Comparison

Chess Score Pad vs ChessPen

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

Head to head
About

Chess Score Pad

This app provides a modern, distraction-free electronic scoresheet for over-the-board chess tournament play. Record moves effortlessly, review positions, and export games in PGN or PDF formats for post-game analysis. Designed by a tournament player, it streamlines the scoring process so you can focus on the game.

Highlights
  • Effortless move recording (tap or drag)
  • Automatic game saving
  • Easy move correction
  • Step-through and slider game review
  • PGN export for analysis
  • PDF scoresheet export with diagram
  • Optional legal-move and time tracking
Features
Read full description

Chess Score Pad A modern electronic scoresheet designed for over-the-board tournament play. Record moves effortlessly and export PGN for post-game analysis. Chess Score Pad replaces paper scoresheets with a clean, distraction-free way to record your games move by move — so you can focus on playing, not writing. Designed by a tournament player with hundreds of USCF-rated games, Chess Score Pad is built for over-the-board chess and post-game review. Record games naturally • Enter moves by tapping or dragging pieces • No coordinates to write, no notation to translate • All moves are saved automatically — no “Save” button required • Easy move correction if a mistake happens Review positions and games • Step through moves one at a time • Scrub through the game with a live position slider • On iPad, view the board and notation side by side • Quickly return to critical positions after the game Export and share • Export games as PGN for analysis in your chess database • Share via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, Files, Notes, Clipboard, and compatible chess apps • Export a professional PDF scoresheet with a position diagram Built for tournament play • Start recording immediately — game details are optional • “Next Game of Event” copies event info and increments the round • Automatically place your pieces at the bottom of the board • Optional legal-move and position checking • Optional move-time tracking Flexible notation • Long or short algebraic notation • Figurine or standard notation Important note Chess Score Pad is an electronic scoresheet and does not provide analysis or engine assistance. Chess Score Pad is not currently certified for tournament use. It may be permitted at the discretion of the tournament director. More screenshots and documentation are available at the Support URL.

About

ChessPen

Record and manage chess games with a user-friendly interface. This app offers robust data storage and export options for players of all levels, from casual to tournament participants.

Highlights
  • Chess notation recording
  • Sleek interface
  • Easy-to-use UI
  • Powerful data storage
  • Data export capabilities
Features
Read full description

Chess Notation app for casual, club, and tournament players alike. Sleek interface, easy-going UI, and powerful data storage & export capabilities.

Screenshots

Chess Score Pad3 screens
ChessPen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess Score Pad at 65% against ChessPen's 0%. Chess Score Pad also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 25 months). ChessPen's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.6). On ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ChessPen is free to download; Chess Score Pad costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Score Pad holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Score Pad has 179 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Chess Score Pad's written reviews are positive against 0% of ChessPen's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Score Pad ships an update every 5 months, ChessPen every 25 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Chess Score Pad versus ChessPen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Score PadChessPen
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (179 ratings) — better4.3 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews64.9% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings179 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 25 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalcFxC, LLCENVISIONAIRY LLC

Customer experience

Chess Score Pad

All ratings178 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral5.1%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive64.9%
Neutral13.5%
Negative21.6%

ChessPen

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Chess Score Pad

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Board not accessible to voiceover users
  • Contact option on website is broken
  • Screen controls are flaky, requiring repeated attempts
  • Cost me a tournament game due to flaky controls
  • Cannot use 'Save to Files' in iPad if the result is draw (1/2)
Show 3 more
  • Shows own pieces checking own King
  • Does not show when checking opponent's King
  • App is 32bit and may not work in the future

Requested features

16 requests
  • Make board accessible to voiceover users or allow notation entry
  • Ability to enter ??, !!, !? and ?! notations
  • Cloud support (iCloud/Dropbox)
  • Option to load a game
  • Built-in player list
Show 11 more
  • Export multiple games at once
  • Different board colors or lighter dark green squares
  • Ability to save games in .pgn format automatically
  • Get app approved for USCF tournaments
  • iCloud capabilities for syncing games
  • Enhanced time controls for correspondence matches
  • Feature to make notes and annotate games
  • Review or journal mode for inputting variations and annotations
  • Standard algebraic notation
  • More tags for app store search (e.g., PGN)
  • Move notations with time

ChessPen

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess Score Pad

No in-app purchases

None

ChessPen

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess Score Pad free?
Chess Score Pad costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ChessPen free?
ChessPen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess Score Pad or ChessPen?
Chess Score Pad is rated higher. Chess Score Pad averages 4.6 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while ChessPen averages 4.3 from 4 ratings.
Do Chess Score Pad or ChessPen have ads?
Neither Chess Score Pad nor ChessPen shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Score Pad or ChessPen?
Chess Score Pad ships an update every 5 months, and ChessPen every 25 months. Most recently, Chess Score Pad was updated on October 24, 2026 and ChessPen on October 24, 2026.

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