# Little Go vs SmartGo One

The clearest difference is rating: SmartGo One at 4.8 against Little Go's 3.3. SmartGo One also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (77% vs 50%). Little Go's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 47) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SmartGo One sells 47 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Little Go asks for nothing beyond the download.

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 2K ratings behind it against 121, 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.

Little Go ships an update every 4 months, SmartGo One every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Little Go | SmartGo One |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.3 (121 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/little-go/id490753989/reviews) | **[4.8 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 121 | **2K** |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **76.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 51 MB | 157 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Patrick Naf Moser](https://appshunter.io/developer/490753992) | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) |

## What reviewers say

### Little Go

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/little-go/id490753989)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- Cannot pass to end the game
- Human player cannot place stones (sometimes)
- AI makes illegal moves
- AI resigns too early
- Undo button glitches

**Requested features**

- 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


### SmartGo One

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992)

Learn, play, and study the ancient game of Go with this comprehensive app. It offers adjustable board sizes, a powerful AI engine, interactive books, and a vast database of professional games to help you improve your skills.

**Highlights:** Multiple board sizes (9x9 to 19x19), Powerful KataGo AI engine, Interactive Go books, 138,000+ professional game records, Go problems and tutorials, Pattern matching for game analysis, Record, annotate, and edit games

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (47)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SmartGo One Pro – Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Pro Games and Features | $29.99 | per year |
| Just Enough Japanese 1 | Free | one-time |
| Key Concepts in Life and Death | $2.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Master Collection | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 2: Medium | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 3: Hard | $3.99 | one-time |
| Counting Liberties | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Monkey Jump | $4.99 | one-time |
| Double Digit Kyu Games | $5.99 | one-time |
| Go: A Complete Introduction | $5.99 | one-time |
| How Not to Play Go | $5.99 | one-time |
| Encyclopedia of Go Principles | $5.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Black to Play 30-25 Kyu | $5.99 | one-time |
| The Workshop Lectures 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Rethinking Opening Strategy | $6.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 1 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 2 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 3 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Correct Joseki | $7.99 | one-time |
| “The Theory of Go” | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 4 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Buddhist Philosophy Game of Go | $8.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 1 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Basic Techniques of Go | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 3 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Get Strong at Life and Death | $9.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Mini Go by Mark Tomlinson | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fuseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fundamental Principles of Go | $11.99 | one-time |
| The Basics of Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| Joseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| A Survey of the Basic Tesujis | $11.99 | one-time |
| Tesuji | $11.99 | one-time |
| Tesuji for Beginners | $14.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, vol. 4 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 1 | $14.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, Vol. 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Invincible | $24.99 | one-time |
| Essential Go Proverbs | $24.99 | one-time |
| Pro – Lifetime Unlock | $99.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


## Frequently asked 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 121 ratings, while SmartGo One averages 4.8 from 2K 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 8 days. Most recently, Little Go was updated on October 22, 2026 and SmartGo One on October 30, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*