Chess Score Pad vs ChessPen
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
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.
- Chess notation recording
- Sleek interface
- Easy-to-use UI
- Powerful data storage
- Data export capabilities
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Chess Notation app for casual, club, and tournament players alike. Sleek interface, easy-going UI, and powerful data storage & export capabilities.
Screenshots
Verdict
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
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.
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.
Chess Score Pad ships an update every 5 months, ChessPen every 25 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Chess Score Pad | ChessPen |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (179 ratings) — better | 4.3 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 179 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 25 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CalcFxC, LLC | ENVISIONAIRY LLC |
Customer experience
Chess Score Pad
ChessPen
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)
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- 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
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- 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
Chess Score Pad
No in-app purchases
ChessPen
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chess Score Pad free?
Is ChessPen free?
Which has better reviews, Chess Score Pad or ChessPen?
Do Chess Score Pad or ChessPen have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Score Pad or ChessPen?
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