Comparison

Chess Scanner vs Scan Chess Board AI

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

Head to head
About

Chess Scanner

Digitize your chess games by scanning score sheets. Extract moves, correct errors with suggestions, and export games as PGN. Analyze your games on Lichess or Chess.com.

Highlights
  • Scan chess score sheets
  • Digitize games from images
  • Correct recognized moves
  • Export games as PGN
  • Analyze in Lichess/Chess.com
  • Categorize games by tournament
Features
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Turn your handwritten chess score sheets into digital games in seconds. Take a photo of your score sheet, and Chess Scanner reads the moves, generates the game and shows it next to your handwriting, so you can check every move at a glance. HOW IT WORKS • Scan the score sheet with the camera or pick a photo from your library • The move grid, the notation and the last move are detected automatically • Generate the game with Basic (fast and reliable) or Pro (for hard to read score sheets) • Check the result: each move is shown next to the handwritten field, and the color shows how confident the recognition is • Misread moves are corrected automatically where possible, and uncertain moves are marked for a quick look • Fix a move in seconds with suggestions sorted by probability, filtered by piece if needed ORGANIZE AND SHARE • All games in one place, with search and filters by tournament, round, result and favorites • Group games into tournaments and add player names, ratings, date and round • Export single games or whole tournaments as PGN, or import your existing PGN files • Open games in Lichess or Chess.com • Analyze games and see the accuracy of both players, their mistakes and the evaluation over the game • Find your games with Spotlight search FOR TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS Add the score sheets of both players. Both are used to generate the game, which makes the result even more reliable. Long games can span several sheets. MADE FOR EVERY SCREEN Works on iPhone and iPad, with the games list and the game side by side on iPad, and with dedicated layouts for iPhone Duo, folded and unfolded. SUPPORTED NOTATIONS • English: N/B/R/Q/K • German: S/L/T/D/K • Dutch: P/L/T/D/K • Spanish / Italian: C/A/T/D/R • French: C/F/T/D/R • Portuguese: C/B/T/D/R • Czech / Slovak: J/S/V/D/K • Turkish: A/F/K/V/Ş Other notations can be set up as well; they are read based on a similar supported notation, so recognition may be less accurate. To generate a game, the score sheet images are sent to our servers. Generation usually takes a few seconds, depending on the legibility, the length of the game and your connection. PREMIUM • Pro generation for hard to read score sheets • Score sheets of the second player • Game analysis • PGN export • Open games in Lichess and Chess.com • Cloud synchronisation of your games • Unlimited chessboard scans The core features stay free. Questions or suggestions? Write to steffen@chessscanner.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://chessscanner.com/eula

About

Scan Chess Board AI

Features
Read full description

Scan Chess Board AI turns any real or digital chess position into an instant, high-quality engine analysis. Simply take a photo of the board or upload one from your device—and the app automatically recognizes the pieces, rebuilds the position, and computes the best move using a strong chess engine. Perfect for players who want to study openings, analyze over-the-board games, review puzzles, or understand critical positions from tournaments and videos.

Screenshots

Chess Scanner4 screens
Scan Chess Board AI3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess Scanner at Free against Scan Chess Board AI's $6.99. Chess Scanner also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Scan Chess Board AI's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and iOS requirement (14.0.0 vs 16.0). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Chess Scanner is free to download; Scan Chess Board AI costs $6.99 up front. Chess Scanner sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Scan Chess Board AI asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, Scan Chess Board AI every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Chess Scanner versus Scan Chess Board AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess ScannerScan Chess Board AI
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating3.9 (22 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size157 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteffen Ratzke von StoyentinBlupry

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Chess Scanner

Subscriptions5
  • Weekly Plan3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Monthly Plan$2.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan$4.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Yearly Plan$14.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan2 variants$22.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium$89.99
None

Scan Chess Board AI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess Scanner free?
Chess Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scan Chess Board AI free?
Scan Chess Board AI costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Chess Scanner or Scan Chess Board AI have ads?
Neither Chess Scanner nor Scan Chess Board AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Scanner or Scan Chess Board AI?
Chess Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, and Scan Chess Board AI every 6 weeks. Most recently, Chess Scanner was updated on November 8, 2026 and Scan Chess Board AI on October 30, 2026.

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