Learn with Forward Chess vs Hardcover.app
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Learn with Forward Chess
This app is an interactive reader for chess books, allowing users to play through chess lines directly within the book. It offers a vast in-app store with over 100 chess eBooks and a growing collection of opening theory periodicals via subscription.
- Interactive chess book reader
- Play through chess lines
- In-app chess eBook store
- Subscription for opening theory
- Tactics training
Read full descriptionHide full description
Forward Chess is an Interactive reader of chess books. Play through the lines in the book, or try your own, it's like having a chess board and a chess book in the palm of your hand. Forward Chess includes the ability to purchase over 100 chess eBooks through our In-App Store. Check it out. Our collection is growing weekly! Forward Chess also contains the following subscription options - ChessPublishing's monthly periodical for the latest in opening theory - We offer a choice of 4 different auto-renewing subscriptions - 1 Section for 1 Year @ $19.99 USD - 3 Sections for 1 Year @ $39.99 USD - 6 Sections for 1 Year @ $69.99 USD - 12 Sections for 1 Year @ $99.99 USD - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - Links to Your Privacy Policy and Terms of Use - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. Forward Chess takes your privacy seriously See our privacy policy here: https://forwardchess.com/privacy-policy and term of use here: https://forwardchess.com/terms-of-service
Hardcover.app
This app helps you organize and discover books. Track what you've read, create custom lists, and see what friends are reading. Set reading goals and share your thoughts on books.
- Track read and to-read books
- Organize with lists and tags
- See friends' reading activity
- Discover trending books
- Rate and review books
- Set reading goals
- Track reading statistics
Read full descriptionHide full description
Hardcover is a book tracking app with a social side, built for readers, not algorithms. Add books you’ve read or want to read. Keep your library tidy with lists and tags. See what your friends are reading, explore trending picks, and discover hidden gems through curated lists. Rate, review, and share your thoughts. Make your profile public, private, or friends-only—your reading, your rules. Set goals, track your stats, and find your reading rhythm. We use Apple's standard Terms of Service (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Learn with Forward Chess at 4.8 against Hardcover.app's 4.2. Learn with Forward Chess also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months) and review sentiment (75% vs 52%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Learn with Forward Chess sells 70 one-off in-app purchases and Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Learn with Forward Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn with Forward Chess has 334 ratings behind it against 66, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Learn with Forward Chess's written reviews are positive against 52% of Hardcover.app's.
Learn with Forward Chess ships an update fortnightly, Hardcover.app every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Learn with Forward Chess | Hardcover.app |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (334 ratings) — better | 4.2 (66 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.8% of reviews — better | 52.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 334 — better | 66 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 188 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Forward Chess, LLC | Hardcover LLC |
Customer experience
Learn with Forward Chess
Hardcover.app
Bugs and requests
Learn with Forward Chess
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues when changing devices
- Books not properly filing into libraries
- App crashing when trying to add books to libraries
- Losing current position when switching between full screen and normal view
- Inconsistent behavior when navigating through a book
Requested features
7 requests- Allow users to upload their own book PDFs
- Implement spaced repetition learning program within books
- Improve search and filtering options in the book store
- Add more language support beyond English books
- Provide better syncing of purchases across devices
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Improve text formatting and readability
- Implement highlighting, bookmarking, and note-taking features
Hardcover.app
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Learn with Forward Chess
- True Lies in ChessFree
- CHESS INSIGHT 01/2026$2.99
- Simple Attacking Plans$9.99
Show 67 moreShow fewer
- Simple Chess$10.99
- The Power of Pawns$12.99
- My System: FastTrack Edition$12.99
- Play the Mackenzie!$12.99
- 1001 Ways to Checkmate$12.99
- My System$13.99
- The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book$14.99
- Openings for Amateurs$14.99
- Modern Chess Strategy$14.99
- Techniques of Positional Play: 45 Practical Methods$15.99
- American Dream$16.99
- Zurich Chess Tournament, 1953$16.99
- Chess Endgame Calculation 1$16.99
- Chess Strategy for Club Players$16.99
- 100 Endgames You Must Know$17.99
- Capablanca the Great Minimalist 1$17.99
- Attacking Chess for Club Players$17.99
- Openings for Amateurs - Vol. 3$17.99
- Capablancas Best Chess Endings$17.99
- The Most Instructive Games$17.99
- Improve Your Chess Pattern Recognition$17.99
- Steps to Giant Improvement$19.99
- Perpetual Chess Improvement$19.99
- Playing 1.e4 e5 - A Classical Repertoire$19.99
- Amateur to IM$19.99
- The Complete Manual of Positional Chess$19.99
- Chess Tactics from Scratch$19.99
- COR: The London System$19.99
- Attacking the English/Reti$19.99
- COR: Accelerated Dragon$19.99
- Mastering Chess Exchanges$19.99
- Study on Your Own Workbook 3$19.99
- OR: Strategic Play with 1 e4$19.99
- Playing 1.d4 d5$19.99
- Reimagining 1.e4$19.99
- Beating the QG – Indian Style!$19.99
- Endgame Studies You Must Know$19.99
- Pawn Endgames$19.99
- 100 Tactical Patterns$19.99
- 100 Tactical Patterns Workbook$19.99
- Drill Your Chess Strategy!$19.99
- Thinking Inside the Box - Grandmaster Preparation$19.99
- Chess Imbalances - a GM Guide$21.99
- The Modernized Colle-Zukertort$21.99
- Ding Liren's Best Games$22.99
- Winning Chess Middlegames 2$22.99
- Dream Moves$22.99
- Rock Solid Chess: Volume 3$22.99
- Positional Decision Making in Chess$23.99
- Pump Up Your Rating$23.99
- Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide$23.99
- The Woodpecker Method$23.99
- Mastering Chess Defence$23.99
- Associative Thinking$23.99
- The Philosopher&the Housewife$23.99
- The Real Paul Morphy$23.99
- 50 Mistakes You Should Know$23.99
- The Woodpecker Method 2$23.99
- Chess Informant 158$24.99
- A Killer Guide to Attacking Chess$25.99
- School of Future Champions 1$25.99
- Chess Informant 161$26.99
- Vasily Smyslov: Volume II$27.99
- Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual$27.99
- Akiba Rubinstein (UCC Series)$29.99
- Pushing Horizons$29.99
- OR for Black after 1...e6$29.99
Hardcover.app
- Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
- Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Learn with Forward Chess free?
Is Hardcover.app free?
Which has better reviews, Learn with Forward Chess or Hardcover.app?
Do Learn with Forward Chess or Hardcover.app have ads?
Which is updated more often, Learn with Forward Chess or Hardcover.app?
Other comparisons
