Comparison

ChessFlow vs iChess App

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

Head to head
About

ChessFlow

Features
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ChessFlow is the training app built for tournament players - openings, middlegames and endgames - and the only one that lets you drill them on a real electronic chessboard. Train your lines on screen, or connect your Chessnut board over Bluetooth and practice with real pieces in hand, guided by the board's LEDs. Then let spaced repetition bring each line back right before you'd forget it, so your prep actually sticks. TRAIN ON A REAL ELECTRONIC BOARD Connect your Chessnut (Go, Air, Air+, Pro) and train with the pieces in your hands. The LEDs guide you - steady light for your opponent's move, a blink for a hint, a fast blink when the app plays the move for you. Make a mistake? Retry, ask for a hint, or let the app show you. REMEMBER YOUR OPENINGS WITH SPACED REPETITION ChessFlow uses an SM-2 algorithm adapted for chess openings: every line returns right before you're likely to forget it. Only a perfect run speeds up the schedule; anything shaky comes back tomorrow. No line ever disappears for months. A seven-day forecast shows how many lines come due each day, so you always know when a backlog clears. DRILL YOUR WEAK SPOTS ChessFlow tracks the positions where you go wrong most often and serves them back as targeted puzzles. Turn on Drill random positions for an endless stream of positions from the lines you've trained in the open repertoire - a fast way to keep it sharp. PRACTICE ANYWHERE ON THE VIRTUAL BOARD No hardware needed. Train on screen with tap-to-move and premove, just like chess.com and lichess. Your iPad becomes a training station; your iPhone keeps your repertoire in your pocket. PLAY IT OUT AGAINST STOCKFISH Stop anywhere in a line and play the position out against Stockfish 19, at a strength you choose. Explore variations in free analysis, with a slim evaluation bar beside the board, and export them. With ChessTools, our free clock app, on your iPhone, ChessFlow presses the clock for you. YOUR REPERTOIRE, FROM ANY SOURCE Keep building your repertoire in the chess app you already use - Chess Studio, for example. Link its iCloud folder and ChessFlow reads those PGN files without ever changing them: you study and edit there, you train here. Add a variation there and it's waiting the next time you open the file, with all your progress kept. You can also import single PGN files or paste FEN positions. Attach a course PDF or your notes to any repertoire; PDFs even reopen at the page you left, on every device. BUILT TO KEEP YOUR DATA SAFE Everything syncs across your iPhone and iPad via iCloud - lines, progress and colors. Training progress is merged across devices, never overwritten. Automatic daily backups, plus manual export and import. EXPORT & SHARE Copy or share your lines as PGN for lichess and chess.com. Export your games versus the computer as PGN or a tournament-style PDF scoresheet. Free to try, with a 14-day full-access trial. Subscriptions unlock unlimited training on the virtual board, or everything including the physical board. Requires iOS 17 or later. iPhone and iPad, one app. Questions or feedback? developer@chesstools.it Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.chesstools.it/chessflow/privacy.html

About

iChess App

Read full description

Welcome to iChess, the sleek and modern way to play the world's greatest strategy game! Whether you are a chess grandmaster or just learning how to move the pawns, iChess provides a beautiful and seamless experience. PLAY ONLINE Test your skills against players from around the world in real-time matchmaking. Win games to increase your Elo rating and prove you are the best on the Global Leaderboards! PLAY WITH FRIENDS Add your friends, send them match requests, and battle it out on the board to see who the true chess master is. OFFLINE MODE No internet? No problem! Play offline local matches anytime, anywhere. CUSTOM PROFILES Create your own unique identity. Upload your own custom profile avatar, track your match history, and analyze your past games to improve your strategy. BEAUTIFUL DESIGN Enjoy a clean, ad-free, and natively designed interface that makes playing on your iPhone a breeze. Customize your board settings and enjoy buttery-smooth piece animations. Download iChess today and make your move!

Screenshots

ChessFlow4 screens
iChess App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iChess App at none against ChessFlow's 4. iChess App also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). ChessFlow's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). 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. ChessFlow sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. iChess App asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessFlow ships an update every 3 days, iChess App monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
ChessFlow versus iChess App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessFlowiChess App
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days โ€” betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.1 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size202 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGiorgio DonnoliBraj Lal Suthar

In-app purchases

4 purchases

ChessFlow

Subscriptions4
  • ChessFlow Virtual$4.991 Month
  • ChessFlow Premium$8.991 Month
  • ChessFlow Virtual$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • ChessFlow Premium$49.991 Year
None

iChess App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ChessFlow free?
ChessFlow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iChess App free?
iChess App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ChessFlow or iChess App have ads?
Neither ChessFlow nor iChess App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessFlow or iChess App?
ChessFlow ships an update every 3 days, and iChess App monthly. Most recently, ChessFlow was updated on November 10, 2026 and iChess App on November 5, 2026.

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