Best Chess Apps in 2026, Ranked by What You Want to Do

By the Best Chess Apps desk (ChessHelper team) · Published and updated November 12, 2026 · How we compare

There is no single best chess app because chess apps do different jobs. Some are places to find an opponent. Some are courses. Some are engines that look at your games after they end. Most improving players settle on two: one app to play in and one to review with. This guide sorts the field by job, so you can pick the right tool for each part of your chess week.

Every product below is real and current. Platforms, free tiers and plan names come from each company's own website, checked in November 2026. Where a company does not publish a price clearly, we name the plan and leave the number out rather than guess.

Comparison table

The table lists what each app is for and what you get without paying. "Paid" names the plans as each company lists them in November 2026.

Prices as listed by each company in November 2026, in US dollars. Plans change; check the company's own pricing page before you buy.

ChessHelper: best for analysis and training at your level

ChessHelper (chesshelper.ai) is a Chrome extension with a companion website. It runs on Chess.com and Lichess boards and shows the engine's suggested moves as arrows, next to an evaluation bar and alternative lines. Its distinguishing setting is engine strength, adjustable from 800 to 3200 Elo. A 1300 player reviewing a loss usually learns more from the move a 1600 player would find than from a deep engine line built on ideas nobody at that level would see.

A dashboard keeps your game history, move-by-move analytics and a rating-progress chart, and the site publishes opening guides, including the Sicilian Defense, Italian Game, London System, French Defense, Ruy Lopez and Caro-Kann Defense. The weak points are real: it is a desktop Chrome extension, so there is no phone app, and the free plan caps how many games you can work through. Use it for learning, analysis, reviewing finished games and practice against bots, never during a game against another person. Full ChessHelper review.

Chess.com: best for playing online

Chess.com is where most people play. The pool is large enough that a game starts in seconds at almost any time control, and the same account carries lessons, puzzles, bots and Game Review. The free Basic account limits puzzles to three a day and restricts Game Review. Gold removes ads and unlocks lessons and puzzles, Platinum adds unlimited Game Review, and Diamond adds coach explanations and the Insights statistics. Full Chess.com review.

Lichess: best free chess app

Lichess describes itself as a free, libre, no-ads, open-source chess server, and that holds up on its feature page: patrons and free users get the same tools. Those include unlimited browser analysis with Stockfish, a limited daily quota of deeper server analysis, unlimited puzzles, studies, an opening explorer and a 7-piece endgame tablebase. You give up the polished guided curriculum Chess.com sells. Full Lichess review.

Chessable: best for learning openings

Chessable turns chess books and video courses into drills. Its MoveTrainer shows you a line, then quizzes you on it at spaced intervals so you review it just before you would forget it. The catalog runs past 1,000 courses, a few dozen of them free. Chessable has been part of the Chess.com group since Chess.com acquired Play Magnus Group in 2022. Full Chessable review.

ChessKid: best chess app for kids

ChessKid is the children's site from the Chess.com family. Kids cannot message or chat with each other, adult accounts cannot talk to kids, and parents or coaches can review all games and activity. It has more than 150 interactive lessons, puzzles, videos and bots, with free apps for iOS and Android. Gold unlocks unlimited puzzles, lessons, videos and workouts. Full ChessKid review.

DecodeChess: best for understanding why a move works

DecodeChess takes Stockfish's recommendation and explains it in short sentences: the threat, the plan, the piece doing the work. The free plan gives one Decode Game a day. Unlimited costs $8.25 a month or $84 a year, and credit packs suit occasional users. It is a web app with no download, and the company itself recommends a tablet or computer. Full DecodeChess review.

Chess Tempo: best for tactics drills

Chess Tempo is a veteran training site built around a large tactics problem set rated by difficulty, plus endgame practice and a game database. A free account covers daily tactics; paid memberships add more training modes, more endgame problems and statistics. It looks plain next to the big platforms, but players who want serious, measured puzzle work keep coming back to it. We do not run a full review of it yet.

Which chess app should you start with?

Start from what you will actually do this week. If you mostly want games, install Chess.com or Lichess first; both are free to start and both have strong apps for phones. Add a second app for the job your first one does poorly.

• You play online and keep losing the same way: review each finished game with ChessHelper set 200 to 300 points above your rating, then try the suggested idea in your next practice game against a bot.
• You are new to chess: learn the rules and basic mates in Chess.com lessons or the Lichess Learn section. Our beginners guide covers the order.
• You do not want to pay anything: Lichess plus free puzzles. See the best free chess apps.
• You have a tournament coming: a Chessable course for your opening repertoire and Chess Tempo for tactics.
• You are choosing for a child under 13: ChessKid. Our kids guide explains the safety settings.

Guides by category

Each category guide ranks the apps for one kind of player and explains the reasons in more depth than this page can.

• Best chess apps for beginnersLearn the rules, then stop blundering
• Best free chess appsWhat you really get for $0
• Best chess apps for kidsSafety, moderation and parent controls
• All app reviewsSix full reviews with weaknesses

How we compare apps

We compare published features, platforms and pricing, taken from each company's own website in November 2026, against the job a player needs done. We do not publish star ratings, invented test hours or user reviews. Because ChessHelper is our product, it is ranked only in the categories where its features fit, and every review, its own included, lists honest weaknesses. The full method explains sources and update cadence.

A note on fair play

Analysis apps are for reviewing finished games and studying positions. Using any engine, extension or outside help during a game against another person, rated or unrated, breaks the rules of Chess.com, Lichess, FIDE and US Chess, and those platforms close accounts that do it. Use ChessHelper, DecodeChess and every other engine tool after the game, in analysis mode or in practice against bots.

Frequently asked questions