Comparison

Chess Studio Lite vs Chess Acuity

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

Head to head
About

Chess Studio Lite

Manage and analyze chess games and databases in PGN format. Study openings, practice against engines, and solve puzzles with advanced analysis tools. Supports multiple devices and cloud storage integration.

Highlights
  • PGN database management
  • Game analysis with Stockfish 18
  • Opening book creation and import
  • Diagram recognition
  • Cloud storage integration
  • Play against engine (standard & Chess 960)
Features
Read full description

Chess Studio is the first and only application for iPhone and iPad able to completely manage chess database and games in PGN format. Chess Studio is an application designed and built for those players who really want to deepen their knowledge in the field of chess, studying chess regularly and participate in tournaments. Chess Studio allows you to: • Read database and games in PGN format (also with extended notation of moves). • Create, delete and modify folders and databases. • View games with annotations and textual comments and keep track of the displayed games. • Use a double chessboard on the same screen for better game analysis. • Visualize moves and variants in compact mode or indented mode. • Modify existing games with move annotation and textual comments. • Insert new games and positions. • Insert moves with annotations and textual comments. • Insert variation, subvariations etc. • Insert and visualize graphical annotation (colored arrows and highlighted squares). • Share Databases and Games through Airdrop. • Download chess database from internet. • Download chess database from PGN Mentor site. • Import games, database and Opening Books from other applications. • Merge two or more databases. • Copy/Paste games and positions. • Analyze games with Stockfish 19 Engine with the support of the Neural Networks (up to 5 lines of analysis simultaneously) and see the results also through the Engine Evaluation Bar. • See graphic visualization of moves suggested by Stockfish 19 engine. • See Win-Draw-Loss (WDL) probabilities during engine analysis. • Replay games automatically. • Visualize Pawn structure. • Manage Variations and sub-variatons: delete and promote variations. • Read the weekly Magazine The Week In Chess and download the games. • Uploading and Downloading PGN database to/from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive. • Three different modes for moving pieces. • Analyse endgames with Endgame Tablebases. • Analyse and study Chess Openings. • Creation and management of Opening Books in Polyglot format. • Import and management of ChessBase Opening Books (ctg, cto, ctb format). • Automatically classify a database according to ECO code. • Replay, enter and analyze Chess 960 games (Fischer Random Chess). • Play against the engine both in standard mode and in Chess 960 mode. • Solving Puzzles. • Diagram Recognition: this feature allows the user to take and/or upload photos of chess diagrams and convert them into PGN format positions. Other features and technical details: • Modify the board size tapping on the board or through the Settings menu. • Professional chess fonts and figurines for moves notation and annotation. • Preview of the game in the board tapping the Info button. • Advanced search feature. • Visualization of ECO code and Opening during game replay or game insertion. • Visualization of Book Openings during game replay or game insertion. • Complete management of Null Moves with Tutorial. • Portrait/Landscape mode for all devices. • Support of Slide Over and Split View mode. • Function to move up within variants and subvariants. • Online manual frequently updated. • iOS 26 compatible and optimized for all the devices. • Sharing of databases across devices via iCloud Drive. • Sound option. • Support for iPad Pro Keyboard or bluetooth keyboard. • VoiceOver/Accessibility support. • Direct contact via email with the developer. • Languages: English, Italian, Spanish and German. Complete description at the following address: https://chessstudio.wordpress.com/chess-studio/ The application is continuously updated with new features and improvements. Chess Studio Lite is a smaller version of Chess Studio where some features are limited. To view the terms of service visit https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ No registration! No advertising! No sharing of personal data! If you own an iMac or a MacBook try the new Chess Lab!

About

Chess Acuity

Features
Read full description

Chess Acuity turns any chess position into insight — entirely on your device. Set up a position and Stockfish 17, running locally on your iPhone, shows you the best moves and lines. No account, no ads, no analytics, no internet connection required. The app is free and open source. FOUR WAYS IN • From a photo — share a screenshot from any chess app or website, or pick one from your photo library. A built-in recognizer reads the board on-device and sets up the position. • From a game — paste a PGN, step through the moves, and analyse any position along the way. • By hand — set up the board in a clean, fast editor. • By FEN — paste a position directly. ANALYSIS • Powered by the Stockfish 17 chess engine, running natively on your device. • Multiple lines (MultiPV) with evaluations, searched by depth or thinking time. • Step through any line move by move on the board. • Plain-language explanation of the engine's choice. PLAY • Play a full game against Stockfish at eight strength levels. • Take a hint when you're stuck, then hand the finished game straight to the analyser. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything — board recognition, engine analysis, move explanations — runs on your device. The app makes no network requests and collects no data. Screenshots you import are processed locally and never uploaded. OPEN SOURCE Chess Acuity is free software under the GNU GPLv3. The complete source code is available at github.com/alexostar/chess-acuity-app. FAIR PLAY Chess Acuity is made for study and review. Please don't use it for assistance during live or rated games — that breaks the fair-play rules of every chess site and spoils the game for everyone.

Screenshots

Chess Studio Lite4 screens
Chess Acuity4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chess Acuity at every 4 days against Chess Studio Lite's every 2 weeks. Chess Studio Lite's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Studio Lite ships an update every 2 weeks, Chess Acuity every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Chess Studio Lite versus Chess Acuity: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess Studio LiteChess Acuity
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (11 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews63.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings11 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size237 MB135 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGiordano VicoliSigfus Bjarnason

In-app purchases

None

Chess Studio Lite

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Acuity

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess Studio Lite free?
Chess Studio Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Acuity free?
Chess Acuity is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Chess Studio Lite or Chess Acuity have ads?
Neither Chess Studio Lite nor Chess Acuity shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Studio Lite or Chess Acuity?
Chess Studio Lite ships an update every 2 weeks, and Chess Acuity every 4 days. Most recently, Chess Studio Lite was updated on October 29, 2026 and Chess Acuity on October 21, 2026.

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