Chess Light vs ChessUp
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess Light
A puzzle game inspired by chess, suitable for all skill levels. Solve over 180 unique puzzles by strategically placing pieces to illuminate every square on the board. Features adjustable difficulty and a helpful hint system.
- 180+ puzzles
- 6 difficulty levels
- Hint system
- Place pieces to light up squares
- Suitable for all skill levels
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Chess Light is a puzzle game inspired by chess for everyone: from Beginner to Grandmaster. + 180 puzzles + 6 difficulty levels + Hint system Place the pieces on the board and light up all the squares!
ChessUp
This app enhances your chess experience with a smart chessboard. It offers game archives, analysis, and live AI assistance. Connect to play remote opponents on various platforms.
- Chess game archives
- Game analysis
- Live AI assistance
- Remote opponent play
- BLE connectivity
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ChessUp is a companion app for the ChessUp smart chessboard. The app provides chess game archives and analysis. The app can link with the chessboard over BLE to provide live Ai assistance. The app can also provide an internet connection for the board in order to play remote chess opponents on various chess platforms.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ChessUp at none against Chess Light's 1. ChessUp also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 18 months) and ratings volume (2.6K vs 6). Chess Light's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 55%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. Chess Light sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ChessUp asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Chess Light against 4.8 for ChessUp. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ChessUp has 2.6K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Chess Light's written reviews are positive against 55% of ChessUp's.
Chess Light ships an update every 18 months, ChessUp every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 27, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Light | ChessUp |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6 ratings) | 4.8 (2.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.6% of reviews — better | 54.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 2.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 18 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 218 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pyrosphere, Lda | Bryght Labs Inc. |
Customer experience
Chess Light
ChessUp
Bugs and requests
Chess Light
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
ChessUp
Reported bugs
6 issues- Moves not registering
- Bluetooth connectivity issues
- Crashes and freezes
- Sync issues between app and board
- Lessons not working properly
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- Chess.com integration problems
Requested features
5 requests- Add chess openings lessons
- Implement position setup and export/import
- Add post-game review mechanism
- Improve AI difficulty scaling
- Add chess puzzles
In-app purchases
Chess Light
- 20 Hints$0.99
ChessUp
No in-app purchases
