# Lotus Chess vs NIHON.GATE

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NIHON.GATE at none against Lotus Chess's 4. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Lotus Chess sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. NIHON.GATE asks for nothing beyond the download.

Lotus Chess ships an update weekly, NIHON.GATE every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Lotus Chess | NIHON.GATE |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lotus-chess-trainer/id6738741464/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.1K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 86.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 242 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lotus Chess UG](https://appshunter.io/developer/1823941947) | [NIHON GATE](https://appshunter.io/developer/1849364030) |

## What reviewers say

### Lotus Chess

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lotus-chess-trainer/id6738741464)

Master chess openings, tactics, and endgames with a personalized training system. Analyze your games, identify weaknesses, and learn winning strategies against human opponents. Improve your chess skills from beginner to competitive levels.

**Highlights:** Personalized opening courses from your games, Import games from Chess.com/Lichess, Master endgames with step-by-step lessons, 100,000+ chess puzzles, Offline access to lessons, In-depth game analysis

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Subscription - 1 Month | $7.99 | per month |
| Pro Subscription - 1 Month | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro Subscription - 1 Year | $49.99 | per year |
| Pro Subscription - 1 Year | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Helps with learning openings
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Tailored advice based on actual games
- 👍 Surprisingly large catalog of openings
- 👍 Effective learning through repetition

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs in the coding of the app
- 💡 Lack of explanations for the moves

**Reported bugs**

- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices

**Requested features**

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


### NIHON.GATE

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nihongate/id6781492713)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Lotus Chess free?

Lotus Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is NIHON.GATE free?

NIHON.GATE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Lotus Chess or NIHON.GATE have ads?

Neither Lotus Chess nor NIHON.GATE shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Lotus Chess or NIHON.GATE?

Lotus Chess ships an update weekly, and NIHON.GATE every 4 days. Most recently, Lotus Chess was updated on October 3, 2026 and NIHON.GATE on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*