# Chess By Post vs Pulsar Chess Engine

The clearest difference is price: Chess By Post at Free against Pulsar Chess Engine's $1.99. Chess By Post also leads on ratings volume (255 vs 12) and review sentiment (80% vs 70%). Pulsar Chess Engine's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). On rating and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Chess By Post is free to download; Pulsar Chess Engine costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Chess By Post against 4.3 for Pulsar Chess Engine. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess By Post has 255 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Chess By Post's written reviews are positive against 70% of Pulsar Chess Engine's.

Chess By Post ships an update every 6 months, Pulsar Chess Engine every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chess By Post | Pulsar Chess Engine |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | [4.3 (255 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-by-post/id509928358/reviews) | [4.3 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pulsar-chess-engine/id839640447/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **255** | 12 |
| Positive reviews | **80.4% of reviews** | 70.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Paid |
| Size | 38 MB | 11 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Games By Post LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/449504484) | [Michael Adams](https://appshunter.io/developer/743520896) |

## What reviewers say

### Chess By Post

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-by-post/id509928358)

Engage in correspondence chess with others worldwide. Challenge friends or compete in ranked matches against similarly skilled players. The app offers automatic notifications for pending moves and tracks your progress with an Elo rating system.

**Highlights:** Correspondence chess, Ranked matches, Skill-based matchmaking, Chess puzzles, End game analysis, Move history explorer, Local hand-off games

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 💡 Helpful planning mode
- 🌐 Cross-platform compatibility
- ⏱️ Leisurely pace of play

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⏳ Long wait times between moves
- 🐛 Glitches and bugs
- 🤖 Concerns about cheating/engine use
- 🔇 Lack of notifications/push updates
- 📊 Inaccurate/inflated ranking system

**Reported bugs**

- Moves not registering correctly
- Game freezes/crashes
- Notification issues
- Rating/scoring problems

**Requested features**

- Shorter move time limits
- Friends/social features
- Ability to report/block abusive players
- Board orientation/view options
- Customizable game settings


### Pulsar Chess Engine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pulsar-chess-engine/id839640447)

Play chess and six popular variants with adjustable AI difficulty levels. Review logged games, access master game collections, and utilize Crafty engine analysis for standard chess and Chess960. Offers accessibility features for blind users.

**Highlights:** Plays 7 chess variants, Adjustable AI difficulty levels, Game logging and review, Master game collections, Crafty engine analysis, VoiceOver accessibility

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chess By Post free?

Chess By Post is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Pulsar Chess Engine free?

Pulsar Chess Engine costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Chess By Post or Pulsar Chess Engine?

Chess By Post and Pulsar Chess Engine are both rated 4.3 out of 5 on the App Store, from 255 and 12 ratings respectively.

### Do Chess By Post or Pulsar Chess Engine have ads?

Chess By Post shows ads; Pulsar Chess Engine does not.

### Which is updated more often, Chess By Post or Pulsar Chess Engine?

Chess By Post ships an update every 6 months, and Pulsar Chess Engine every 2 months. Most recently, Chess By Post was updated on October 12, 2026 and Pulsar Chess Engine on October 14, 2026.

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