Comparison

SimpleChess vs Chess

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

Head to head
About

SimpleChess

Engage in a straightforward and rapid chess experience. Compete globally, customize your board and pieces, and track your ELO ranking. Enhance your skills with tactical training and puzzle battles.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer chess
  • Customizable chessboards and pieces
  • Tactical training modules
  • Puzzle battles
  • ELO ranking tracking
  • Chess960 variant
Features
Read full description

Play chess online - it's that simple! Simple, practical and fast, SimpleChess makes playing chess as easy as child's play! • It's free! • Compete against opponents from all over the world • Customize your chessboard, with 20 piece types and 40 chessboard designs • 10 different themes (5 dark, 5 light) • Choose your game rating: fast, blitz, bullet, or create the rating of your choice • Track your progress with your ELO ranking • Make progress with our tactical training modules • Challenge other players to a puzzle battle • Play Chess960, a variant of the chess game • Earn XP experience points with every game Become a member and enjoy additional features: • Analyze your games by computer • Find your friends easily • And enjoy full access to our training modules!

About

Chess

Practice chess and enhance your strategic thinking with this classic board game app. It offers multiple difficulty levels to play against the computer, a two-player offline mode, and over 1,000 tactical puzzles to solve. Review your games to learn from mistakes and improve your skills.

Highlights
  • Play against computer with 10 difficulty levels
  • Two-player offline mode
  • Over 1,000 chess puzzles
  • Create custom puzzles
  • Game review and analysis
  • 2D and 3D board styles
Features
Read full description

Chess is a classic intellectual board game enjoyed by millions of players around the world. This app helps you practice chess, improve your thinking skills, sharpen tactics, and develop visual memory — anytime, anywhere. Key Features • Play against the computer Choose from 10 difficulty levels, from beginner to very challenging opponents. • Two-player offline mode Play locally with friends on the same device. • Chess puzzles Solve over 1,000 carefully selected puzzles to improve tactical awareness and calculation. • Create your own puzzles Set up positions freely and challenge yourself, friends, or the computer to find the best move. • Game review Review played games to learn from mistakes and improve future performance. • Multiple board styles Switch between clean 2D and immersive 3D chess boards. This chess app is suitable for beginners and experienced players alike. We continuously improve the experience and welcome all feedback.

Screenshots

SimpleChess4 screens
Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess at 83% against SimpleChess's 53%. Chess also leads on rating (4.2 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (33 vs 8). SimpleChess's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. SimpleChess sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Chess sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 33 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of SimpleChess's written reviews are positive against 83% of Chess's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SimpleChess ships an update every 8 days, Chess monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SimpleChess versus Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimpleChessChess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (8 ratings)4.2 (33 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings833 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB178 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEurope EchecsVan Kien Bui

Customer experience

SimpleChess

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive52.7%
Neutral10.9%
Negative36.4%

Chess

All ratings33 ratings
Positive78.8%
Neutral3.0%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

SimpleChess

Subscriptions4
  • Essential Pack (Monthly plan)$2.991 Month
  • Premium Pack (Monthly plan)$3.991 Month
  • Essential Pack (Annual Plan)$24.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium Pack (Annual Plan)$34.991 Year
One-time4
  • 1 month extend$0.99
  • 3 months extend$1.99
  • 6 month extend$3.99
Show 1 more
  • 1 year extend$5.99
4 purchases

Chess

One-time4
  • 10 Hints Pack$0.99
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • 50 Hints Pack$2.99
Show 1 more
  • 150 Hints Pack$6.99

Questions

Is SimpleChess free?
SimpleChess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess free?
Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SimpleChess or Chess?
Chess is rated higher. SimpleChess averages 4.0 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Chess averages 4.2 from 33 ratings.
Do SimpleChess or Chess have ads?
Neither SimpleChess nor Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SimpleChess or Chess?
SimpleChess ships an update every 8 days, and Chess monthly. Most recently, SimpleChess was updated on October 17, 2026 and Chess on October 16, 2026.

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