LearnChess Academy vs Chess with Pip
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LearnChess Academy
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Stuck at the same rating? You play every day, but your rating hasn't moved in months. More games won't fix that. Knowing what to study next will. LearnChess is a chess academy with a coach who reads your games. START AT YOUR LEVEL ‣ The Academy: 6 levels, from learning the rules to 2000+ ‣ 52 units of lessons, drills, tests and play-outs ‣ Start where you are, not at lesson one LEARN FROM YOUR OWN GAMES ‣ Import your games from Lichess and Chess.com ‣ Knighty, your AI coach, reads them and picks the one thing to fix first ‣ Short guided sessions built from positions in your own games ‣ Puzzles made from your own mistakes UNDERSTAND, DON'T MEMORIZE ‣ 190 lessons: 111 openings, 32 endgames, 33 tactics, plus a beginner track ‣ Every idea explained in plain language ‣ Build your opening repertoire and re-test it every 90 days PRACTICE EVERY DAY ‣ Rated puzzles and themed drills (forks, mating patterns, zugzwang …) ‣ Stockfish analysis, free for everyone ‣ Take a screenshot of any board and analyze it COMMUNITY ‣ Publish your own puzzles, comment, and climb the leaderboard Five minutes on your commute or an hour of deep study: LearnChess meets you where you are. Free: 10 rated puzzles a day, every beginner lesson, a preview of every Academy unit and advanced lesson, 5 screenshot scans a day, Stockfish analysis, and your first Coach diagnosis. Knight ($4.99/mo): unlimited puzzles, a new Academy unit and advanced lesson every week, a weekly Coach session, and 10 AI messages a day. Queen ($14.99/mo or $89.99/yr): everything unlimited, with a Coach session every day. Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each period (monthly or yearly) unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage in your App Store account settings. Terms: https://www.learnchess.ai/terms. Privacy: https://www.learnchess.ai/privacy.
Chess with Pip
Learn chess with a patient, AI-powered coach who guides you from basic moves to advanced strategy. Enjoy unlimited lessons, puzzles, and game reviews, all completely free and offline.
- Guided chess lessons
- Opening strategy explanations
- Tactics puzzles
- Play against AI bots
- Move-by-move coaching
- Full game reviews
- Offline functionality
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Chess with Pip is the friendliest way to actually get good at chess — a patient coach named Pip in your pocket, from your very first moves to sharp tactics and endgames. Everything is free. Every lesson, every puzzle, every bot, every game review — nothing is locked, and nothing ever will be. LEARN WITH A COACH • A guided journey from "how the pieces move" to real strategy • Pip explains every idea right on the board, with arrows and highlights • Bite-sized lessons you can finish in a few minutes OPENINGS, TAUGHT — NOT MEMORIZED • 100+ openings for White and Black, each with the plan behind the moves • Drill real lines and learn why they work • From the Italian and Ruy Lopez to the Sicilian, Caro-Kann, gambits and more 130,000+ PUZZLES • Rated tactics training that meets you at your level • Learn each motif first — forks, pins, skewers, deflection and more — then drill it • Puzzle Rush, streaks, and a daily puzzle PLAY AND IMPROVE • Play bots from gentle beginner to grandmaster strength • Get coached move by move as you play • Full game review afterward: your accuracy, your mistakes, and the better move — explained ENDGAMES & MORE • Practical endgames that actually come up in your games • Scan a real board with your camera to analyze the position • Works 100% offline — no account, no internet required NO ADS. NO TRACKING. NO PAYWALL. Chess with Pip collects nothing and stays free for everyone. If it's helped you, you can leave a tip to support development and wear a supporter badge — but that's entirely optional. Made with love for chess.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: LearnChess Academy at 3 against Chess with Pip's 1. LearnChess Academy also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. LearnChess Academy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Chess with Pip sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
LearnChess Academy ships an update every 6 days, Chess with Pip every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LearnChess Academy | Chess with Pip |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 8 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 139 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nikolas Burk | Robert Erwin |
In-app purchases
LearnChess Academy
- Knight$4.991 Month
- Queen$14.991 Month
- Queen$89.991 Year
Chess with Pip
- Full Coach - Friend$1.99
- Supporter$4.99
- Patron$9.99
Questions
Is LearnChess Academy free?
Is Chess with Pip free?
Do LearnChess Academy or Chess with Pip have ads?
Which is updated more often, LearnChess Academy or Chess with Pip?
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