Comparison

Lotus Chess vs Chessly

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

Head to head
About

Lotus Chess

Learn chess openings, analyze your games, and master endgames with interactive lessons and personalized training plans. This app adapts to your skill level, from beginner to advanced, offering insights based on your own gameplay and millions of real-player games.

Highlights
  • Personalized opening courses from your games
  • Learn 150+ chess openings
  • Interactive lessons for beginners
  • Instant game analysis with mistake identification
  • 60+ endgame lessons and practice positions
  • Daily personalized workout plans
  • Offline access to opening and endgame lessons
Features
Read full description

Learn chess the fast way. Lotus Chess teaches you 150+ openings, analyses your games instantly and shows you how to close out endgames, in just a few minutes a day. From complete beginners to 2300 Elo players. Rated 4.8/5. Most apps teach engine-perfect theory. Lotus Chess teaches the lines that win against real people. OPENINGS, BUILT FROM YOUR GAMES • Connect Chess.com or Lichess and get a personal opening course from your own games • Learn 150+ openings for White and Black • Train every line hands-on until it becomes natural • Lines picked from 100,000,000+ games for the best winning chances against real players FOUNDATIONS: LEARN CHESS FROM SCRATCH • New to chess? Start with the rules and basic ideas, step by step • 150+ short, interactive lessons, no experience needed INSTANT GAME ANALYSIS • See your accuracy for every game • Find your mistakes and blunders, move by move • Understand exactly where you lost the game ENDGAMES • 60+ lessons, from basic checkmates to advanced techniques • 180+ positions to play out against a human-like engine • Learn to close out winning positions DAILY WORKOUT • A personal training plan, ready every day • Build a daily chess habit with streaks • 100,000+ chess puzzles that match your level • Opening and endgame lessons work offline FREE AND PRO Start for free: • The first section of Foundations and Endgames • The first 2 sections and 2 crushing lines of every opening • 10 puzzles and 1 game analysis per day Lotus Chess Pro unlocks everything: • All openings, sections and crushing lines • The full Foundations and Endgame courses, with all training positions • Unlimited puzzles and game analysis Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account. Your subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. BUILT BY CHESS PLAYERS Lotus Chess was created by two brothers who started playing chess at age four. After building Math42, a math learning app with over 6 million downloads, they set out to build the best way to learn chess. Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: https://www.lotus-chess.com/privacy-policy

About

Chessly

Master chess with structured courses, interactive lessons, and drills created by an International Master. Learn openings, tactics, strategy, and endgames with video explanations and practice tools. Track your progress and earn XP to stay motivated.

Highlights
  • Structured chess courses
  • Interactive lessons and drills
  • Video explanations by IM Levy Rozman
  • Study openings, tactics, strategy, endgames
  • Progress tracking and XP system
  • Designed for beginners and improving players
Features
Read full description

Chessly is your go-to chess training app built by IM Levy “GothamChess” Rozman. Designed for beginners and improving players alike, Chessly makes mastering chess simple, fun, and effective. With structured courses, interactive lessons, drills, and videos, you’ll build real skills step by step. Study openings, tactics, strategy, and endgames with clear video explanations paired with practice tools that reinforce what you learn. Track your progress, earn XP, and stay motivated as you climb the ranks. Whether you’re new to the game or aiming to boost your rating, Chessly brings world-class chess education right to your fingertips. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://chessly.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Lotus Chess4 screens
Chessly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chessly at daily against Lotus Chess's weekly. Lotus Chess's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 21). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Lotus Chess sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Chessly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Lotus Chess against 4.7 for Chessly. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lotus Chess has 1.1K ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Lotus Chess's written reviews are positive against 90% of Chessly's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lotus Chess ships an update weekly, Chessly daily. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Lotus Chess versus Chessly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLotus ChessChessly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.1K ratings) — better4.7 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews86.4% of reviews90.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.1K — better21
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size229 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLotus Chess UGChessly

Customer experience

Lotus Chess

All ratings1,101 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews265 reviews
Positive86.4%
Neutral7.5%
Negative6.0%

Chessly

All ratings21 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.8%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.8%
Negative4.8%

Bugs and requests

Lotus Chess

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Library to explain the WHY behind the moves
  • Link to an online library
  • Ability to remove pre-selected openings
  • Review of daily correspondence games

Chessly

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Lotus Chess

Subscriptions4
  • Pro Subscription - 1 Month7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Pro Subscription - 1 Month7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Pro Subscription - 1 Year7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Subscription - 1 Year7 Days trial$69.991 Year
2 purchases

Chessly

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Lotus Chess free?
Lotus Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chessly free?
Chessly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lotus Chess or Chessly?
Lotus Chess is rated higher. Lotus Chess averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Chessly averages 4.7 from 21 ratings.
Do Lotus Chess or Chessly have ads?
Neither Lotus Chess nor Chessly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lotus Chess or Chessly?
Lotus Chess ships an update weekly, and Chessly daily. Most recently, Lotus Chess was updated on October 30, 2026 and Chessly on October 31, 2026.

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