read full description

Chess Timer is a simple dual timer for over-the-board chess and other two player games. Place you phone flat on the table beside the chess board. Only one clock runs at a time. Tapping the clock face stops one clock and starts the other players clock. Can be used with other competitive two-player board game such as Scrabble, shogi or go. Pro Features: Extra time can be added every turn in one of three ways: Fischer, Bronstein, or a simple delay. Fischer: Time is added to the clock at the end of each turn. Bronstein: Time is added to the clock at the end of each turn, but never more than the turn time. E.g. if the increment is 10 seconds, but the player only takes only 6 seconds on their turn, then 6 seconds is added to the clock. Simple delay: A simple delay before the clock starts each turn. Overtime: An overtime limit can be allowed for each player and penalty points are given for the amount of overtime used. This can be used, for example, as a Scrabble clock.

Screenshots

Chess.com4 screens
Chess Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chess.com at 4.8 against Chess Timer's 4.3. Chess.com also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (840K vs 55). Chess Timer's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Chess.com sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Chess Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess.com holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess.com has 840K ratings behind it against 55, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Chess.com's written reviews are positive against 43% of Chess Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess.com ships an update weekly, Chess Timer every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Chess.com versus Chess Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess.comChess Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (840K ratings) — better4.3 (55 ratings)
Positive reviews64.2% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings840K — better55
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 11 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size457 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChess.comDAVID CROOKS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED

Customer experience

Chess.com

All ratings840,432 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews8,839 reviews
Positive64.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative30.0%

Chess Timer

All ratings55 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral7.3%
Negative10.9%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral42.9%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Chess.com

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Incorrect move suggestions in game analysis
  • Inability to leave or manage chess clubs within the app
  • Puzzle mode crashing when attempting to reveal the solution
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data
  • Pieces not registering correctly on the board during gameplay

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize board and piece themes
  • Option to pause and resume games at a later time
  • Improved game analysis with more detailed explanations
  • Enhanced social features for interacting with other players
  • Offline mode for practicing puzzles and tactics

Chess Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Chess.com

Subscriptions12
  • Gold Membership7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Gold Membership7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Platinum Membership7 Days trial$6.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • Platinum Membership7 Days trial$10.991 Month
  • Diamond Membership7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Diamond Membership7 Days trial$16.991 Month
  • Gold Membership7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Platinum Membership7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Gold Membership7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Platinum Membership7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Diamond Membership7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Diamond Membership7 Days trial$119.991 Year
1 purchases

Chess Timer

One-time1
  • Chess Timer Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Chess.com free?
Chess.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Timer free?
Chess Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess.com or Chess Timer?
Chess.com is rated higher. Chess.com averages 4.8 out of 5 from 840K ratings, while Chess Timer averages 4.3 from 55 ratings.
Do Chess.com or Chess Timer have ads?
Chess.com shows ads; Chess Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess.com or Chess Timer?
Chess.com ships an update weekly, and Chess Timer every 11 months. Most recently, Chess.com was updated on October 13, 2026 and Chess Timer on September 30, 2026.

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