Comparison

Chess Log vs PocketPGN

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

Head to head
About

Chess Log

Catalog, organize, and analyze your chess games with a clean interface. Save and annotate moves, explore openings, and get move suggestions to improve your play. Elevate your chess strategy with powerful analytical tools.

Highlights
  • Game catalog and organization
  • Detailed move annotation
  • Opening explorer
  • Move suggestions
  • PGN editor
Read full description

The ultimate chess game tracker, analyzer, and PGN editor. Easily catalog, organize, and analyze your chess games with a clean, intuitive interface. Save every game, tag key moments and revisit your moves to track improvement. Whether studying openings, mastering endgames or refining tactics, Chess Log provides powerful tools to elevate your game. Key features: - Game Catalog: Store and organize all your games in one place. - Detailed Annotation: Tag and annotate moves. - Opening Explorer: Compare your moves to peers and masters alike. - Move Suggestions: See top moves and find out where you or your opponent went wrong.

About

PocketPGN

Features
Read full description

PocketPGN is the ultimate minimalist chess companion, designed for pure calculation and focus. Step away from the noise, notifications, and clutter of traditional chess apps, and immerse yourself in a beautifully crafted environment made specifically for studying and organizing your chess games. Whether you are analyzing a complex endgame, reviewing your own tournament games, or studying classic master brilliancies, PocketPGN provides a distraction-free board that lets your mind do the work. CORE FEATURES • Minimalist, Distraction-Free Design: No ads, no social feeds, just you and the board. • Organize Your Repertoire: Create folders to manage your openings, endgames, and master games. • Seamless Integrations: Import your games instantly using just your Lichess or Chess.com username. • Powerful PGN Parsing: Fully supports complex variations, comments, and nested sub-lines. • Beautiful Image Exports: Share any position as a stunning, high-resolution image with your friends or coaches. • Free Customization: Multiple gorgeous board colors (Brown, Blue Grey, Midnight Blue) and premium piece sets included completely free. POCKETPGN PRO Take your study to the next level with a single, one-time purchase. No subscriptions, ever. • Unlimited Storage: Bypass the free tier limits and store thousands of games and folders. • iCloud Sync: Securely backup and restore your entire library across all your iOS devices. • Bulk Match Import: Import up to 50 games at once directly from your online match history. • Clean Image Exports: Remove watermarks from all your exported board images. Elevate your chess study today with PocketPGN.

Screenshots

Chess Log4 screens
PocketPGN4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: PocketPGN at 15.6 against Chess Log's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Log ships an update every 6 weeks, PocketPGN every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Chess Log versus PocketPGN: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess LogPocketPGN
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size198 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuis De ZutterAPPXIDIAN LABS

In-app purchases

None

Chess Log

No in-app purchases

None

PocketPGN

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess Log free?
Chess Log is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PocketPGN free?
PocketPGN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Chess Log or PocketPGN have ads?
Neither Chess Log nor PocketPGN shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Log or PocketPGN?
Chess Log ships an update every 6 weeks, and PocketPGN every 5 weeks. Most recently, Chess Log was updated on November 4, 2026 and PocketPGN on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons