Comparison

Pocket Chess vs Chess Online & Offline

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Chess

Engage in classic chess battles anywhere, anytime. Challenge a sophisticated AI with adjustable difficulty or play against a friend. The app offers helpful features like move highlighting and board rotation for an enhanced experience.

Highlights
  • Challenging AI engine
  • Three difficulty levels
  • Play as White or Black
  • Show legal moves
  • Special move support
  • Board rotation
  • Save game state
Features
Read full description

Play chess on the go against the computer or a friend with Pocket Chess. - Challenging A.I. engine with three levels of difficulty - Quick A.I. response time - Play as White or Black - Option to show legal moves - Perform special moves such as castling and pawn promotion - Board rotation for two player games - Game state is saved if you quit the app

About

Chess Online & Offline

Engage in a classic strategy game that develops logical thinking and visual memory. The objective is to checkmate your opponent's king. Offers customizable boards, sound effects, and manual/auto-save features.

Highlights
  • Two-player mode
  • Classical chess rules
  • Customizable board design
  • Sound effects toggle
  • Manual and automatic save
  • Difficulty levels
Features
Read full description

Chess Online & Offline brings classic chess to your phone and tablet. Play online against real opponents, challenge the computer offline on 11 levels, or play 2 player chess with a friend on one device. No sign-up needed: pick a name and an avatar, and your first game starts in seconds. ONLINE CHESS WITH REAL PLAYERS • Quick match: find an opponent in a public game with one tap • Browse the list of open rooms and join any game • Private rooms with a password: play chess with friends anywhere • Real chess clocks: bullet 1+0, blitz 3+2 and 5+3, rapid 10+0 and 15+10, classical 30+0 • Get a notification when an opponent appears • Play the AI while you wait: the search keeps running • Automatic reconnection if your connection drops • Rematch in one tap, emojis and quick chat messages • Your profile: name, avatar, wins, draws, losses and win rate CHESS VS COMPUTER, NO INTERNET NEEDED • 11 AI levels, from beginner (≈700 ELO) to full engine strength (≈3200 ELO) • The AI plays real chess openings, so no two games are alike • Legal move hints and undo for learning and practice • Your last game is saved automatically, and you can save more games to finish later • Stats against the AI, including your best winning streak • Offline chess works without Wi-Fi: on a plane, on the subway, anywhere 2 PLAYER CHESS ON ONE DEVICE • Play chess with a friend or family member on one phone or tablet • Optional chess clock for two-player games • Name and avatar for the second player YOUR BOARD, YOUR STYLE • 2D and 3D chess boards • 8 board themes, from classic colors to oak, birch and pine wood • Smooth animations, sound effects and haptics • Illustrated chess rules: how every piece moves, castling, en passant, pawn promotion, check and checkmate • Made for phones and tablets, in 41 languages All the rules of chess are built in: checkmate, stalemate, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule and draws by insufficient material. Chess is the classic strategy board game, and this app is made for every level: beginners learn the rules and practice with hints, club players sharpen their blitz and rapid, and strong players test themselves against the engine at full strength. Whether you are learning to play chess, training against the computer or playing blitz with friends online, Chess Online & Offline is ready when you are. Set up the board and make your first move!

Screenshots

Pocket Chess4 screens
Chess Online & Offline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chess Online & Offline at 4.4 against Pocket Chess's 2.5. Chess Online & Offline also leads on review sentiment (56% vs 24%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 10 months). Pocket Chess's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Pocket Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Online & Offline sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Online & Offline holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Online & Offline has 159 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Pocket Chess's written reviews are positive against 56% of Chess Online & Offline's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Chess ships an update every 10 months, Chess Online & Offline every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pocket Chess versus Chess Online & Offline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket ChessChess Online & Offline
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (22 ratings)4.4 (159 ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.5% of reviews56.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings22159 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB188 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteven BarnegrenSergei Shendrikov

Customer experience

Pocket Chess

All ratings22 ratings
Positive27.3%
Neutral18.2%
Negative54.5%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive24.5%
Neutral12.2%
Negative63.3%

Chess Online & Offline

All ratings159 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral6.9%
Negative10.7%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral12.5%
Negative31.3%

Bugs and requests

Pocket Chess

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • Computer makes wrong moves
  • Computer cheats by moving pieces
  • Board flips for no reason
  • Hard mode is too easy
  • Option to castle is hard to find
Show 19 more
  • Computer says stalemate instead of win
  • Computer AI is odd
  • Cannot move where I want
  • Computer makes ridiculous mistakes
  • Board is set up wrong
  • Queen and king are reversed
  • En passant doesn't work
  • Cannot win in 2 player mode
  • Black queen on white space, white queen on black space
  • Pawn promotion only gives Queen
  • Squares are mixed up
  • Bottom right corner should be white
  • Queen goes on her own color
  • En passant move missing
  • Board setup backwards
  • No undo button in 2 player mode
  • No submit button in 2 player mode
  • App charged without prompting
  • Pieces are reversed

Requested features

9 requests
  • Make medium difficulty easier
  • Add undo button
  • Add submit button
  • Option to fix board orientation in 2 player mode
  • More variety in AI moves
Show 4 more
  • Make computer mode easier
  • Make game harder
  • Add more colors
  • Level for kids

Chess Online & Offline

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pocket Chess

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99
1 purchases

Chess Online & Offline

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$9.99

Questions

Is Pocket Chess free?
Pocket Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Online & Offline free?
Chess Online & Offline is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Chess or Chess Online & Offline?
Chess Online & Offline is rated higher. Pocket Chess averages 2.5 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Chess Online & Offline averages 4.4 from 159 ratings.
Do Pocket Chess or Chess Online & Offline have ads?
Chess Online & Offline shows ads; Pocket Chess does not.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Chess or Chess Online & Offline?
Pocket Chess ships an update every 10 months, and Chess Online & Offline every 2 months. Most recently, Pocket Chess was updated on October 23, 2026 and Chess Online & Offline on October 27, 2026.

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