Comparison

Chess Time vs Chess Online

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

Head to head
About

Chess Time

Engage in online chess matches with friends or players worldwide. This app supports correspondence play with extended move times and offers features like in-game chat and customizable themes. Track your progress with an auto-calculated ELO rating.

Highlights
  • Online correspondence chess
  • Play with friends
  • Global player matchmaking
  • In-game chat
  • Customizable chess sets and themes
  • Auto-calculated ELO rating
  • PGN export
Read full description

Free online chess - Invite your friends or play against anyone in the world. Chess Time is a full featured online correspondence chess app allowing a player up to multiple days to make a move. Create and play multiple at length chess games. Chess Time features: A global audience of real chess players. Invite friends to play online games. In-game chat. -- Play chess against friends that have other mobile devices. Multiple Chess sets and themes. Play un-rated games to train without affecting your score. -- Auto-calculated ELO chess rating. Export completed games as PGN. Chess Time will send a notification for each move and a reminder for you to move. We recommend enabling notifications. ——————————— -- SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE --- PREMIUM Membership Subscription Options: - Monthly Premium Subscription - Yearly Premium Subscription Premium Membership features: * No Ads * 75 Simultaneous Active Games — Additional 25! * Compete with Premium Members * Exclusive Premium Leaderboard * Daily PGN Emails — Completed game PGNs are emailed daily! Perfect for players studying their games. — TERMS & DETAILS — Chess Time Premium features are only guaranteed on up-to-date iOS devices. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged the same amount for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a Free Trial, if offered, is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Prices may vary by location. Terms of Use: http://chesstimeapp.com/Terms-and-Conditions.php Privacy Policy: http://chesstimeapp.com/Privacy-Policy.php

About

Chess Online

Play classic chess games online with friends or strangers worldwide. Improve your skills with lessons, puzzles, and post-game analysis. Features include chat, customizable themes, and weekly challenges.

Highlights
  • Multiplayer online chess
  • Play against AI with adjustable difficulty
  • In-game chat and emojis
  • Personalizable themes and boards
  • Chess lessons and tutorials
  • Weekly challenges and leaderboards
  • Post-game analysis
Features
Read full description

Playing Chess Online with friends has never been this easy! Chess Stars is truly the perfect way to play social Chess for players of all levels, from kids & beginners to real chess lovers & masters. Play this free Chess games. With features like in-game chat and chess Facebook integration, you can experience social Chess online with friends, family & players across the world. Stay in touch with others and never run out of worthy opponents! Play this classic board game to increase your IQ and become a real Multiplayer Chess Grandmaster just like Magnus Carlsen. Whether you call it Chess, Ajedrez, شطرنج, Шахматы, Xiangqi, Shatranj, or Shogi, Chess Stars multiplayer online is the place to learn Chess and play it! Use Chess play learn. After practicing your chess moves with tutorials, puzzles, and post-game analysis, play against the AI, against friends, or against millions of random strangers worldwide. One of the best things about Ches is that there is always something new to learn, and this superb game will enable you to continue learning the game's brilliance and fall in love with it. MULTIPLAYER CHESS Play Ajedrez/Shatranj/ fps Chess multiplayer online. Do you feel like playing Chess with friends online? Invite friends to play 2 player chess online. To invite a friend to play online, send him an invitation from the app, and when he accepts it, you can compete. Play different types of games in this Chess Universe. QUICK 1v1 Quick matches with players around the world. This instant chess game is suitable for all levels,including chess for kids, chesskid, so you can learn Ches in a fun and friendly environment. Our instant chess app is designed to inspire Chess players to improve from beginner to master. Find games like the classic chess com. Features MULTIPLE GAME MODES Play Chess free Game Modes include Quick Matches, Slow Chess, and playing against the computer. . Play long Multiplayer Instant Chess where players take turns in their own time . Play against the computer with 10 difficulty levels . Adjust the computer's strength . Analyze your game to learn what went wrong BEAUTIFUL THEMES AND BOARDS You can personalize the game with our beautiful themes, sets & boards like Dracula, Under the Sea, and Indiana while playing Chess online with friends. EMOJIS . Express your true self by emojis available in the chat section. React to each and every move of your opponent and pour your heart out. MAKE FRIENDS . Make new friends while playing instant Chess game . Challenge your friends and chat with opponents CHESS LESSONS . Learn Instant Chess by watching lesson videos . Thousands of videos and interactive lessons from top Grandmasters . Interactive tutorials with helpful tips and highlights WEEKLY CHALLENGES . Climb up the League leaderboards by participating in Weekly Championships SUBSCRIPTION: Looking for an even greater challenge? Want to become a Chess master in no time? Subscribe now to get fantastic benefits and improve your game: Unlock 40 professional chess lessons Remove ads Access to unlimited themes Increase friends limits CONTACT & SUPPORT For support, please contact us at support@turbolabz.com  To stay updated about new features in our classic Chess game, follow us on social media. Facebook: www.facebook.com/chessstarapp PRIVACY POLICY https://turbolabz.com/privacy-policy/ EULA & TERMS OF USE https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Chess Time4 screens
Chess Online4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess Time at 86% against Chess Online's 35%. Chess Time also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Chess Online's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. Chess Online sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Chess Time asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Time holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.7K and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Chess Time's written reviews are positive against 35% of Chess Online's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, Chess Online every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess Time versus Chess Online: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess TimeChess Online
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better4.4 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews86.2% of reviews — better34.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1.7K — better1.5K
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB410 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperHaptic Apps LLCTurbo Labz

