The best chess apps in 2026, compared honestly

We looked at what each app is built for, what you get without paying, what the paid plans add, which platforms it runs on and whether it is still actively maintained. The facts come from the App Store listings, the apps' own help pages and feature pages, checked in October 2026. Prices change by country and over time, so we describe the model (free, membership, one-off) rather than amounts.

There are no star ratings or scores on this page. A score would hide what matters: an app that is perfect for playing blitz online can be the wrong tool for reviewing a tournament game on the train.

Chess.com is the biggest chess site and app. Its strength is the sheer number of opponents: you find a game at almost any time and time control, from bullet to daily chess. Around the games it offers puzzles, video lessons, computer opponents with different personalities and a large community with clubs and tournaments.

• Free: unlimited games against people, with ads and limited puzzles, lessons and bots. According to the Chess.com membership overview, the free Basic plan includes one full Game Review per day.
• Paid: Gold, Platinum and Diamond memberships remove ads and add puzzles and lessons. Unlimited Game Review starts with Platinum.
• Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android and the web.
• Best for: playing people online, at every level and at every hour.

Chess.com also owns several other apps, including Chessable for opening courses and the Magnus Carlsen apps described below.

Lichess is a non-profit chess site with an app for iPhone and Android. Everything is free for everyone: there are no paid tiers and no ads, and the project is financed by donations. The code is open source. Lichess offers online games, puzzles, studies for sharing analysis, and an analysis board with Stockfish.

• Free: everything. According to the Lichess features page, the analysis board is unlimited, and the deep server analysis of games is limited to 40 games per day for every account.
• Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android and the web.
• Best for: players who want everything free and without ads, and for analysing games played on Lichess.

The two apps built around world champion Magnus Carlsen came from the Play Magnus Group, which Chess.com took over in 2022. Magnus Trainer teaches chess through short games and lessons, with more content behind a membership. Play Magnus lets you play against a computer version of Magnus Carlsen at different ages of his career.

• Free: free to download, with premium content in Magnus Trainer through a membership.
• Maintenance: both are still listed in the App Store under Chess.com. At the time of writing, the App Store shows the last update of Magnus Trainer in April 2021 and of Play Magnus in January 2022. On Google Play we could not find either app.
• Platforms: iPhone and iPad.
• Best for: a playful start with chess, if you do not mind that the apps are no longer developed much.

ChessWOW does not try to be another place to play people online. It is built for the moment after: you have a position or a game and you want to understand it. You photograph a screen, pick a screenshot or scan a diagram from a book, and the position is on the board in seconds. Stockfish 19 with its full network runs on your device and shows the evaluation, the best move and up to three lines, also without internet.

• Your games from both sites: import games from Chess.com and Lichess by username and get a report with accuracy, critical moments in plain words and practice of your own mistakes. See analyze Chess.com and Lichess games.
• Play and practise: play Stockfish at five levels, with a clock, hints and an optional blunder warning, or play a friend on one device.
• Endgames: Syzygy tablebases give exact results for positions with few pieces.
• Free download: unlimited analyses and game reports are part of ChessWOW Pro.
• Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android. No account needed.
• Best for: analysing positions from pictures and reviewing your own games, wherever you play them.

What ChessWOW does not have: online games against other people and opening courses. For those, Chess.com, Lichess or Chessable are the better tools. You can try the engine without installing anything: play Stockfish 19 in your browser or set up a position in the board editor.

Information as of October 2026 from the App Store and the apps' help pages. Check the store page for current prices in your country.

• You want to play people online: Chess.com or Lichess. Chess.com has the largest pool of players, Lichess is free without ads.
• You are just starting: play against a computer at a beginner level first, then online. Learn how to set up the board and how to read chess notation.
• You want to understand your games: review every game, not only the losses. With ChessWOW you review games from both sites in one place, with the same accuracy method for every game.
• You train with books or videos: scan diagrams and positions from the screen instead of setting them up by hand, and check your solution with Stockfish.
• You want to work on endgames: practise the Lucena position, the Philidor position and opposition against Stockfish, with tablebases for exact results.

Many players combine two apps: they play on Chess.com or Lichess and analyse in a tool that is built for analysis. That way, the playing app does not decide how deeply you can look at your own games.