Chess Studio Lite vs Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- PGN database management
- Game analysis with Stockfish 18
- Opening book creation and import
- Diagram recognition
- Cloud storage integration
- Play against engine (standard & Chess 960)
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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!
Chess
Engage in chess with a comprehensive suite of tools for analysis, annotation, and online play. Explore game trees with side-lines, add detailed comments, and enjoy a stable FICS server connection. Features include a robust database, opening/endgame browsers, and training videos.
- Game tree representation with side-lines
- Detailed game annotation
- Stable FICS server communication
- Enhanced FICS interface
- Improved database and setup screen
- Opening and endgame browser
- Links to training videos
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With Chess-wise 3 you can play chess, analyse games, annotate game notations, play online, solve exercises, watch training videos and much more. - Games are represented as trees, so they can have side-lines. This means when analysing moves, this will not anymore overwrite the moves of the main game - On the new annotation screen, you can add comments and !! - or ?? to the moves - The communication with the FICS server has been complete rewritten and is now much more stable - The FICS interface has more features (support for multiple accounts, iMessage-like chatting, friend list) - Improved database (re-order games in a PGN file) and setup screen (move pieces on the board) - Landscape views for the opening and endgame browser, showing the possible moves next to the board - Over 250 links to free training videos - Separate screen to select the pieces orientation, when playing with 2 players - Help file with tutorial for each major use case Each screen has been re-designed to give a better user experience, focussing on the main actions that people want to do on that screen. Any suggestions for further improvements (as well as bug reports) are welcome at info@chess-wise.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Chess Studio Lite at 4.4 against Chess's 3.6. Chess Studio Lite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (64% vs 41%). Chess's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess Studio Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chess Studio Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Chess Studio Lite's written reviews are positive against 41% of Chess's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Studio Lite | Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (11 ratings) — better | 3.6 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 63.6% of reviews — better | 40.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 16 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 237 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Giordano Vicoli | Marcel Nijman |
Customer experience
Chess Studio Lite
Chess
In-app purchases
Chess Studio Lite
No in-app purchases
Chess
- Unlock PRO$5.99
Questions
Is Chess Studio Lite free?
Is Chess free?
Which has better reviews, Chess Studio Lite or Chess?
Do Chess Studio Lite or Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Studio Lite or Chess?
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