Comparison

ChessBase Mobile Chess vs Chess DNA

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

Chess DNA

This app analyzes your chess games to identify recurring mistakes and weaknesses. It provides personalized training drills based on your actual gameplay, helping you understand and improve your strategic patterns. Track your progress across various skill dimensions to focus your learning effectively.

Highlights
  • Game analysis for progress tracking
  • Identification of recurring mistakes
  • Personalized training drills
  • Skill radar for openings, tactics, and more
  • Import games from chess.com and Lichess
  • Share game insights with others
Features
Read full description

Chess DNA turns every game you play into progress. Connect your chess.com or Lichess account and Maya, your AI chess coach, reviews each game seconds after it ends: the moment it turned, why it happened, and the move that would have saved it. YOUR CHESS DNA Eight skills scored from your real games: Openings, Tactics, Defense, Positional play, Endgames, Calculation, Time management and Resilience. See your strengths, your leaks, and exactly what to fix first. EVERY MOVE, EXPLAINED Stockfish finds the best move. Maya tells you why, in plain words, in your language. Key moments, missed tactics and the patterns that keep costing you games are marked for you. REPLAY YOUR MISTAKES Step back into your own lost positions, rewound to the move before it broke, and find the save this time. Every drill comes from a game you actually played. A TRAINING PATH BUILT FROM YOUR LEAKS Maya turns each weakness into a five-minute drill and re-orders your path after every game, so today's step is always the one that matters most. PLAY THE COACH WHO KNOWS YOU Play a full game against Maya at your own rating. She flags every move that drops material, live, while you play. SHARE YOUR BEST MOMENTS Biggest scalp, longest streak, cleanest win. Every milestone becomes a card you can share in one tap. IN YOUR LANGUAGE Chess DNA is available in 13 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Vietnamese, Hebrew, Arabic and Hindi. You can set the coach's language separately from the app's. Free to start. Bring your games, and see who you really are at the board. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://chessdna.app/privacy

Screenshots

ChessBase Mobile Chess4 screens
Chess DNA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess DNA at 100% against ChessBase Mobile Chess's 41%. Chess DNA also leads on rating (4.3 vs 2.9) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months). ChessBase Mobile Chess's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and ratings volume (18 vs 6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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 Chess DNA sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess DNA holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of ChessBase Mobile Chess's written reviews are positive against 100% of Chess DNA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessBase Mobile Chess ships an update every 6 months, Chess DNA every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ChessBase Mobile Chess versus Chess DNA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessBase Mobile ChessChess DNA
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (18 ratings)4.3 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChessBase GmbHYuval Incze

Customer experience

ChessBase Mobile Chess

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

Chess DNA

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ChessBase Mobile Chess

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

Chess DNA

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Monthly$8.991 Month
One-time2
  • 90-Day Pass$19.99
  • Founder$79.99

Questions

Is ChessBase Mobile Chess free?
ChessBase Mobile Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess DNA free?
Chess DNA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ChessBase Mobile Chess or Chess DNA?
Chess DNA is rated higher. ChessBase Mobile Chess averages 2.9 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Chess DNA averages 4.3 from 6 ratings.
Do ChessBase Mobile Chess or Chess DNA have ads?
Neither ChessBase Mobile Chess nor Chess DNA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessBase Mobile Chess or Chess DNA?
ChessBase Mobile Chess ships an update every 6 months, and Chess DNA every 2 weeks. Most recently, ChessBase Mobile Chess was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chess DNA on October 24, 2026.

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