Comparison

PocketPGN vs Chaal

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

Head to head
About

PocketPGN

Features
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PocketPGN is the ultimate minimalist chess companion, designed for pure calculation and focus. Step away from the noise, notifications, and clutter of traditional chess apps, and immerse yourself in a beautifully crafted environment made specifically for studying and organizing your chess games. Whether you are analyzing a complex endgame, reviewing your own tournament games, or studying classic master brilliancies, PocketPGN provides a distraction-free board that lets your mind do the work. CORE FEATURES โ€ข Minimalist, Distraction-Free Design: No ads, no social feeds, just you and the board. โ€ข Organize Your Repertoire: Create folders to manage your openings, endgames, and master games. โ€ข Seamless Integrations: Import your games instantly using just your Lichess or Chess.com username. โ€ข Powerful PGN Parsing: Fully supports complex variations, comments, and nested sub-lines. โ€ข Beautiful Image Exports: Share any position as a stunning, high-resolution image with your friends or coaches. โ€ข Free Customization: Multiple gorgeous board colors (Brown, Blue Grey, Midnight Blue) and premium piece sets included completely free. POCKETPGN PRO Take your study to the next level with a single, one-time purchase. No subscriptions, ever. โ€ข Unlimited Storage: Bypass the free tier limits and store thousands of games and folders. โ€ข iCloud Sync: Securely backup and restore your entire library across all your iOS devices. โ€ข Bulk Match Import: Import up to 50 games at once directly from your online match history. โ€ข Clean Image Exports: Remove watermarks from all your exported board images. Elevate your chess study today with PocketPGN.

About

Chaal

Features
Read full description

Chaal is a chess position analyzer for screenshots, photos, and printed chess diagrams. Import a board without rebuilding it by hand, then get the best move, alternatives, evaluation, winning chances, and a clear explanation. Import a position by: - Taking a photo - Choosing or pasting an image - Sharing an image from another app - Entering FEN or PGN - Pasting a board image link Recognition runs on your device and works with different board and piece styles. Recognition is in beta. If Chaal is unsure about a square, you confirm the piece before analysis instead of letting the app guess. How it works 1. Import a position from a screenshot, app, or chess book. 2. Confirm the board and choose the side to move. 3. Review the best move, alternatives, evaluation, winning chances, and explanation. Chaal saves every result automatically. Search previous analyses, see opening names when available, and share your analysis with others. Chaal Pro includes unlimited analyses, Deep analysis, and Continue the Line. Your image stays on your device. Chaal sends the confirmed chess position, not the image, for remote analysis. Built for chess study and post-game review. Do not use engine assistance during live or rated games. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://privacy-dxb.pages.dev/privacy

Screenshots

PocketPGN4 screens
Chaal3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PocketPGN at none against Chaal's 1. PocketPGN also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Chaal's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Chaal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. PocketPGN asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketPGN ships an update every 5 weeks, Chaal every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
PocketPGN versus Chaal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketPGNChaal
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size50 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAPPXIDIAN LABSHisa Hashisaka

In-app purchases

None

PocketPGN

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Chaal

Subscriptions1
  • Chaal Pro$2.991 Month

Questions

Is PocketPGN free?
PocketPGN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chaal free?
Chaal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PocketPGN or Chaal have ads?
Neither PocketPGN nor Chaal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketPGN or Chaal?
PocketPGN ships an update every 5 weeks, and Chaal every 4 days. Most recently, PocketPGN was updated on October 25, 2026 and Chaal on October 31, 2026.

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