SmallFish Chess for Stockfish vs Chess Clock by Chess.com
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?
Chess Clock by Chess.com
This free app functions as a digital chess clock, offering customizable time controls for any game. It supports various increment and delay types, multiple stages, and handicapping, making it ideal for casual play and tournaments. Adjust time on the fly and enjoy clear displays and audio alerts.
- Customizable time controls
- Fischer and Bronstein increments
- Multiple-stage time controls
- Handicapping support
- On-the-fly time adjustments
- Pause and interruption support
- Audio alerts
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Replace your chess clock with this free game timer! It's easy to use, yet fully featured to handle any time control. 100% free: no in-app purchases, no ads! Choose your time control and you're ready to play. The 2nd player presses her button to start the 1st player's clock - and the game is on! FEATURES - Large, easy-to-read buttons - Works in landscape and portrait on all devices - Quickly customize the app for one-tap access to all your favorite time controls - Time controls include base minutes per player and optional per-move delays or bonus time. The app supports both Fischer and Bronstein increments, as well as simple delays. The duration is up to you! - Supports multiple-stage time controls commonly seen in tournaments, such as "40 moves in 2 hours + game in 60 minutes." A glance at the clock shows your current stage! - Support for handicapping lets you set different time controls for each player! - You can adjust the time remaining on the fly, in the middle of your game, for either or both players! - Clock pauses automatically if the app is interrupted; manually pause the clock at any time - Pleasant sounds for buttons and "time's up" alert At Chess.com, we really do love chess, and *sometimes* we even play it offline! For times like that, we created this clock - and we hope you love it as much as we do.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess Clock by Chess.com at Free against SmallFish Chess for Stockfish's $4.99. Chess Clock by Chess.com also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 79%). SmallFish Chess for Stockfish's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Chess Clock by Chess.com is free to download; SmallFish Chess for Stockfish costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmallFish Chess for Stockfish has 4.5K ratings behind it against 338, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of SmallFish Chess for Stockfish's written reviews are positive against 91% of Chess Clock by Chess.com's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish ships an update every 8 days, Chess Clock by Chess.com every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SmallFish Chess for Stockfish | Chess Clock by Chess.com |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.5K ratings) — better | 4.6 (338 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 79.0% of reviews | 90.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4.5K — better | 338 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #26 — better | #184 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 208 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ted Wong | Chess.com, LLC |
Customer experience
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish
Chess Clock by Chess.com
User reviews
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish
From 4.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful chess engine
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 💡 Customizable board and piece styles
- 🚀 Fast move calculations
- 👍 Helpful analysis and suggestions
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Issues with board and coordinate display
- 🐛 Inconsistencies in engine difficulty levels
- 🐛 Problems with PGN file handling
- 👎 Complicated user interface
Chess Clock by Chess.com
From 338 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⏱️ Simple and easy to use
- 🔒 No ads or data collection
- 🎨 Intuitive and clean interface
- 🔊 Satisfying click sound effects
- 🕰️ Customizable time controls
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sound issues (no sound in silent mode, changed sound)
- 🔍 Difficulty reading in bright outdoor settings
- 🤖 Limited functionality (can't set different times for players)
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
Chess Clock by Chess.com
Reported bugs
2 issues- Time not always reduced when pressing the clock quickly
- Custom time settings not always saved properly
Requested features
4 requests- Add warning/countdown alerts for time running out
- Allow setting different times for each player
- Provide more theme/color options
- Add vibration feedback when pressing the clock
In-app purchases
SmallFish Chess for Stockfish
No in-app purchases
Chess Clock by Chess.com
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SmallFish Chess for Stockfish free?
Is Chess Clock by Chess.com free?
Which has better reviews, SmallFish Chess for Stockfish or Chess Clock by Chess.com?
Do SmallFish Chess for Stockfish or Chess Clock by Chess.com have ads?
Which is updated more often, SmallFish Chess for Stockfish or Chess Clock by Chess.com?
Which is more popular, SmallFish Chess for Stockfish or Chess Clock by Chess.com?
Other comparisons
