Best Free Chess Apps in 2026: What $0 Really Gets You
Short answer
Lichess is the best free chess app. Add ChessHelper's free plan for level-matched review.
Lichess gives every feature away with no ads, so it wins this category outright. For reviewing your games with an engine set near your own rating, ChessHelper (chesshelper.ai), our own product, has a free plan that covers a few games a day. Chess.com's free Basic account is the best free place to play if you want the largest pool of opponents.
What "free" means for chess apps
Almost every chess app calls itself free. In practice there are three models. Fully free apps such as Lichess give everything away and are funded by donations. Freemium apps such as Chess.com, ChessKid, ChessHelper and DecodeChess let you use the core product and cap the study tools. Store-style apps such as Chessable are free to join but sell most of the content individually. The right question is not "is it free?" but "is the free part enough for what I do?".
Free versions compared
The table lists what each app's free version includes and where the limit falls, as published in November 2026.
| App | Free model | What is free | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lichess | Fully free | Play, unlimited browser analysis, puzzles, studies, explorer, tournaments | None; server analysis 40 games a day |
| ChessHelper | Freemium | Arrows, evaluation bar, alternatives, 800-3200 Elo setting | Listed as 3 games a day, 10 a week |
| Chess.com | Freemium | Unlimited games at every time control | 3 puzzles a day, limited Game Review, ads |
| ChessKid | Freemium | Play, lessons, puzzles, bots, safety features | Unlimited content needs Gold |
| Chessable | Store | Dozens of complete free courses | Most courses sold separately |
| DecodeChess | Freemium | 1 Decode Game a day, play the computer | No Deep Decode |
| Chess Tempo | Freemium | Tactics training | Extra modes and stats need a membership |
Lichess: the best free chess app overall
Lichess has no paid tier at all. Patrons donate, but they get the same features as everyone else. That means unlimited Stockfish analysis in your browser, unlimited puzzles including Puzzle Storm and Racer, studies, a 6-billion-game opening explorer, a 7-piece tablebase and unlimited tournaments, all without ads. The mobile app is free and open source on iOS and Android. The only gap is guided teaching: past the basics, you plan your own study. Read the Lichess review.
ChessHelper free plan: best free level-matched review
ChessHelper's free plan includes the full feature set on a limited number of games: move arrows, the evaluation bar, alternative lines and the strength setting from 800 to 3200 Elo. That last setting is what free engines elsewhere lack. The cap, listed as 3 games a day and 10 a week, is enough for a player who reviews their losses and too tight for daily heavy use, which is when Pro ($9.99 a month) makes sense. It needs desktop Chrome and runs on Chess.com and Lichess boards. As our own product, it is ranked here only for review, not as the best free app overall. Read the ChessHelper review.
Chess.com Basic: best free place to play
A free Chess.com account lets you play as many games as you want, at any time control, against the largest player pool online. The limits fall on study: three puzzles a day, one Coach game a month, restricted Game Review, and ads. If you mainly want opponents, Basic is all you need. Read the Chess.com review.
ChessKid: best free option for children
ChessKid's free account keeps every safety protection, including no kid-to-kid chat and no adult contact, while limiting how much content a child can use. That is the right trade-off: parents do not pay extra for safety. Read the ChessKid review.
Chessable free courses: best free opening study
Chessable lists dozens of completely free courses, each using the same spaced-repetition MoveTrainer as its paid ones. A free course is the best way to find out whether drilling lines suits you before buying anything. Read the Chessable review.
DecodeChess and Chess Tempo: useful free samples
DecodeChess's free plan gives one Decode Game a day, which is enough to explain your most important game of the day but leaves out Deep Decode. Chess Tempo's free account covers tactics training, with memberships adding more modes and statistics. Both are good free supplements to Lichess or Chess.com rather than replacements. Read the DecodeChess review.
A complete free chess setup
You can build a full improvement routine without paying anything:
- Play: Lichess or Chess.com Basic.
- Puzzles: Lichess puzzles, unlimited.
- Review: Lichess analysis and Learn from your mistakes; ChessHelper's free plan for a few games at your own level.
- Openings: a free Chessable course plus the Lichess opening explorer.
- Explanations: DecodeChess's one free Decode Game a day for your most instructive loss.
Pay for something only when a free limit actually blocks you, and then pay for that one job.
Free apps and your data
A free product still has to be funded somehow. Lichess says it is funded by donations and does not sell ads or user data. Chess.com's free account shows ads. ChessKid says it has no ads or outside links. Before you sign up for any free app, read its privacy policy, and use a separate email if you prefer to keep chess accounts apart from everything else.
Fair play
Free engines are as powerful as paid ones, and the rules are the same: no engine, extension or outside help during a game on Chess.com, Lichess or at FIDE and US Chess events. Analyze when the game is over.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best completely free chess app?
Lichess. It has no paid tier and no ads, and every feature, from Stockfish analysis to puzzles and tournaments, is free for everyone.
Is Chess.com free?
Yes, the Basic account is free and lets you play unlimited games. Puzzles, lessons and Game Review are limited until you pay for Gold, Platinum or Diamond.
Is there a free chess app with no ads?
Lichess has no ads. ChessKid says it carries no ads either. Chess.com's free account shows ads, which Gold removes.
Can I analyze my games for free?
Yes. Lichess offers unlimited free analysis with Stockfish. ChessHelper (chesshelper.ai) has a free plan for a few games a day with the engine set near your level, and DecodeChess explains one game a day for free.
Is Lichess really free forever?
Lichess has no paid tier and is funded by donations and Patrons, who get no extra features. Nobody can promise the future, but its model does not depend on selling upgrades.
See also: the full 2026 ranking and best chess apps for beginners.