Customer experience

Chess Time

All ratings1,659 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews260 reviews
Positive86.2%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.5%

Chess Online

All ratings1,315 ratings
Positive85.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews218 reviews
Positive34.9%
Neutral11.5%
Negative53.7%

User reviews

Chess Time

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🌍 Cross-platform play
  • 📊 Detailed player stats and rankings
  • 💬 In-game chat functionality
  • 🕰️ Flexible time controls for games

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited customization options
  • 💰 Ads can be intrusive
  • 🔒 Lack of robust anti-cheat measures
  • 🖥️ Outdated or basic user interface

Chess Online

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🕰️ Stop cheating me on my time
  • 🕰️ Time
  • 👍 Love this game!
  • 👍 Wonderful
  • 👍 Great game!

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Problem
  • 🐛 Useless
  • 🐛 Robots only
  • 🐛 Bugs
  • 🐛 Ads

Bugs and requests

Chess Time

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game incorrectly declaring draws on checkmate
  • Inability to castle or move pieces in certain situations
  • Notification issues across different devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to invite friends to watch ongoing games
  • Option to disable move analysis for rated games
  • Faster move processing and real-time gameplay
  • More diverse chess piece and board designs
  • In-app purchase to remove ads permanently

Chess Online

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • 15:10 time control game would be good to add!!
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

In-app purchases

None

Chess Time

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Chess Online

Subscriptions1
  • VIP Club Membership Monthly$9.991 Month
One-time8
  • Piggy Bank2 variants$1.99
  • 50 Gems Pack$2.99
  • 90 Gems Pack$4.99
Show 5 more
  • Royal Bundle$4.99
  • 185 Gems Pack$9.99
  • 375 Gems Pack$19.99
  • 1100 Gems Pack$49.99
  • Grand Bundle$99.99

Questions

Is Chess Time free?
Chess Time is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Online free?
Chess Online is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess Time or Chess Online?
Chess Time is rated higher. Chess Time averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Chess Online averages 4.4 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Chess Time or Chess Online have ads?
Both Chess Time and Chess Online show ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Time or Chess Online?
Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, and Chess Online every 4 weeks. Most recently, Chess Time was updated on November 1, 2026 and Chess Online on November 2, 2026.

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