Comparison

SakataGo vs Read19

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

Head to head
About

SakataGo

Play the ancient game of Go offline with a powerful AI engine. Analyze your games, get hints, and adjust AI strength from beginner to superhuman levels. Features realistic board designs and SGF file support for easy sharing and storage.

Highlights
  • Offline KataGo AI engine
  • Adjustable AI strength
  • Game analysis and hints
  • Realistic board and stone design
  • SGF file support
  • Multiple board sizes
Features
Read full description

SakataGo – Play Go offline with KataGo Bring one of the world’s strongest Go AI engines, KataGo, directly to your iPhone or iPad — fully offline, no internet or servers required. Play, analyze, and improve your Go game anywhere, against AI opponents ranging from advanced beginner to professional and superhuman levels. Key Highlights: - Fully offline KataGo AI – play anywhere, anytime! - Adjustable AI strength: from 10‑kyu to full KataGo strength - Realistic board and stones: Hyuga Kaya boards with slate and clam shell stones - Game analysis and hints: review moves, estimate territory, and check win rates - SGF support: open, share, and store Go game files easily Please note: The hardware of the iPad 7th generation from 2019/2020 (A10 Fusion chip) is not compatible with the human imitation modes in SakataGo. The app will have a weaker performance on these old devices. Play & Learn SakataGo combines the KataGo engine with powerful analysis tools: - Step through games forward and backward, get AI hints, and see territory and win rate estimates - See color indications for move quality when reviewing games (green, yellow, orange, red, and purple according to point loss) - Store up to twenty positions in a review stack and cycle through them - Continue playing from any review position, keeping the reviewed game stored or in the clipboard - Choose between human imitation levels (10‑kyu to 9‑dan amateur) or full KataGo strength, based on current neural network models (2025/2026) - Switch opponent strength, AI player and think times during a game to test different reactions Main User Settings: - AI Player (white, black, none, or both (self-play)) - Board size (9 x 9, 13 x 13, 19 x 19) - Handicap and Komi adjustments - Choice of Japanese or Chinese rules - AI think time and hint calculation time - Optional on-screen win rate and score display - Select between two KataGo neural net models (small and large) - Switch sound on or off Realistic Design - Enjoy a beautiful, natural board and stone setup, with slight imperfections for a realistic feel. - SakataGo’s easy-to-use interface focuses on essentials so you can focus on playing and improving your game. Game Sharing & SGF Support - Open SGF files from the Files app, from the clipboard or via Share Extension - Share games or positions via clipboard or compatible apps, or save to file - Note: variants in SGF files are not supported; SakataGo’s main focus is offline AI gameplay and review. However, by using SakataGo's review stack and clipboard functionalities, you can easily play out variants and return to former positions. Why "SakataGo"? The app name was chosen both in honor of Eio Sakata (坂田 栄男, 1920-2010) and KataGo (*2019), combining the names of one of the leading professionals of the 20th century with today's leading Go playing AI.

About

Read19

Features
Read full description

Read19 brings cloud-powered KataGo analysis to iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Play directly against AI and watch win rate and score lead update move by move. Import SGF records to explore candidate moves, principal variations, ownership, and whole-game trends. Read19 flags inaccuracies, mistakes, and blunders by win-rate and point loss, so you can focus on the moves that changed the game. Your games and reviews stay on device. Sign in to sync privately with iCloud across devices and export standard SGF files. Read19 prefers secure WSS and falls back to HTTPS on restricted networks. Advanced users can connect to a compatible backend with custom HTTPS/WSS endpoints and an optional Bearer token. Free includes 100,000 visits each calendar month with the Fast model. Plus unlocks the stronger Balanced model, more concurrency, and 2,000,000 monthly visits. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

SakataGo4 screens
Read194 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Read19 at Free against SakataGo's $8.99. Read19 also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks). SakataGo's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On ads, device support 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

Read19 is free to download; SakataGo costs $8.99 up front. Read19 sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. SakataGo asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SakataGo ships an update every 5 weeks, Read19 every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SakataGo versus Read19: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSakataGoRead19
Price$8.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size554 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTorsten Hefer思程 陈

In-app purchases

None

SakataGo

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Read19

Subscriptions1
  • KataGo Review Plus$6.991 Month
One-time3
  • 300K Visits$1.99
  • 1M Visits$3.99
  • 3M Visits$9.99

Questions

Is SakataGo free?
SakataGo costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Read19 free?
Read19 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SakataGo or Read19 have ads?
Neither SakataGo nor Read19 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SakataGo or Read19?
SakataGo ships an update every 5 weeks, and Read19 every 2 days. Most recently, SakataGo was updated on October 24, 2026 and Read19 on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons