Comparison

8bit Chess vs ChessGrind

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

Head to head
About

8bit Chess

Master chess tactics with over 10,000 puzzles in a classic 8-bit style. Features include various puzzle types, difficulty levels, and a hint system. Play offline or against an AI.

Highlights
  • 10,000+ curated chess puzzles
  • 7 difficulty levels
  • Mate in X and themed puzzles
  • Endgame and Opening puzzles
  • Freeplay against ChessJS AI
  • Offline play
  • Hint system
Features
Read full description

8bit Chess - Chess Puzzles Training Master chess tactics with thousands of puzzles in classic 8-bit style! FEATURES: • 10,000+ curated chess puzzles • 7 difficulty levels (600-2500+ rating) • Mate in X puzzles • 10+ themed puzzles • Endgame puzzles • Opening puzzles • Freeplay against ChessJS AI after completing a puzzle • 100+ Beautiful retro themes (with many more to come!) • Hint system for learning • Progress tracking • Offline play PREMIUM UPGRADE: • Remove all ads • Unlock all themes • Unlimited Hints • Support indie development Perfect for beginners learning tactics or masters staying sharp. Download now and become a chess puzzle master!

About

ChessGrind

Features
Read full description

ChessGrind is a tracker for chess players who want to improve. Log your games, see your real numbers, build your opening repertoire, and keep a list of the mistakes that cost you, with a fix for each. No account, no tracking. Everything lives on your device and in your private iCloud, and syncs across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. A GAME JOURNAL THAT ADDS UP Log every game with the result, the side you played, the time control, the opponent, and the opening. Filter by result and watch the journal grow into your record. YOUR REAL NUMBERS ChessGrind computes your win rate and your record split by color and by time control, so you learn that you score well with White in rapid but leak points in blitz as Black. The numbers come only from the games you log. A RATING CHART YOU CONTROL Note your rating whenever you check it and ChessGrind plots the trend. Keep separate lines for Chess.com blitz, Lichess rapid, or your over the board rating, and see the change over the last thirty days at a glance. A STUDY ROUTINE AND A STREAK Log study blocks by theme: tactics, endgames, openings, strategy, and game review. A streak counts the days you keep it up, a two week strip shows your rhythm, and a chart breaks down where your time actually goes. Turn on a daily reminder to protect the streak. THE LEAK LIST YOU ACTUALLY FIX Name the mistakes that keep costing you games. Give each one a category, the pattern behind it, and the fix you will use instead, then advance it from open to working to fixed with a tap. This is the feature that turns review into progress. OPENING REPERTOIRE Save the openings you play with the main line, the ECO code, and the plans and ideas behind them. Pull one into a game entry with a tap. EXPORT WHAT IS YOURS (PRO) Generate a one page PDF performance report with your record, win rates, streaks, rating, and open leaks, ready to print or share with a coach. Export your games, ratings, and leaks as CSV files with ISO dates for any spreadsheet. ON EVERY DEVICE ChessGrind syncs across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud. The iPad and Mac layout puts your dashboard and charts side by side. FREE VS PRO Free includes 20 games and 3 leaks with every tool: the journal, win rate stats, the rating chart, study streaks, and opening repertoire. ChessGrind Pro unlocks an unlimited game journal, unlimited leak tracking, and the PDF and CSV exports. ChessGrind Pro is a subscription at $3.99 USD per month or $24.99 USD per year, or a one time Lifetime unlock at $59.99 USD. Pro subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation, and the subscription renews unless you turn off auto renew at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions; cancellation applies at the end of the current period. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

8bit Chess4 screens
ChessGrind4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ChessGrind at none against 8bit Chess's shown. 8bit Chess's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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. 8bit Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ChessGrind sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
8bit Chess versus ChessGrind: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter8bit ChessChessGrind
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKrishan PanduwawalaInnovaLabWorks

In-app purchases

1 purchases

8bit Chess

One-time1
  • 8bit Chess Puzzles Premium$3.99
3 purchases

ChessGrind

Subscriptions2
  • ChessGrind Pro$3.991 Month
  • ChessGrind Pro$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • ChessGrind Lifetime$2.99

Questions

Is 8bit Chess free?
8bit Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChessGrind free?
ChessGrind is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do 8bit Chess or ChessGrind have ads?
8bit Chess shows ads; ChessGrind does not.

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