# Learn with Forward Chess vs BookNotes

The clearest difference is update cadence: BookNotes at every 5 days against Learn with Forward Chess's fortnightly. Learn with Forward Chess's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.1). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Learn with Forward Chess sells 70 one-off in-app purchases and BookNotes 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 ships an update fortnightly, BookNotes every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Learn with Forward Chess | BookNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (340 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-with-forward-chess/id543005909/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **340** | — |
| Positive reviews | 74.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 188 MB | 31 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 18.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Forward Chess, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/543005912) | [Laross Consulting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/453213637) |

## What reviewers say

### Learn with Forward Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-with-forward-chess/id543005909)

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.

**Highlights:** Interactive chess book reader, Play through chess lines, In-app chess eBook store, Subscription for opening theory, Tactics training

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (70)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| True Lies in Chess | Free | one-time |
| CHESS INSIGHT 01/2026 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Simple Attacking Plans | $9.99 | one-time |
| Simple Chess | $10.99 | one-time |
| The Power of Pawns | $12.99 | one-time |
| My System: FastTrack Edition | $12.99 | one-time |
| Play the Mackenzie! | $12.99 | one-time |
| 1001 Ways to Checkmate | $12.99 | one-time |
| My System | $13.99 | one-time |
| The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book | $14.99 | one-time |
| Openings for Amateurs | $14.99 | one-time |
| Modern Chess Strategy | $14.99 | one-time |
| Techniques of Positional Play: 45 Practical Methods | $15.99 | one-time |
| American Dream | $16.99 | one-time |
| Zurich Chess Tournament, 1953 | $16.99 | one-time |
| Chess Endgame Calculation 1 | $16.99 | one-time |
| Chess Strategy for Club Players | $16.99 | one-time |
| 100 Endgames You Must Know | $17.99 | one-time |
| Capablanca the Great Minimalist 1 | $17.99 | one-time |
| Attacking Chess for Club Players | $17.99 | one-time |
| Openings for Amateurs - Vol. 3 | $17.99 | one-time |
| Capablancas Best Chess Endings | $17.99 | one-time |
| The Most Instructive Games | $17.99 | one-time |
| Improve Your Chess Pattern Recognition | $17.99 | one-time |
| Steps to Giant Improvement | $19.99 | one-time |
| Perpetual Chess Improvement | $19.99 | one-time |
| Playing 1.e4 e5 - A Classical Repertoire | $19.99 | one-time |
| Amateur to IM | $19.99 | one-time |
| The Complete Manual of Positional Chess | $19.99 | one-time |
| Chess Tactics from Scratch | $19.99 | one-time |
| COR: The London System | $19.99 | one-time |
| Attacking the English/Reti | $19.99 | one-time |
| COR: Accelerated Dragon | $19.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Chess Exchanges | $19.99 | one-time |
| Study on Your Own Workbook 3 | $19.99 | one-time |
| OR: Strategic Play with 1 e4 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Playing 1.d4 d5 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Reimagining 1.e4 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Beating the QG – Indian Style! | $19.99 | one-time |
| Endgame Studies You Must Know | $19.99 | one-time |
| Pawn Endgames | $19.99 | one-time |
| 100 Tactical Patterns | $19.99 | one-time |
| 100 Tactical Patterns Workbook | $19.99 | one-time |
| Drill Your Chess Strategy! | $19.99 | one-time |
| Thinking Inside the Box - Grandmaster Preparation | $19.99 | one-time |
| Chess Imbalances - a GM Guide | $21.99 | one-time |
| The Modernized Colle-Zukertort | $21.99 | one-time |
| Ding Liren's Best Games | $22.99 | one-time |
| Winning Chess Middlegames 2 | $22.99 | one-time |
| Dream Moves | $22.99 | one-time |
| Rock Solid Chess: Volume 3 | $22.99 | one-time |
| Positional Decision Making in Chess | $23.99 | one-time |
| Pump Up Your Rating | $23.99 | one-time |
| Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Woodpecker Method | $23.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Chess Defence | $23.99 | one-time |
| Associative Thinking | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Philosopher&the Housewife | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Real Paul Morphy | $23.99 | one-time |
| 50 Mistakes You Should Know | $23.99 | one-time |
| The Woodpecker Method 2 | $23.99 | one-time |
| Chess Informant 158 | $24.99 | one-time |
| A Killer Guide to Attacking Chess | $25.99 | one-time |
| School of Future Champions 1 | $25.99 | one-time |
| Chess Informant 161 | $26.99 | one-time |
| Vasily Smyslov: Volume II | $27.99 | one-time |
| Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual | $27.99 | one-time |
| Akiba Rubinstein (UCC Series) | $29.99 | one-time |
| Pushing Horizons | $29.99 | one-time |
| OR for Black after 1...e6 | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app for chess-book lovers
- 🚀 Easy to follow or analyze moves with the implemented chessboard
- 👍 Simple and effective interface
- 👍 Great to use on mobile device
- 👍 Larger board and text than Chessable

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Books are a little expensive for digital purchases
- 🐛 App crashes or freezes occasionally
- 🐛 Loses user's place when reopening the app
- 🐛 Buggy when navigating between libraries and books
- 🐛 Analysis engine sometimes doesn't recognize castling possibilities

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### BookNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booknotes-ai-quiz-flashcards/id6505067246)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full access - monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Full access - yearly | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Learn with Forward Chess free?

Learn with Forward Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is BookNotes free?

BookNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Learn with Forward Chess or BookNotes have ads?

Neither Learn with Forward Chess nor BookNotes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Learn with Forward Chess or BookNotes?

Learn with Forward Chess ships an update fortnightly, and BookNotes every 5 days. Most recently, Learn with Forward Chess was updated on October 26, 2026 and BookNotes on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*