SmallFish Chess for Stockfish vs PatternMate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish
This app leverages the powerful Stockfish chess engine to help you improve your game. Analyze your matches with detailed comments, study the engine's thought process, and track your progress. It offers advanced features like blunder checking and graphical evaluations without any ads or in-app purchases.
- Blunder checking
- Multiple line analysis
- Graphical game evaluation
- Game previews
- Dark mode support
- Endgame tablebase
- Opening books
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SmallFish is a project based on the Stockfish chess engine. It uses the latest Stockfish chess engine (Stockfish 18.0), rated about Elo 3600+ and is the strongest chess app on the App Store. SmallFish offers you three distinct ways to improve your game. You can review your game with comments, or study how Stockfish thinks, or track your progress. No in-app purchase, no ads, no data tracking. SmallFish is simply amazing. It's small but powerful, you'll be surprised. Features --------- - Blunder checking - Multiple line analysis - Graphical evaluation of your game - Game previews - Dark mode support - Endgame tablebase - Opening books Why not just download and try it yourself?
PatternMate
Sharpen your chess vision with over 51,000 offline tactics puzzles. Choose from three training modes to improve your rating, test your limits, or focus on specific weaknesses. Enjoy an ad-free, subscription-free experience with all puzzles included.
- 51,200 chess puzzles
- Three game modes: Tactics, Survival, Practice
- Adaptive puzzle difficulty
- Over 40 tactic themes
- Customizable practice rating range
- Offline functionality
- No ads or subscriptions
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Recognize tactical patterns, then play the winning move. Train with 51,200 included puzzles, spaced repetition, Tactics, Survival, Storm, Practice and Vision, and a guided daily routine. Play offline, without an account, ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases. Customize the board, pieces, sounds and haptics. Two iOS widgets show your streak and tactics rating. Game Center needs an internet connection.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is chart position: SmallFish Chess for Stockfish at #16 against PatternMate's unranked. SmallFish Chess for Stockfish also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.4). PatternMate's advantage is review sentiment (90% vs 79%) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On update cadence, ads, 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
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish costs $4.99 and PatternMate $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish ships an update every 8 days, PatternMate weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SmallFish Chess for Stockfish | PatternMate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $3.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.5K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 79.0% of reviews | 90.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4.5K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #16 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 208 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ted Wong | Max Schneider |
Customer experience
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish
PatternMate
Bugs and requests
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when setting up positions
- Incorrect move suggestions and engine evaluations
- Freezing and unresponsiveness during gameplay
- Issues with board and coordinate display alignment
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for variations and multiple analysis lines
- Implement a two-player mode with piece flipping
- Add PGN file sorting, searching, and folder support
- Provide an option to hide the board and show captured pieces
- Integrate with chess.com and other platforms
PatternMate
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish
No in-app purchases
PatternMate
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SmallFish Chess for Stockfish free?
Is PatternMate free?
Do SmallFish Chess for Stockfish or PatternMate have ads?
Which is updated more often, SmallFish Chess for Stockfish or PatternMate?
Other comparisons
