Comparison

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles vs Chess Clock by Chess.com

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

Head to head
About

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles

This app offers over 180 interactive chess puzzles focused on delivering checkmate in a single move. It's designed for both beginners and experienced players looking to sharpen their tactical skills. Enjoy a variety of classical puzzles with customizable piece sets and color schemes.

Highlights
  • Over 180 chess puzzles
  • Checkmate in 1 move challenges
  • Customizable piece sets and color schemes
  • Timing clock and puzzle solving times
  • Leaderboards for social comparison
  • Facebook integration
Features
Read full description

The Ultimate mate in 1 move chess puzzle app! Sharpen your chess skills with Mate in 1 Puzzles! Beginners and experienced players will enjoy solving these chess problems! This app has over 180 interactive chess problems ranging from easy to harder puzzles that will challenge you and help improve your chess skills. The object is to finish each game by forcing a checkmate in 1 move. The puzzles consist of a large number of classical puzzles collected from a variety of sources. These puzzles are fun to play and can be enjoyed at your leisure on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Mate in 2 chess problems are especially useful for learning to play chess or anyone wanting to improve their skills. New features added in Version 2.0 include: ------------------------------ - Completely revamped chess engine that is much stronger - Timing clock is displayed while you are working on each puzzle. How long you take to solve a puzzle is stored. - New options: more chess piece sets (total of 7) and more colors schemes (total of 7) including wood and marble. (Improved the options menu as well) - Social Gaming: Leaderboards to compare the number of puzzles you have solved with your friends and other players. Facebook integration - including the ability to post your progress and ask your friends for help on a puzzle. - Universal app - works on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad - high resolution graphics all around (where supported). For even more chess puzzle challenges check out these apps: - Mate in 2 Puzzles - Mate in 3 Puzzles - Mate in 4+ Puzzles

About

Chess Clock by Chess.com

This free app functions as a digital chess clock, offering customizable time controls for any game. It supports various increment and delay types, multiple stages, and handicapping, making it ideal for casual play and tournaments. Adjust time on the fly and enjoy clear displays and audio alerts.

Highlights
  • Customizable time controls
  • Fischer and Bronstein increments
  • Multiple-stage time controls
  • Handicapping support
  • On-the-fly time adjustments
  • Pause and interruption support
  • Audio alerts
Features
Read full description

Replace your chess clock with this free game timer! It's easy to use, yet fully featured to handle any time control. 100% free: no in-app purchases, no ads! Choose your time control and you're ready to play. The 2nd player presses her button to start the 1st player's clock - and the game is on! FEATURES - Large, easy-to-read buttons - Works in landscape and portrait on all devices - Quickly customize the app for one-tap access to all your favorite time controls - Time controls include base minutes per player and optional per-move delays or bonus time. The app supports both Fischer and Bronstein increments, as well as simple delays. The duration is up to you! - Supports multiple-stage time controls commonly seen in tournaments, such as "40 moves in 2 hours + game in 60 minutes." A glance at the clock shows your current stage! - Support for handicapping lets you set different time controls for each player! - You can adjust the time remaining on the fly, in the middle of your game, for either or both players! - Clock pauses automatically if the app is interrupted; manually pause the clock at any time - Pleasant sounds for buttons and "time's up" alert At Chess.com, we really do love chess, and *sometimes* we even play it offline! For times like that, we created this clock - and we hope you love it as much as we do.

Screenshots

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles4 screens
Chess Clock by Chess.com4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Clock by Chess.com at Free against Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles's $0.99. Chess Clock by Chess.com also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 7 months) and chart position (#117 vs unranked). Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.6). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Clock by Chess.com is free to download; Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Clock by Chess.com has 342 ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles's written reviews are positive against 91% of Chess Clock by Chess.com's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles ships an update every 7 months, Chess Clock by Chess.com every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles versus Chess Clock by Chess.com: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMate in 1 Chess PuzzlesChess Clock by Chess.com
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (41 ratings) — better4.6 (342 ratings)
Positive reviews91.6% of reviews — better90.6% of reviews
Number of ratings41342 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#117 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGano Technologies LLCChess.com

Customer experience

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles

All ratings41 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral2.4%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews83 reviews
Positive91.6%
Neutral6.0%
Negative2.4%

Chess Clock by Chess.com

All ratings338 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive90.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative3.8%

User reviews

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles

From 41 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for beginners
  • 📈 Improves chess game
  • 💡 Helps recognize patterns
  • 🧠 Good for mental exercise
  • 📱 Easy to use interface

Room to improve

  • 🥱 Too easy for advanced players
  • 🔄 Repetitive puzzles
  • ⏳ Puzzles load slowly
  • 📱 Limited puzzle count
  • 📱 Interface can be clumsy

Chess Clock by Chess.com

From 342 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⏱️ Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 No ads or data collection
  • 🎨 Intuitive and clean interface
  • 🔊 Satisfying click sound effects
  • 🕰️ Customizable time controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sound issues (no sound in silent mode, changed sound)
  • 🔍 Difficulty reading in bright outdoor settings
  • 🤖 Limited functionality (can't set different times for players)

Bugs and requests

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App hangs and puzzles don't load
  • App freezes up
  • Issues after puzzle 50

Requested features

10 requests
  • Mode to answer in notation
  • More setups/puzzles
  • Expert stage with advanced moves
  • Ability to turn iPad sideways
  • Dark mode
Show 5 more
  • Compete against friends with side-by-side times
  • Save previous times for progress tracking
  • Make successive games within each level harder
  • Display instances of mistakes made but solution found
  • Automatically move to the next puzzle

Chess Clock by Chess.com

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Time not always reduced when pressing the clock quickly
  • Custom time settings not always saved properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add warning/countdown alerts for time running out
  • Allow setting different times for each player
  • Provide more theme/color options
  • Add vibration feedback when pressing the clock

In-app purchases

None

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Clock by Chess.com

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles free?
Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Clock by Chess.com free?
Chess Clock by Chess.com is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles or Chess Clock by Chess.com?
Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles is rated higher. Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles averages 4.9 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while Chess Clock by Chess.com averages 4.6 from 342 ratings.
Do Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles or Chess Clock by Chess.com have ads?
Neither Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles nor Chess Clock by Chess.com shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles or Chess Clock by Chess.com?
Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles ships an update every 7 months, and Chess Clock by Chess.com every 3 months. Most recently, Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles was updated on October 29, 2026 and Chess Clock by Chess.com on October 29, 2026.

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