Comparison

SimpleChess vs Dr. 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

Dr. Chess

Engage in real-time online chess matches with players globally. Learn the rules and strategies of this classic two-player board game, aiming to checkmate your opponent's king. Compete in a world of millions of chess enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Real-time online multiplayer chess
  • Global player matchmaking
  • Learn chess rules and strategy
  • Classic board game experience
  • Compete worldwide
Features
Read full description

Dr. Chess You can enjoy real-time online Chess all over the world. Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a chessboard, a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide in homes, parks, clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments. Each player begins the game with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each of the six piece types moves differently. Pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, with the objective to 'checkmate' the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by the voluntary resignation of the opponent, which typically occurs when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. SUD Inc.

Screenshots

SimpleChess4 screens
Dr. Chess2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dr. Chess at none against SimpleChess's 4. Dr. Chess also leads on ratings volume (294 vs 8) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 13.0). SimpleChess's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating 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. SimpleChess sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Dr. Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for SimpleChess against 4.1 for Dr. Chess. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dr. Chess has 294 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of SimpleChess's written reviews are positive against 43% of Dr. Chess's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SimpleChess ships an update every 8 days, Dr. Chess every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SimpleChess versus Dr. Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimpleChessDr. Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (8 ratings)4.1 (294 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings8294 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEurope EchecsSUD Inc.

Customer experience

SimpleChess

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

Dr. Chess

All ratings293 ratings
Positive76.5%
Neutral7.2%
Negative16.4%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative42.9%

Bugs and requests

SimpleChess

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Dr. Chess

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Disconnection message appears when winning (suspected cheat exploit)
  • Ads get stuck and require phone restart
  • Sound intermittently cuts in and out
  • Game shows loss when app is closed mid-game
  • Screen timeout causes automatic forfeit
Show 9 more
  • Pieces won't move in certain situations
  • Castling rules not working properly
  • Online matching fails on some devices (iPhone compatibility)
  • Game glitches showing false checkmate
  • N/A error preventing online access
  • Username cannot be changed after signup
  • Game promotion screen error after 40+ moves
  • Volume settings don't mute ads
  • Piece selection sometimes blocked incorrectly

Requested features

12 requests
  • Friend list and ability to play with friends
  • In-app chat functionality
  • Account linking (Google, Facebook, etc.)
  • Game export for analysis
  • Tournament mode
Show 7 more
  • Customizable game time settings
  • Undo/rewind move feature
  • Multiple login methods
  • Player profile viewing
  • Ability to report cheaters
  • Offline play with friend on same device
  • Improved tutorial/instructions

In-app purchases

4 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
None

Dr. Chess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SimpleChess free?
SimpleChess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dr. Chess free?
Dr. Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SimpleChess or Dr. Chess?
Dr. Chess is rated higher. SimpleChess averages 4.0 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Dr. Chess averages 4.1 from 294 ratings.
Do SimpleChess or Dr. Chess have ads?
Dr. Chess shows ads; SimpleChess does not.
Which is updated more often, SimpleChess or Dr. Chess?
SimpleChess ships an update every 8 days, and Dr. Chess every 3 weeks. Most recently, SimpleChess was updated on November 13, 2026 and Dr. Chess on November 13, 2026.

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