How We Compare Chess Apps
This page explains how the rankings and reviews on this site are put together, including the part readers ask about most: how we handle the fact that ChessHelper (chesshelper.ai) is our own product.
What we do, and what we do not claim
We compare apps on their published features, platforms, plans and policies, read from each company's own website, help center and terms of service. We call this comparing, not testing. We do not claim lab tests, scored trials, hours of hands-on use or panels of testers, and you will not find star ratings or user reviews here, because we would have to invent them. Where we describe how an app's method works on a chess position, the position and every engine evaluation we quote have been checked with Stockfish and a move-legality checker before publication.
Criteria
An app is ranked for a job, not in general. Each category uses the criteria that matter for that job.
| Criterion | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Fit for the job | Does the core product do the thing the category is about: playing, reviewing, memorizing openings, teaching children? |
| Free version | What a player gets for $0, and where the limit falls |
| Paid plans | Plan names and, where published clearly, prices as listed in November 2026 |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, browser extension; what is missing |
| Level fit | Whether the app suits beginners, club players or advanced players |
| Safety | Chat, contact, moderation and parent controls, weighted heavily for children |
| Fair play | Whether the product's own guidance keeps it to study and review |
Sources
Facts about an app come from that company's own pages: pricing and membership pages, feature lists, help-center articles and terms of service. When a company does not publish a price clearly, we name the plan and leave the number out rather than quote a reseller or a blog. When sources disagree, the company's current page wins. Ownership history, such as Chess.com's 2022 acquisition of Play Magnus Group, comes from the companies' own announcements. Chess lines are checked with Stockfish and chess.js.
How we handle ChessHelper
ChessHelper is made by the same team that publishes this site. That is a conflict of interest, and we handle it with four rules.
- Disclosure on every page, at the top and in the footer, with full details on the About page.
- ChessHelper competes only where its features fit. It is ranked first for analysis and training at your own level, because its 800 to 3200 Elo strength setting is a real difference. It is not ranked for playing online, kids, openings or free apps overall; other products win those.
- Same review structure, same weaknesses section. The ChessHelper review lists its limits plainly: Chrome only, no phone app, two supported sites, a tight free plan, no lessons, not for children.
- No affiliate income from competitors. We earn nothing from links to Chess.com, Lichess, Chessable, ChessKid, DecodeChess or Chess Tempo, so there is no reason to rank them for commissions.
Update cadence
We recheck every price and plan name each quarter, and sooner when a company announces a change. Each page shows the date it was last updated. The current edition was published and updated on November 12, 2026. If an app is discontinued or changes so much that a ranking no longer holds, we revise the page rather than leave old advice in place.
Corrections
If you find an error, a changed price or a feature we missed, email [email protected] with the page and, if you can, a link to the company's own page that shows the correct information. We fix verified errors and update the page date. See the contact page for details.
Fair play
We do not rank or describe any tool as a way to get help during games. Every analysis app on this site is presented for reviewing finished games, analysis mode and practice against bots, in line with the rules of Chess.com, Lichess, FIDE and US Chess.