Chessbook vs ClassNotes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chessbook
Build a personalized chess opening repertoire with spaced repetition training. Identify weaknesses, learn optimal moves based on master game data, and avoid obscure lines. Review your online games for mistakes and master middlegame plans.
- Custom opening repertoire creation
- Spaced repetition training
- Automatic gap identification
- Avoid obscure moves
- Handle transpositions
- Review online game mistakes
- Learn middlegame plans
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Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof opening repertoire. Key features: • Create a custom repertoire • Train with spaced repetition • Find gaps automatically • Avoid obscure moves • Handle transpositions • Find mistakes in your online games • Fast & modern interface “A fun and simple way to build an opening repertoire based on probabilities of most likely lines. You will actually learn the moves that will happen on the board!” —Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn FIND THE GAPS IN YOUR REPERTOIRE BEFORE YOUR OPPONENTS DO Chessbook calculates your coverage per opening so you always know what to work on. PICK THE BEST MOVES TO MAXIMIZE YOUR WIN-RATE Weigh up your options by looking at stats from master games, engine evaluation and results at your level. ONLY SPEND TIME ON THE MOVES YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE Most books and courses are written by masters for masters. Chessbook lets you avoid obscure grandmaster lines and focus your effort on the moves that are common at your level. TARGETED PRACTICE MEANS YOU'LL NEVER FORGET A MOVE Chessbook uses spaced repetition, a scientifically proven technique to memorize openings quickly and thoroughly. COLLECT ALL YOUR OPENINGS IN ONE PLACE Nobody gets their whole repertoire from a single course or book. Chessbook lets you combine openings from multiple sources to create a custom repertoire just for you. REVIEW YOUR ONLINE GAMES FOR OPENING MISTAKES Get instant feedback on how well you're sticking to your repertoire. Chessbook supports both Lichess and Chess.com LEARN MIDDLEGAME PLANS FOR ANY OPENING See how top players handle the positions that result from the openings you play. CHESSBOOK PRO Chessbook Pro gives you the ability to add unlimited moves to your repertoire! Free users can add 400 moves. Terms of Use: https://chessbook.com/terms-and-conditions.html Privacy Policy: https://chessbook.com/privacy-policy.html
ClassNotes
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ClassNotes is a handwriting-first notebook for iPad, built so what you write is exactly what stays on the page. WRITE, DON'T FIGHT YOUR APP Your Apple Pencil ink is recorded exactly as you draw it — no smoothing, no reshaping, nothing "cleaned up" behind your back. Turn on live beautification only if you want your handwriting typeset as you go. SMART TOOLS, ON YOUR TERMS • Hold a shape steady and watch it snap into a clean line, circle, rectangle, or triangle — still adjustable until you lift the pencil • A real two-finger ruler for straight edges • Paint bucket fill that flows under your ink, not over it • Scribble to erase • Sticky tape, text boxes, and photo/file drops • Full undo/redo history, per page NOVA, YOUR AI STUDY PARTNER Circle anything — a diagram, an equation, a paragraph — and ask NOVA about it. It sees exactly what you circled, not just the text, so it can actually explain a graph or work through the diagram you drew. MADE FOR NOTEBOOKS 28 cover designs, 14 paper templates, custom paper and line colors, multiple page sizes and orientations, and a dedicated whiteboard page for freeform sketching. FIND ANYTHING Search across typed text and your own handwriting — even pages you never touched with a keyboard. STAYS IN SYNC Signs in with your ClassMate account. Notebooks, pages, and attachments sync automatically, and pages you write on iPad show up — searchable, zoomable — right in the ClassMate app. READ ANYWHERE The iPhone companion app is a fast, read-only viewer for your whole library — perfect for a quick look between classes. Free to use. No paywall on the notebook.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ClassNotes at none against Chessbook's 2. Chessbook's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Chessbook sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. ClassNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chessbook ships an update every 3 days, ClassNotes weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chessbook | ClassNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (2.1K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 82.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.1K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 118 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chessbook | Tony Aboud |
Bugs and requests
Chessbook
Reported bugs
3 issues- App not working on iPad
- Login issues on iPhone
- Inability to delete move sequences
Requested features
4 requests- Pause after completing move sequences
- Clearer instructions for beginners
- Customizable notification settings
- Option to input and practice specific positions
ClassNotes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chessbook
- Chessbook Pro - Monthly$7.991 Month
- Chessbook Pro - Annual$79.991 Year
ClassNotes
No in-app purchases









