Chess without ads vs Plain Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess without ads
Learn and play chess without distractions. This app offers guided lessons for beginners and advanced analysis for experts, helping you improve your game with intelligent suggestions and post-game reviews. Play offline and enjoy a seamless, ad-free experience.
- Ad-free learning and play
- Introductory lessons for beginners
- Grandmaster move suggestions
- Game analysis with good/bad moves
- Supports USCF and FIDE rating scales
- Strong mobile chess engine
- Offline play
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Beginner or advanced, become a chess master, without ever being disturbed by ads. Do you want to master the most prestigious, the classiest game ever, while having fun? It's EASY! For starters, there are no ads to distract you. There's no account to create, and you don't even need to be connected to the Internet. So, how does it work? If you are a beginner, let yourself be guided by the introductory lessons included. The lessons are SHORT and EASY. Right from the start, you begin playing by moving pieces, and you learn the rules of the game while having fun. The first 40 lessons are free. Once you know the rules, you start playing real games! The coach shows you the moves a Grandmaster would pick. Not just one move, but THE 4 BEST MOVES. Sounds too simple? But think about it... How did you learn to speak as a child? Did you take grammar and spelling lessons? Of course not. You listened to the adults talk and then you went for it! Because that's how you learn! This app allows you to do just that, AND IT WORKS! From the very first games, you start learning effortlessly. You immediately enjoy playing, and after a while you notice that the right moves come to mind naturally, as if they were obvious. Gradually, you deactivate the suggestions and play by yourself. At the end of each game, the coach shows you the good and bad moves you've made. You can better understand what happened, and you can even try out other moves to improve. If this sounds unbelievable, you should read the user reviews for our app. It has one of the highest satisfaction ratings on the App Store, in all countries. FOR BEGINNERS, THIS APP... • contains introductory chess lessons that are suitable even for children. The first 40 are free. • shows you all the possible moves of a piece when you touch it. • explains why certain moves are forbidden. • can suggest 4 to 6 excellent moves at any one time. The green button lets you show or hide these suggestions. • can tell you when you can mate your opponent, so you can look for the winning move by yourself. • can warn you when your opponent is about to play a dangerous move. • provides many trainer levels of increasing difficulty. • knows and applies perfectly all the official rules of chess. • is a very competent teacher of a very high level. • analyzes your games and shows you how to improve. FOR EXPERTS: • Both USCF and FIDE rating scales are supported. • This app has one of the strongest chess engines for mobile devices (3040 USCF Elo). • On current devices, as incredible as it sounds, it plays at the world champion level. • The chess engine displays its thinking, up to 20 moves ahead. • You can analyze a game by replaying it. The app indicates bad moves by coloring them red. The 4 best moves in each position are shown in green. • This app supports variations: you can test other moves and then return to your original game. OTHER FEATURES INCLUDE: • The coach can comment on the game as you play (optional). • When the game is over, the coach can analyze it and show you how to improve. • Several beautiful visual themes are included, which you can customize. • 4 playing styles are included, from «cautious» to «suicidal», which you can combine with all available levels. • Includes an opening book of more than one million moves. • Many customization options are available (graphics, sounds, engine output…). • ...and much more... privacy policy: http://www.chesstiger.com/iphone/About_privacy_en.html terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Plain Chess
Enjoy offline chess matches on your iPhone without ads or accounts. Play against the computer, a friend, or use the AI Coach for strategic advice. Perfect for learning, practicing, or quick games.
- Offline chess play
- Play against computer
- Pass-and-play multiplayer
- AI Coach explanations
- Saved games
- No ads or account required
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Chess without the stress. Play a free game every day, learn from a coach that explains your games, and play the people you know. FREE EVERY DAY Play one new game a day in any mode: one of six rivals, a friend, Quick Match, or pass and play on one iPhone. Solve the daily puzzle, keep your streak going, and get a hint and a threat check in your game. After each game, see how many moments there are to learn from. SIX RIVALS WITH REAL PERSONALITIES From Pip, a beginner learning one move at a time, to Nova, an expert who loves to attack, each rival plays at their own level and talks like themselves. Choose how chatty they are: quiet, friendly or spicy. Every rival is an AI and always labeled as one. PLAY THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW Invite friends through Game Center for a daily game, with up to three days a move, or a live game with a clock. Quick Match finds a player near your level, or one of our AI rivals when nobody's around. No chat, just six friendly reactions. PLAIN CHESS COACH Become a member for everything else: • Unlimited games in every mode • A review of every game: where it turned, your best move and every mistake, explained in plain words • Unlimited Hint and Threats: a strong move, or what your opponent is after • 300 AI Coach answers a month: ask about your position, typed or out loud • Nearly 5,000 checkmate puzzles on a path through ten lands, and 85 opening lessons • My Games: every game you finish, synced with iCloud • Voices for the coach and your rivals, made on your iPhone Choose Yearly, with a 7-day free trial for eligible new members, or Monthly. Family covers up to six people through Family Sharing, with 50 AI Coach answers a month for each person. Prices vary by country; the app shows your price before you buy. Plain Chess Lifetime, $99 once, includes everything except AI Coach answers. AI Coach answer packs (25, 75 or 250 answers) are available to Lifetime owners, original buyers and members who use up their monthly answers. Already a member, or bought Plain Chess early? You keep everything you have, and your price stays the same while your membership is active. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. A membership renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Deleting the app doesn't cancel a membership. AI Coach needs an internet connection and can make mistakes. No ads, no account to create. Privacy: https://cerebraenterprises.com/plain-chess/privacy Terms: https://cerebraenterprises.com/plain-chess/terms Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Chess without ads at 39K against Plain Chess's 5. Chess without ads also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid) and device support (3 vs 1). Plain Chess's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (100% vs 91%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Chess without ads sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per 7 days and Plain Chess sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Chess without ads against 4.8 for Plain Chess. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess without ads has 39K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Chess without ads's written reviews are positive against 100% of Plain Chess's.
Chess without ads ships an update fortnightly, Plain Chess every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess without ads | Plain Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (39K ratings) | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 90.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 39K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 115 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christophe Théron | Cerebra Enterprises, LLC |
Customer experience
Chess without ads
Plain Chess
Bugs and requests
Chess without ads
Reported bugs
3 issues- Freezing on the login screen
- Incompatibility with older devices
- Inconsistent behavior when running out of free credits
Requested features
4 requests- Add more chess variants (3-check, king of the hill, etc.)
- Provide more detailed game analysis and feedback
- Improve the en passant move functionality
- Add online/multiplayer capabilities
Plain Chess
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess without ads
- PRO, 1 week$0.497 Days
- PRO, 1 month$0.991 Month
- PRO, 3 months$1.993 Months
- Learn chess$4.99
- PRO, for life (SALE!)$9.99
- PRO, for life (regular price)$12.99
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- PRO FOR LIFE - TODAY ONLY$14.99
Plain Chess
- 10 AI Coach Credits$2.99
- 30 AI Coach Credits$7.99
- 100 AI Coach Credits$19.99
Questions
Is Chess without ads free?
Is Plain Chess free?
Which has better reviews, Chess without ads or Plain Chess?
Do Chess without ads or Plain Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess without ads or Plain Chess?
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