Comparison

SocialChess vs Glow Chess

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

Head to head
About

SocialChess

Engage in online chess matches with friends or strangers, featuring both timed and correspondence game modes. Enjoy a clean interface with no ads, advanced features, and detailed game statistics. Play offline and sync later, with options to expand game limits via in-app purchase.

Highlights
  • Online chess matches
  • Timed and correspondence games
  • No advertisements
  • Detailed statistics (ELO, wins, losses)
  • Conditional moves and premoves
  • Offline play with later sync
  • User profiles and chat
Features
Read full description

A polished, full featured way to play chess against friends or random opponents online. Play fast chess with a clock, or play many correspondence games at a time making moves whenever you have a chance every day or so. "Social Chess Is The Best Way To Get Your iCheckmate On" -CultOfMac.com DESIGN PRINCIPLES * No Advertisements! * Beautiful, clean, intuitive layout. * Features are chosen and implemented carefully. * Your privacy is respected. We will not spam or share any user info. * Game features are driven by your feedback. GAME FEATURES * Statistics - ELO Rating, Wins, Losses, Draws. * Elo Charts & Per Opponent statistics. * Advanced features such as Conditional Moves and Premoves. * Receive push notifications when a game is updated. * Play even when there is no internet connection. Moves are sent later. * Play up to 5 games at a time, or increase it to 100 with In-App purchase. * Search for opponents by username, email, or we'll match you with a random opponent. * Claim Victory if opponent does not make a move in the time allowed. * Optional Takeback move. * Chess960 * Analysis Board to work out your strategy. SOCIAL FEATURES * User Profile including picture, comments, etc. * Map view of your opponent's location. * Chat and Group Chat * Browse your opponent's games, and their opponent's games. * Elo Rankings Apple End User License Agreement https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

About

Glow Chess

Engage in the classic strategy game with adjustable difficulty levels and helpful features. Practice tactics and strategy to become a Chess Master. Offers puzzles and a two-player mode for interactive play.

Highlights
  • 5 difficulty levels
  • Chess Puzzles
  • Game Assistant
  • Undo move
  • Hints
  • 2 player mode
Features
Read full description

Hi Players, As you know, Chess is one of the oldest strategy games in the world. Chess is an excellent board logic game that develops such skills as tactics, strategy and visual memory. I'm trying to create an application that allows a player of any level to enjoy the game. Play Chess, unlock levels and be Chess Master! Chess pieces: - The pawn moves to one field forward or two fields at the first move of this figure; beats diagonally to one field forward. - The king moves to one field in the vertical, horizontal or diagonal. - The queen moves to any distance vertically, horizontally or diagonally. - The rook moves to any distance vertically or horizontally. - The knight moves to the field two fields along the vertical and one horizontally or one field vertically and two horizontally. - The bishop moves to any distance diagonally. Important Chess situations: - Check - the situation in chess when a king is under immediate attack by opponent's pieces - Checkmate - the situation in chess when the player whose turn it is to move is in check and has no legal move to escape check. - Stalemate - the situation in chess when the player whose turn it is to move has no legal move and is not in check. (draw) The goal of the game is to checkmate the other king. Two special moves in Chess: - Castling is a double move, performed by the king and the rook that never moved. - En passant is a move in which a pawn can take an opponent's pawn if it jumps over a field under the pawn's blow. Features: - 5 levels of difficulty - Chess Puzzles - Game Assistant (Helper) - Ability to undo a move - Hints of moves - 2 player mode - Realistic graphics - Sound effects - Small size If you want to play good Chess, you can help me make the app better. Please write your feedback and suggestions here; I will read them and improve the quality of the application! Thank you.

Screenshots

SocialChess4 screens
Glow Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SocialChess at none against Glow Chess's shown. SocialChess also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (7.2K vs 39). Glow Chess's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, 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. SocialChess sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year and Glow Chess 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for SocialChess against 4.8 for Glow Chess. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SocialChess has 7.2K ratings behind it against 39, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SocialChess ships an update every 10 days, Glow Chess every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and August 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SocialChess versus Glow Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSocialChessGlow Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (7.2K ratings)4.8 (39 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews
Number of ratings7.2K — better39
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB78 MB
Age rating+124+
DeveloperWoodchop Software LLCPhuong Ta

Customer experience

SocialChess

All ratings7,168 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews405 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral5.9%
Negative23.2%

Glow Chess

All ratings24 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%

Bugs and requests

SocialChess

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Freezing or crashing during gameplay
  • Inaccurate game statistics and ratings
  • Delayed or unresponsive move registrations
  • Inability to cancel or delete games

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add chess analysis and training tools
  • Implement anti-cheat measures
  • Improve game history and statistics tracking
  • Allow customization of board and piece designs
  • Add tournament and team play modes

Glow Chess

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

SocialChess

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Membership$14.991 Year
One-time3
  • 1 Year Membership$14.99
  • 1 Year Gift Membership$14.99
  • DecodeChess 1 Year$41.99
1 purchases

Glow Chess

One-time1
  • No Ads$3.99

Questions

Is SocialChess free?
SocialChess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Glow Chess free?
Glow Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SocialChess or Glow Chess?
Glow Chess is rated higher. SocialChess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 7.2K ratings, while Glow Chess averages 4.8 from 39 ratings.
Do SocialChess or Glow Chess have ads?
Glow Chess shows ads; SocialChess does not.
Which is updated more often, SocialChess or Glow Chess?
SocialChess ships an update every 10 days, and Glow Chess every 6 months. Most recently, SocialChess was updated on September 22, 2026 and Glow Chess on August 22, 2026.

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