Comparison

Chess Tactics and Lessons vs Noctie Chess Trainer

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

Head to head
About

Chess Tactics and Lessons

Master chess strategy and openings with this app. Practice unlimited tactics, follow detailed lessons, and save your favorite openings. Create your own content and learn from a supportive community.

Highlights
  • Unlimited tactics practice
  • Detailed chess lessons
  • Opening practice and saving
  • Create custom tactics and lessons
  • Learn from mistakes with explanations
  • Community comments and discussion
  • Customizable board design
Features
Read full description

“Chess is 99% tactics” (R. Teichmann.) From beginner to expert, practicing tactics is hands-down the best way to master the game. Play 30,000+ tactics, lessons, and openings while the app adjusts to your ability as you play. Join thousands of users who improve their game with daily tactics. Beginner-friendly, even if you don't know the rules of chess yet. "This app is a must have for any chess player - student or master." -Tom Taylor, USA "This is easily the best purchase I've made since owning a smartphone." -Miles C. Samuels, USA "This app has improved my game tremendously!" - anonymous fandom on the App Store FEATURES - Tactics: Play as many tactics as you want, for free. - Lessons: Get deeper into strategy with detailed lessons including positions from Netflix's 'The Queen's Gambit' and the World Championship. - Openings: Practice makes perfect! Save and practice openings from the Grandmasters and more. - Create your own tactics, lessons, and openings for others to try. - Learn from your mistakes with solutions, explanations, and chess engine analysis. - Join the community: comment on tactics and learn from other users. New tactics are added every day, so you'll never run out. ------ Chess Tactics PRO subscriptions will be charged to your iTunes account upon purchase. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime with your iTunes account settings. See Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for more information. Privacy Policy: https://chesstacticsapp.com/privacy.html Terms of Service: https://chesstacticsapp.com/terms.html Acknowledgements: Chess Pieces by jurgenwesterhof on WikiCommons (adapted from work of Cburnett) Icons by bezier master, Cutiecon, and Shawn Wong from the Noun Project.

About

Noctie Chess Trainer

This app offers a unique chess training experience by simulating human opponents who adapt to your skill level. It provides instant feedback, custom puzzles from your games, and tools to master openings and endgames. Designed for serious improvement, it focuses on deliberate practice without distractions.

Highlights
  • Human-like AI opponents
  • Adaptive difficulty levels
  • Opening repertoire training
  • Instant move feedback
  • Puzzles from your games
  • Position builder
  • Endgame lessons
Features
Read full description

Most chess apps make you play a machine. Noctie gives you a training partner. Noctie is a premium chess trainer that plays like a human, adapts to your level, and turns every game into focused practice. Play the opening you like, get puzzles from your game, have fun. No weird engine moves, just real games against a realistic opponent, with instant feedback that shows you how to improve on every move. TRAIN AGAINST HUMAN-LIKE AI OPPONENTS Train against a chess AI that adapts to your level and makes natural, human mistakes instead of perfect computer moves. Improve through 25 difficulty levels of humanlike chess bots, from beginner to master. MASTER YOUR OPENINGS THE RIGHT WAY Choose among your favorite chess openings or import your own repertoire, and train against an AI that follows the lines humans actually play. You don't just memorize theory; you learn to play it. GET INSTANT VISUAL FEEDBACK WHILE YOU PLAY See color-coded move-quality feedback the moment you play. Spot tactical mistakes and brilliant moves in real time, so every game teaches you something. SOLVE PUZZLES FROM YOUR ACTUAL GAMES After each game, practice custom chess tactics from the exact positions where you struggled. Your puzzles are saved for spaced-repetition practice, so you never repeat the same mistake twice. SET UP ANY POSITION, STUDY LESSONS & ENDGAMES Use the position builder to set up any chess position, or play scenarios from our instructive lessons — covering everything from positional imbalances to theoretical endgames. Drill king-and-pawn endgames until they're second nature. BUILT FOR PLAYERS SERIOUS ABOUT IMPROVING Noctie is a focused, premium chess training tool — no ads, no distractions, just deliberate practice that turns into real rating gains. Start with a free trial and train like you mean it. ** Requires internet connection ** SUBSCRIPTION Noctie is an auto-renewing subscription that starts with a free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase, and renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of use: https://apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://noctie.ai/privacy

