Comparison

Chess Time vs Chess ◧

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 ◧

Engage in classic chess matches on your iPhone or iPad. Play against a computer with adjustable difficulty, challenge a friend in two-player mode, or utilize helpful features like move undo and hints. Enjoy an attractive user interface for a smooth gaming experience.

Highlights
  • Play against computer
  • Two player mode
  • Adjustable computer strength
  • Undo moves
  • Hint option
  • Attractive UI
Features
Read full description

FREE Chess game for the iPhone and iPad FEATURES - Play agains the computer - Two player mode - Change computer strength - Undo moves - Rotate board - Hint option - Attractive UI --------------------------------------------------- TAPMEDIA PRO SUBSCRIPTION - You will receive access to the apps in the TapMedia PRO bundle for the duration of the subscription. - Subscription length: Monthly (includes one week free trial). - Subscriptions with a free trial period will automatically renew to a paid subscription. - Payments will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. - All prices are subject to change without notification. We occasionally run promotion prices as incentives or limited time opportunities for qualifying purchases made during the promotional time period. Due to the time sensitive and promotional nature of these events, we are unable to offer price protection or retroactive discounts or refunds for previous purchases in the event of a price reduction or promotional offering. - Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription - You may cancel a subscription during its free period via the subscription setting through your iTunes Account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Please visit http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4098 Privacy Policy: http://tapmedia.co.uk/privacy.htm Terms of Use: http://tapmedia.co.uk/terms.htm

Screenshots

Chess Time4 screens
Chess ◧3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chess ◧ at none against Chess Time's shown. Chess ◧ also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). Chess Time's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 53%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Chess Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Chess ◧ sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Time holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.7K and 410 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Chess Time's written reviews are positive against 53% of Chess ◧'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, Chess ◧ every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and August 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Chess Time versus Chess ◧: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess TimeChess ◧
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better4.3 (410 ratings)
Positive reviews86.2% of reviews — better52.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1.7K — better410
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 12 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB64 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperHaptic Apps LLCTapMedia Ltd

Customer experience

Chess Time

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

Chess ◧

All ratings410 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative12.4%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive52.9%
Neutral14.7%
Negative32.4%

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 ◧

From 410 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to play
  • 👍 Highly entertaining
  • 👍 Strong and flexible chess engine
  • 👍 Gameplay is human-like
  • 👍 Great for avoiding opening traps

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Two player mode broken
  • 🐛 Program is impenetrable for beginners
  • 🐛 Hints lead to losing
  • 🐛 Board color changed to brown
  • 🐛 Too many 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 ◧

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Two player mode doesn't work
  • Choosing '2 Player' does nothing
  • Many glitches
  • Cannot move a piece and make a change with king and tower
  • Slaughters battery life

Requested features

4 requests
  • Fix two player mode
  • Option to change board color back to black and white
  • Make the game easier for beginners
  • Allow viewing opponent's pawns

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Chess Time

Subscriptions2
  • Chess Time Premium$1.991 Month
  • Chess Time Premium - Annual$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • IOS Chess Time Pro$4.99
2 purchases

Chess ◧

Subscriptions1
  • TapMedia PRO - 1 Month3 Days trial$4.991 Month
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Chess Time free?
Chess Time 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, Chess Time or Chess ◧?
Chess Time is rated higher. Chess Time averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Chess ◧ averages 4.3 from 410 ratings.
Do Chess Time or Chess ◧ have ads?
Chess Time shows ads; Chess ◧ does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess Time or Chess ◧?
Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, and Chess ◧ every 12 months. Most recently, Chess Time was updated on October 1, 2026 and Chess ◧ on August 30, 2026.

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