Comparison

A.C.E vs Chess Lab

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

Head to head
About

A.C.E

Features
Read full description

This home grown chess engine is rated ~1500ELO and is much more realistic than a chess . com bot! Test your skills and see if you can win!

About

Chess Lab

Analyze chess games with a powerful AI engine, practice against 30 difficulty levels, or watch live top-tier matches. Save and replay games, import PGNs, and customize your board view for a premium experience.

Highlights
  • AI-powered game analysis
  • 30 difficulty levels for CPU play
  • Local 2-player mode
  • Lichess spectating with channel selection
  • Save and replay games
  • PGN import
  • Customizable 2D/2.5D board views
Features
Read full description

Open the app and your previous channel is right there. Watch world-class games in your spare time. Save interesting matches and analyze the positions. Chess Lab: Arasan Engine is a chess app that combines a world-class chess engine and Lichess spectating into one beautiful, intuitive interface. ▪ Play instantly with "Web Invite" - No download or account creation required for your opponent. - Just send an invite link, and they can join immediately from their smartphone or PC browser. ▪ Diverse game modes - Web Invite Match: Easy private matches via URL. - Offline CPU Match: Play against the powerful Arasan engine (featuring the latest v26.1 / NNUE v8). Practice with 30 levels of adjustable strength. - Local 2-Player Match: Play face-to-face on a single device. ▪ Watch world chess on your smartphone. Lichess Spectating - Watch top world games right in the app, just like watching TV or manga on your phone. - Channel selection (Top Rated / Bullet / Blitz / Rapid / Classical), thumbnail/list display, and item count (10/20/30) support. - Displays board, moves, clock, playback controls, and termination reason. Rewind moves to review. - Your previous tab and channel open automatically, putting world games right in front of you during spare moments. - Save interesting games to history to use for your own learning. ▪ Extensive analysis & replay features - Powered by Arasan: Built-in UCI engine that calculates highly accurate evaluations and best moves. - Real-time Analysis: Displays evaluation bar and eval graph in real-time during games. Recalculate past games with "Analyze Position" and save the graph. The graph uses a dynamic scale that excludes mate scores and clamps at a maximum of ±15 pawns. - Candidate Moves Display: Shows top candidate moves on the board with arrows, ghost pieces, and evaluation labels. The 1st move is blue, and subsequent moves are color-coded green → yellow → red based on Loss (difference from the 1st move). Toggle visibility with the "Candidates" button. - Interactive History: Step playback, fast-forward, jump to any position, and a "Rewind" (back to start) button for efficient review. - Visualized Insights: Automatically highlights large evaluation changes (blunders). Color-codes long-thinking moves (red/yellow) to visualize time management. - PGN Import: Import external game data (PGN). ▪ Premium board experience - 2.5D & 2D Display: Switch between a tilted 2.5D perspective and a classic 2D board. - Piece Design Toggle: Choose between text pieces and detailed image pieces. - Full Promotion Support: Accurately select Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight when promoting a pawn. - Pause & Resume: Automatically saves unfinished games so you can resume later. ▪ Improved menu & settings - Redesigned bottom menu into a 3-tab layout: "Match / History / Lichess". The header switches according to the selected tab. - Tab selection state is saved, so the previous tab opens automatically on the next launch.

Screenshots

A.C.E4 screens
Chess Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: A.C.E at none against Chess Lab's 1. A.C.E also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Chess Lab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. A.C.E asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

A.C.E ships an update weekly, Chess Lab every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
A.C.E versus Chess Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterA.C.EChess Lab
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews—33.3% of reviews
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlastair McNeillkoji ozono

In-app purchases

None

A.C.E

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Chess Lab

One-time1
  • Chess Lab Pro$2.99

Questions

Is A.C.E free?
A.C.E is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Lab free?
Chess Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do A.C.E or Chess Lab have ads?
Chess Lab shows ads; A.C.E does not.
Which is updated more often, A.C.E or Chess Lab?
A.C.E ships an update weekly, and Chess Lab every 4 days. Most recently, A.C.E was updated on November 4, 2026 and Chess Lab on November 5, 2026.

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