Comparison

Go Lab vs Notation

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

Head to head
About

Go Lab

This app offers a comprehensive Go experience, powered by the advanced KataGo AI. Play, analyze, and study the game on various board sizes, with different AI models and learning modes for all skill levels. It supports offline play, OGS integration, and detailed game analysis.

Highlights
  • KataGo AI integration
  • Multiple board sizes (9x9, 13x13, 19x19)
  • Offline play and local multiplayer
  • Beginner lesson mode with AI explanation
  • Real-time candidate move display
  • Detailed blunder analysis reports
  • Study mode for variations and branches
Features
Read full description

Play, review, and study. A KataGo Go app for 9x9, 13x13, and 19x19 boards. [Powered by KataGo] OGS spectating and games supported In addition to the bundled compact model b6c96, the lineup includes the powerful b18c384nbt and a 'human playing style' model (HumanSL) trained on human game records. Available at no extra charge. b18c384nbt runs with CoreML and shines in 19x19 games and analysis. It supports everything from candidate moves and position display during games to post-game blunder analysis reports. HumanSL lets you play opponents close to your level from 20 kyu to 9 dan, and you can switch between modern and classic styles (pre-AlphaGo style). Main features - CPU play and local two-player games: Works offline. - Beginner lesson mode: The Live2D character 'Sui' explains Go basics on a 9x9 board. Learn basic rules such as liberties, atari, capturing stones, territory, and ko through hands-on practice by tapping the board to answer. - Dead stone confirmation screen: AI suggests dead stones at the end of the game. Tap the board to correct life and death, and adjust AI sensitivity with a slider. - Candidate move display: Shows KataGo's top 10 moves in real time with win rate and position estimates. - Position graph: Displays the position updated after every move as a graph. - Territory estimate display: Shows Black and White territory on the board (toggle on/off). - Blunder analysis report: After a game, review moves that worsened your position. Shows AI-recommended moves, variation diagrams, and point/win-rate differences for each position, and you can copy and share them as images. - Study mode: Create branches by playing variations from any position. Supports adding PVs (reading sequences) and comparing positions in a study tree. - Zen mode: Quietly fades out UI other than the board so you can focus on the game. Switch from the 'Zen' button at the top right of the board. - OGS spectating and games: Log in with an OGS account to watch games worldwide in real time or play against players and bots. - SGF import: Import game records by selecting a file or pasting text. - Tsumego mode: Includes 347 problems from Gengen Gokyo. - Thinking time visualization: Shows thinking time for each move. Long thinks are highlighted in red and yellow. - Full-screen support: Play on an edge-to-edge board (ideal for 19x19). Official website: https://apps.vlabos.com/go/

About

Notation

This app provides in-depth chess coaching by explaining the 'why' behind moves, not just the 'what'. It uses advanced on-device analysis and multiple coaching frameworks to offer personalized game reviews, player profiles, and opponent scouting.

Highlights
  • On-device chess analysis with Stockfish 18
  • Multiple grandmaster-level coaching frameworks
  • Detailed game reviews and player profiles
  • Opponent scouting and matchup reports
  • Play with physical chess boards via Bluetooth
  • Privacy-focused design with no tracking
Features
Read full description

Notation is a chess coaching app that teaches you why — not just what. Every chess evaluation comes from Stockfish 18, running entirely on your device. Every pattern, weakness, and tactical motif is detected by hand-tuned on-device classifiers built on decades of coaching theory. The language model's only job is the last step: explaining what the analysis found, in plain English, like a coach sitting next to you. The chess is never generated. It's explained. THREE COACHING FRAMEWORKS Notation is the first chess app to operationalise multiple grandmaster-level coaching frameworks as deterministic measurement: • Dan Heisman's seven positional elements — Mobility, Vulnerability, Centre Control, Coordination, Speed, Time, Flexibility — measured per-position with super-GM baselines • Jeremy Silman's coaching emphasis frames — fifteen frames choosing what to teach at each moment • Jacob Aagaard's positional predicates — Where are the weaknesses? Which is the worst-placed piece? What's the opponent's plan? All computed on-device. All deterministic. The same principles human coaches have used for decades, encoded into classifiers that run before the language model ever sees the position. GAME REVIEW Every game gets a coherent on-device review — no API key needed, no internet, no cost. Template-driven narrative against the full coaching substrate. When you want depth, upgrade once with your own Anthropic or OpenAI API key, o ruse the On Device LLM with no additional costs and the richer review becomes the permanent artefact for that game. Nadia comments on at most six moments — only the ones worth learning from. PDF export of every review. PLAYER PROFILE Style axes — Aggression, Tactical Alertness, Positional Play, Endgame — derived from the substrate with confidence bands. The seven Heisman elements sit below as evidence. Full-screen iPad dashboard. PDF coaching report you could hand to a human coach. OPPONENT SCOUTING & MATCHUP REPORTS Scout reports surface the full eight-axis substrate on any opponent. How-to-play-against framing with concrete suggestions. Player-vs-opponent comparison across all axes with weakest-phase detection. SHADOW — YOUR CHESS TWIN Shadow learns how you play and saves checkpoints. Play yourself from six months ago. See how far you've come. Coming soon: calibrate Shadow to your real-life rivals by importing their games. PLAY ON YOUR PHYSICAL BOARD Pair with Chessnut Air, Pro, Go, Air+ and Move over Bluetooth. Notation tracks every move on real wood while Nadia coaches. PRIVACY BY DESIGN Stockfish on-device. All coaching classifiers on-device. Cohort baselines on-device. Optional cloud AI is bring-your-own-key — your Anthropic or OpenAI API key, your account, your data. We never see it. Leave the field blank and Notation works fully without it. IMPORT YOUR GAMES Connect Lichess or Chess.com. Import PGN files. Nadia analyses everything in the background. £2.99. One-off. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Yours forever.

Screenshots

Go Lab4 screens
Notation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Go Lab at 14% against Notation's 0%. Go Lab also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). Notation's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $3.99). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Go Lab costs $3.99 and Notation $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Go Lab ships an update every 2 days, Notation every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Go Lab versus Notation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGo LabNotation
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating—4.7 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—6 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB563 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerkoji ozonoDarren Cox

Customer experience

Go Lab

Written reviews7 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative71.4%

Notation

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

Go Lab

No in-app purchases

None

Notation

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Go Lab free?
Go Lab costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notation free?
Notation costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Go Lab or Notation have ads?
Neither Go Lab nor Notation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Go Lab or Notation?
Go Lab ships an update every 2 days, and Notation every 5 days. Most recently, Go Lab was updated on November 7, 2026 and Notation on November 5, 2026.

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