Comparison

Little Go vs SmartGo One

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

Head to head
About

Little Go

Play the strategic game of Go on your iPhone or iPad. Challenge a human opponent or test your skills against a powerful AI. Customize game settings, analyze moves, and save your progress.

Highlights
  • Multiple board sizes (7x7 to 19x19)
  • Play against AI or human opponent
  • Adjustable AI strength
  • Score calculation (area/territory)
  • Handicap stone placement
  • Customizable rulesets
  • Save and load games
Features
Read full description

Little Go is a free and open source iOS application that lets you play the game of Go on the iPhone or iPad. You can play against another human (on the same device), or against the computer. The computer player is powered by the open source software library Fuego (http://fuego.sf.net/). The minimum requirement for running this version of Little Go is iOS 16.0. Features: - Board sizes between 7x7 and 19x19 (start a new game to change the board size) - Let the computer player suggest a move or immediately play the move for you - Calculate the score at any time during the game (area scoring is the default, territory scoring can be selected at the start of a new game) - Adjust the computer's playing strength and resign behaviour by selecting from a number of presets, or by fine-tuning advanced settings - Play even games, or games with 2-9 handicap stones (fixed stone placement) - Select from 5 pre-defined rulesets when you start a new game, or adjust game rules to your preference (komi, ko rule, area/territory scoring system, number of passes to end game, resume play by alternating/non-alternating play, four passes end game) - Optionally play with time limits (Main time only, Overtime only, Main time + Overtime), with a choice from 5 Overtime systems - Place arbitrary black and white stones for initial board setup before a game starts - View board positions for moves played earlier during the game - View and create game variations - Discard moves (aka "undo") - Display move numbers and coordinate labels - Zoom & scroll board - Create and edit board and move annotations (e.g. good/bad move, good position for black/white, etc.) and add textual notes to a position - Mark intersections on the board with symbols, markers and labels, and draw arrows or lines on the board - Display player influence (aka territory statistics) for an estimate who owns an area - Computer vs. computer game for entertainment - Save & load games to/from the archive using the SGF file format - Support for almost all properties of the SGF file format, with strict conformance to the specification - Use file sharing to transfer saved games from your iOS device to your computer, and vice versa - Import/export game files from/to other apps on your device (e.g. Mail, DropBox) - In-app user manual - Submit bug report email from inside the app (yes, this *is* a feature :-)) - For the technically inclined: Watch what happens behind the scenes when Little Go and Fuego talk to each other over the Go Text Protocol (GTP) Your contribution in any form (coding, UI design, testing, bug reports, creating an app video preview, website design) is welcome - please contact me or visit the support website to find out more. A note about the project state: Several years of development have gone into Little Go since its inception in January 2011. The app now has a feature set that is, I believe, quite nice :-) for a free program. My main focus therefore lies on fixing any remaining bugs (of which I am sure there are plenty) and keeping the app running under future versions of iOS. Little Go is released under the Apache License 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).

About

SmartGo One

Learn, play, and improve at the ancient game of Go. This app offers adjustable board sizes, a strong AI opponent, and tools to study professional games and solve Go problems. It's designed for players of all skill levels, from beginners to masters.

Highlights
  • Adjustable board sizes (9x9 to 19x19)
  • Strong KataGo game engine
  • Study professional game records
  • Solve Go problems and tutorials
  • Pattern matching for move suggestions
  • Territory estimator
  • Game recording and annotation
Features
Read full description

SmartGo One is the only Go app you’ll need, whether you’re just getting started or already a seasoned player. Learn, play, study, and improve with SmartGo One. Experience the ancient game of Go on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac in a whole new way. Also known as igo (囲碁), wéiqí (围棋), or baduk (바둑), Go begins with an empty board that gradually fills as players surround territory and capture stones. Start with a 9x9 board and move up to 13x13 and 19x19 as your skills grow. SmartGo One adapts to your strength, automatically adjusting handicaps so games remain competitive and enjoyable. And when you’re ready for a serious challenge, the powerful KataGo-based engine delivers strong, rewarding play. But SmartGo One is far more than a way to play Go. Read interactive Go books while replaying the moves they describe to deepen your understanding. Explore a collection of more than 138,000 professional game records spanning both modern and historical masters. Improve your reading and decision-making skills with a growing library of Go problems and tutorials. Want to know how a master would handle a position on your board? SmartGo’s pattern matching technology compares your game with historical pro games and shows how strong players approached similar situations. No matter your level, SmartGo One helps you continue improving. Features include: • 9x9, 11x11, 13x13, and 19x19 board sizes • Powerful KataGo-based engine • Fast and responsive gameplay • Manual or automatic handicap adjustment • Record, annotate, and edit your games • Territory estimator • Hints and move analysis • Undo and replay controls • Tutorial with over 100 problems • Extensive user manual We value your privacy and only collect the minimum information necessary to make our apps work well for you. Learn more at https://smartgo.com/privacy.html. This app is licensed under Apple’s standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Little Go4 screens
SmartGo One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SmartGo One at 4.8 against Little Go's 3.3. SmartGo One also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (77% vs 50%). Little Go's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 46) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. SmartGo One sells 46 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Little Go asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartGo One has 1.9K ratings behind it against 120, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Little Go's written reviews are positive against 77% of SmartGo One's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Little Go ships an update every 4 months, SmartGo One every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Little Go versus SmartGo One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLittle GoSmartGo One
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (120 ratings)4.8 (1.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews76.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1201.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB140 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatrick Naf MoserSmart Go, Inc.

Customer experience

Little Go

All ratings118 ratings
Positive53.4%
Neutral9.3%
Negative37.3%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral20.3%
Negative29.7%

SmartGo One

All ratings1,914 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews166 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral8.4%
Negative15.1%

User reviews

Little Go

From 120 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Free and open source
  • 🎮 Excellent AI engine
  • 🎛️ Highly customizable settings
  • 🆓 No ads or in-app purchases
  • 🎨 Pleasant graphics

Room to improve

  • ❓ Unclear interface
  • 🕹️ Difficult to place stones
  • 📈 Very difficult for beginners
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🤔 AI can be too strong

SmartGo One

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Awesome app
  • 👍 Great for playing and learning Go
  • 📚 Excellent integration with Go books
  • 🔍 Powerful analysis and review features
  • 💻 Seamless experience across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🤔 Unintuitive user interface for beginners
  • 💰 Paywall for full 19x19 board and some features
  • 🤖 AI too strong for novice players

Bugs and requests

Little Go

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Cannot pass to end the game
  • Human player cannot place stones (sometimes)
  • AI makes illegal moves
  • AI resigns too early
  • Undo button glitches
Show 4 more
  • Game crashes
  • AI plays the same game repeatedly
  • Scoring inaccuracies
  • Forward/fast forward buttons too close

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add a tutorial for beginners
  • Improve UI clarity and intuitiveness
  • Add a demo board for teaching
  • Add a rematch option
  • Add Game Center support for turn-based matches
Show 2 more
  • Option to turn off auto-scoring
  • Add a Windows program version

SmartGo One

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Illegal move detection issues on certain board positions
  • Problems with missing variations or incorrect answers
  • Inconsistent behavior when passing moves

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add read-only mode
  • Improve move suggestion explanations
  • Introduce difficulty settings for AI
  • Integrate online play functionality
  • Provide more randomness in AI moves

In-app purchases

None

Little Go

No in-app purchases

46 purchases

SmartGo One

Subscriptions2
  • SmartGo One Pro – Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Games and Features14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time44
  • Just Enough Japanese 1Free
  • Key Concepts in Life and Death$2.99
  • Go Problems Master Collection$3.99
Show 41 more
  • Go Problems Add-on 2: Medium$3.99
  • Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy$3.99
  • Go Problems Add-on 3: Hard$3.99
  • Counting Liberties$4.99
  • The Monkey Jump$4.99
  • Double Digit Kyu Games$5.99
  • Go: A Complete Introduction$5.99
  • How Not to Play Go$5.99
  • Encyclopedia of Go Principles$5.99
  • Want to Play Go? Level 1$5.99
  • Black to Play 30-25 Kyu$5.99
  • The Workshop Lectures 1$5.99
  • Rethinking Opening Strategy$6.99
  • Learn to Play Go 1$7.99
  • Learn to Play Go 2$7.99
  • Learn to Play Go 3$7.99
  • Correct Joseki$7.99
  • “The Theory of Go”$7.99
  • Learn to Play Go 4$7.99
  • Buddhist Philosophy Game of Go$8.99
  • Graded Go Problems 1$9.99
  • Graded Go Problems 2$9.99
  • Want to Play Go? Level 2$9.99
  • Basic Techniques of Go$9.99
  • Graded Go Problems 3$9.99
  • Get Strong at Life and Death$9.99
  • Mastering Mini Go by Mark Tomlinson$11.99
  • Fuseki Revolution$11.99
  • Fundamental Principles of Go$11.99
  • The Basics of Life and Death$11.99
  • Joseki Revolution$11.99
  • Life and Death$11.99
  • A Survey of the Basic Tesujis$11.99
  • Tesuji$11.99
  • AlphaGo to Zero, vol. 4$14.99
  • Trouble Master, volume 2$14.99
  • Trouble Master, volume 1$14.99
  • AlphaGo to Zero, Vol. 2$14.99
  • Invincible$24.99
  • Essential Go Proverbs$24.99
  • Pro – Lifetime Unlock$99.00

Questions

Is Little Go free?
Little Go is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmartGo One free?
SmartGo One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Little Go or SmartGo One?
SmartGo One is rated higher. Little Go averages 3.3 out of 5 from 120 ratings, while SmartGo One averages 4.8 from 1.9K ratings.
Do Little Go or SmartGo One have ads?
Neither Little Go nor SmartGo One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Little Go or SmartGo One?
Little Go ships an update every 4 months, and SmartGo One every 2 weeks. Most recently, Little Go was updated on September 21, 2026 and SmartGo One on September 22, 2026.

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