Chess Time vs PatternMate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Online correspondence chess
- Play with friends
- Global player matchmaking
- In-game chat
- Customizable chess sets and themes
- Auto-calculated ELO rating
- PGN export
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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
PatternMate
Sharpen your chess vision with over 51,000 offline tactics puzzles. Choose from three training modes to improve your rating, test your limits, or focus on specific weaknesses. Enjoy an ad-free, subscription-free experience with all puzzles included.
- 51,200 chess puzzles
- Three game modes: Tactics, Survival, Practice
- Adaptive puzzle difficulty
- Over 40 tactic themes
- Customizable practice rating range
- Offline functionality
- No ads or subscriptions
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Recognize tactical patterns, then play the winning move. Train with 51,200 included puzzles, spaced repetition, Tactics, Survival, Storm, Practice and Vision, and a guided daily routine. Play offline, without an account, ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases. Customize the board, pieces, sounds and haptics. Two iOS widgets show your streak and tactics rating. Game Center needs an internet connection.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess Time at Free against PatternMate's $3.99. PatternMate's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Chess Time is free to download; PatternMate costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, PatternMate every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Time | PatternMate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 86.2% of reviews | 90.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.7K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 75 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Haptic Apps LLC | Max Schneider |
Customer experience
Chess Time
PatternMate
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
PatternMate
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess Time
No in-app purchases
PatternMate
No in-app purchases
