Comparison

ChessBase Mobile Chess vs ChessScan

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

Head to head
About

ChessBase Mobile Chess

Access a vast chess game database, save and analyze your own games, and practice openings. This app offers advanced notation and sharing features, with a free tier and optional premium upgrades for more extensive cloud storage and search capabilities.

Highlights
  • Access 13+ million chess games
  • Save and sync personal game databases
  • Analyze games with built-in engine
  • Live opening book statistics
  • Create and practice opening repertoires
  • Advanced game notation and sharing
  • PGN file compatibility
Features
Read full description

ChessBase Mobile is the training, playing, and analysis platform for chess players who track their progress by the numbers. ChessBase Mobile is built by ChessBase, the company behind the standard desktop software used by world champions and club players alike for over 30 years. Solve tactics puzzles rated by difficulty and watch your Elo rise or fall with every attempt. No participation trophies, your rating reflects exactly where you stand. The tactics database draws from positions in real games, not synthetic exercises, so the patterns you train are the patterns you encounter at the board. Puzzle Fight puts you head-to-head against another player in a timed series of 24 tactical positions. Both players solve the same puzzles simultaneously. The one who solves more, faster, wins - and gains Elo. Structured competition, not a casual minigame. Play live games in Blitz and Rapid formats against opponents worldwide. Premove support, clean interface, no clutter. The ChessBase Online Database contains over 14 million games. Search by player, position, or opening. Review grandmaster games, study endgame structures, track opening trends - the same database used by professionals, accessible from your phone. Cloud analysis with several engines, including Fritz and Lc0. Basic cloud analysis with Fritz is free. For deeper analysis, scalable cloud servers are available, from Large to Gargantuan, paid per minute in ducats. Lc0 brings neural network evaluation for positions where classical engines struggle. The engine panel shows evaluation, depth, and principal variation. Build and maintain your opening repertoire in the cloud. 300 opening overviews with repertoire suggestions help you get started with new systems. A live opening book provides up-to-date statistics for every position. Three practice modes let you drill your variations until they stick. Annotate your games with comments, symbols, variations, arrows, and markings. Save games and analyses in cloud databases that synchronise across all your devices. Share positions and games via link, image, GIF, FEN, QR code, or PGN. Upload and download PGN files for full compatibility with desktop software. AI Kibitzer provides live commentary during games and puzzles — with personality. Chess-legend anecdotes, opinions, the occasional bad joke. Like a friend with too much chess trivia sitting next to you. Audio output included. Available in 27 languages. Customisable board colours, piece sets, and notation display. Light and dark mode across all screens, or set to follow your device preference. No ads. No energy systems. No artificial gating. Open the app, train, close the app. Free to use, all functions are available at no cost. ChessBase Premium unlocks expanded cloud storage and unlimited database search results. Free: search the online database (max 50 games displayed), up to 10 cloud databases (10 MB total), cloud clipping for up to 10 games. Premium: unlimited database search, up to 200 cloud databases (500 MB total), cloud clipping for up to 400 games. Privacy policy: https://en.chessbase.com/pages/security Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ChessScan

Instantly digitize handwritten chess scoresheets using AI-powered OCR. Photograph your scoresheet after a game to convert it into PGN notation for review, analysis, and sharing. Includes interactive board review and Stockfish engine analysis.

Highlights
  • AI-powered OCR for handwritten moves
  • Multi-page scoresheet support
  • Interactive board with move-by-move review
  • Stockfish engine analysis
  • PGN export and import
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Game sharing via link or QR code
Read full description

ChessScan instantly digitizes your handwritten chess scoresheets using AI-powered OCR. Simply photograph your scoresheet after a tournament game and ChessScan converts it into standard PGN notation — ready to review, analyze, and share. How It Works Scan your scoresheet with your iPhone camera AI reads your handwriting and extracts every move Review moves on an interactive chess board Get Stockfish engine analysis for every position Save, export, or share your game Powerful Features • AI-Powered OCR — Accurately reads handwritten moves from all standard scoresheet formats • Multi-Page Support — Scan scoresheets that span multiple pages and combine them into a single game • Interactive Board — Step through your game move by move on a full chess board with piece animations • Stockfish Analysis — See the best move for every position with real-time engine evaluation • Move Validation — Automatic detection of illegal or ambiguous moves with easy correction tools • Game Annotations — Add voice or text commentary to any move for coaching or personal review • PGN Export — Copy or share your game in standard PGN format compatible with Lichess, Chess.com, and all major platforms • Cloud Sync — Your games are saved securely and accessible across devices • Game Sharing — Share games with friends, students, or coaches via link or QR code • PGN Import — Import existing PGN files to review and analyze Subscription Plans • Free — 10 scans per year, 2 saved games • Standard — 100 scans per year, 50 saved games, cloud sync • Premium — Unlimited scans, unlimited storage, all features ChessScan is built for tournament players, chess coaches, and anyone who plays over-the-board chess. Stop losing your game history — digitize every scoresheet and build your personal chess library. Get instant analysis of your tournament game without need to export to Chess.com or Lichess. Share your analysis and annotations with easily with your opponent, coach, or mentor. Privacy: Your games are stored securely using Firebase. We do not sell or share your personal data. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://chessscan.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

ChessBase Mobile Chess4 screens
ChessScan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ChessScan at 5.0 against ChessBase Mobile Chess's 2.9. ChessBase Mobile Chess's advantage is ratings volume (18 vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. ChessBase Mobile Chess sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month and ChessScan sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ChessScan holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ChessBase Mobile Chess has 18 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ChessBase Mobile Chess versus ChessScan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessBase Mobile ChessChessScan
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (18 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings18 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChessBase GmbHEugene Chan

Customer experience

ChessBase Mobile Chess

All ratings18 ratings
Positive44.4%
Neutral5.6%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive40.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative59.4%

ChessScan

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ChessBase Mobile Chess

Subscriptions1
  • ChessBase Premium (Monthly)$3.991 Month
4 purchases

ChessScan

Subscriptions4
  • ChessScan Standard$4.991 Month
  • ChessScan Premium$7.991 Month
  • ChessScan Standard (Annual)$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • ChessScan Premium (Annual)$59.991 Year

Questions

Is ChessBase Mobile Chess free?
ChessBase Mobile Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChessScan free?
ChessScan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ChessBase Mobile Chess or ChessScan?
ChessScan is rated higher. ChessBase Mobile Chess averages 2.9 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while ChessScan averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do ChessBase Mobile Chess or ChessScan have ads?
Neither ChessBase Mobile Chess nor ChessScan shows ads.

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