Screenshots

Chess Tactics and Lessons4 screens
Noctie Chess Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Chess Tactics and Lessons at free with in-app purchases against Noctie Chess Trainer's subscription. Chess Tactics and Lessons also leads on ratings volume (5.1K vs 636) and review sentiment (85% vs 74%). Noctie Chess Trainer's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Chess Tactics and Lessons sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Noctie Chess Trainer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $13.90 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Chess Tactics and Lessons against 4.7 for Noctie Chess Trainer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Tactics and Lessons has 5.1K ratings behind it against 636, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess Tactics and Lessons's written reviews are positive against 74% of Noctie Chess Trainer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Tactics and Lessons ships an update every 5 weeks, Noctie Chess Trainer every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess Tactics and Lessons versus Noctie Chess Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Tactics and LessonsNoctie Chess Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5.1K ratings) — better4.7 (636 ratings)
Positive reviews85.2% of reviews — better74.4% of reviews
Number of ratings5.1K — better636
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLockwood Productions, LLCNoctie AB

Customer experience

Chess Tactics and Lessons

All ratings4,985 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews283 reviews
Positive85.2%
Neutral4.6%
Negative10.2%

Noctie Chess Trainer

All ratings636 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.6%

User reviews

Chess Tactics and Lessons

From 5.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 😃 Great for learning tactics
  • 👍 Enjoyable and addictive
  • 🚀 Excellent training tool
  • 🤗 Helpful for improving chess skills
  • 💯 Best tactics app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy after updates
  • 💰 Subscription model too expensive
  • 🤔 Some tactics are questionable
  • 🙄 Too many queen sacrifices
  • 😣 Difficult to navigate

Noctie Chess Trainer

From 636 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for learning chess
  • 💡 Realistic time management simulation
  • 🚀 Improves chess skills quickly
  • 💡 Human-like play style
  • 💡 Flashcard system for mistakes

Room to improve

  • 👎 Blunders mislabeled
  • 👎 Subscription required for themes
  • 👎 Limited free content
  • 👎 Puzzles are basic
  • 👎 AI doesn't coach

Bugs and requests

Chess Tactics and Lessons

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Server connection issues
  • White screen after updates
  • Inability to delete account
  • Incorrect move explanations

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to save tactics
  • Offline mode
  • Difficulty filtering
  • Improved user interface
  • More comprehensive lessons

Noctie Chess Trainer

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Lost opening library and progress after update
  • User flow to rebuild opening library is terrible
  • Material difference calculation breaks with promoted queens
  • Layout cuts off chessboard in portrait mode on iPad
  • AI doesn't adjust strength based on user rating
Show 1 more
  • Hints and feedback can be inaccurate

Requested features

11 requests
  • Lifetime tier option
  • Realistic time management for bots
  • Dark mode
  • Choice of colors and chessboards
  • Import games from Lichess/Chess.com for flashcards
Show 6 more
  • More moves in opening hints
  • Ability to play specific opening branches on mobile
  • Detailed computer analysis in game reviews
  • Guided demo for new users
  • Option to open PGN on Lichess from review page
  • Export PGN after game

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Chess Tactics and Lessons

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly PRO Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Annual Pro Subscription$29.991 Year
One-time5
  • Marble Chess Board$0.99
  • Orange Chess Board$0.99
  • Remove ads$0.99
Show 2 more
  • Green Chess Board$0.99
  • Enable Saved Puzzles$1.99
2 purchases

Noctie Chess Trainer

Subscriptions2
  • Club Noctie7 Days trial$13.901 Month
  • Club Noctie Yearly7 Days trial$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Chess Tactics and Lessons free?
Chess Tactics and Lessons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noctie Chess Trainer free?
Noctie Chess Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess Tactics and Lessons or Noctie Chess Trainer?
Chess Tactics and Lessons is rated higher. Chess Tactics and Lessons averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5.1K ratings, while Noctie Chess Trainer averages 4.7 from 636 ratings.
Do Chess Tactics and Lessons or Noctie Chess Trainer have ads?
Neither Chess Tactics and Lessons nor Noctie Chess Trainer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Tactics and Lessons or Noctie Chess Trainer?
Chess Tactics and Lessons ships an update every 5 weeks, and Noctie Chess Trainer every 3 weeks. Most recently, Chess Tactics and Lessons was updated on November 1, 2026 and Noctie Chess Trainer on October 30, 2026.

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