Spaced repetition · Your own games · No account
A Chessable alternative
that drills your own mistakes.
Chessable is the best-known app for learning pre-made courses with spaced repetition: MoveTrainer drills a Grandmaster's repertoire until the moves are automatic. Chessful uses spaced repetition too, on the mistakes from your own games. Stockfish checks every move on your device, each mistake is explained in plain language, and the ones you keep making become your daily training. You can use both.
How does Chessful compare to Chessable?
Both use spaced repetition. They differ in where the material comes from.
Training source
Chessful: Today's Training builds a 5, 10, or 15 minute session from the mistakes in your analysed games, and Review past mistakes brings misses back with spaced repetition.
Chessable: Pre-made courses authored by Grandmasters, drilled move by move with MoveTrainer.
Chessable: Pre-made courses authored by Grandmasters, drilled move by move with MoveTrainer.
Lessons and content
Chessful: 156 free lessons from the board itself to strategy, 15,000 puzzles in 53 themes, and 96 endgames to play out against Stockfish. No named-coach content.
Chessable: The course catalogue is the product, with courses by top Grandmasters.
Chessable: The course catalogue is the product, with courses by top Grandmasters.
Openings
Chessful: Opening Repertoire reads your analysed games and shows what you play, how you score, and where you leave the book. Premium adds the full move tree, engine corrections, and line drills.
Chessable: Openings are its core, taught as authored repertoires.
Chessable: Openings are its core, taught as authored repertoires.
Pricing
Chessful: Free with daily limits; Premium $2.99/mo or $17.99/yr (each with a 7-day free trial), or $29.99 lifetime.
Chessable: Freemium; Chessable Pro around $129/yr, plus most courses sold separately at $20 to $200 each.
Chessable: Freemium; Chessable Pro around $129/yr, plus most courses sold separately at $20 to $200 each.
Offline support
Chessful: Playing, analysis, lessons, puzzles, and endgames work offline. Purchases and Game Center need a connection.
Chessable: Courses can be downloaded for offline study, but it's an account-based online platform.
Chessable: Courses can be downloaded for offline study, but it's an account-based online platform.
Account requirement
Chessful: No account.
Chessable: Account required for course progress and subscription management.
Chessable: Account required for course progress and subscription management.
Chessful vs Chessable, feature by feature
The two training apps side by side.
| Feature | Chessful | Chessable |
|---|---|---|
| What you drill | Your own mistakes | Pre-made GM courses |
| Spaced repetition | Yes, on puzzles you missed | Yes, MoveTrainer on course lines |
| Engine analysis | On-device Stockfish (2 a day free, unlimited on Premium) | Course-based; varies by course |
| Plain-language mistakes | Yes, at your coaching level | Author commentary |
| Opponents to play | 40, from 400 to 2400 Elo (first 10 free) | No (study platform) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Web, iPhone, Android |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Offline | Play, analysis, lessons, puzzles | Offline course download only |
| Paid options | $2.99/mo, $17.99/yr, or $29.99 lifetime | ~$129/yr Pro + courses $20 to $200 |
Which to pick: memorisation or diagnosis
Pick Chessful if you want…
- Spaced-repetition training built from the mistakes you actually make
- Each mistake explained in plain language, with the line that punishes it
- Your Chess.com or Lichess games reviewed from a PGN export
- 40 opponents to play in the app, from 400 to 2400 Elo
- No account, and one lifetime price as an alternative to a subscription
Pick Chessable if you want…
- A deep catalogue of Grandmaster-authored opening, tactics, and endgame courses
- MoveTrainer for memorising long opening lines
- To learn a settled repertoire from scratch with author commentary
- A web version alongside the mobile apps, or Android
About Chessful
Questions
FAQ
What is the best Chessable alternative for iPhone?
Chessful is the closest alternative for a player who wants to fix their own mistakes rather than memorise pre-made courses. Chessable's MoveTrainer drills Grandmaster-authored opening and tactics courses with spaced repetition. Chessful analyses your own games with Stockfish on your device, explains each mistake in plain language, and builds your daily training from those mistakes. It runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Does Chessful use spaced repetition like Chessable's MoveTrainer?
Yes, on different material. MoveTrainer applies spaced repetition to the moves of a course, so you memorise an author's lines. Chessful's Review past mistakes schedules the puzzles you got wrong, taken from your own games, with spaced repetition, so they come back until you solve them. Each mistake is tagged with one of 10 types, such as Hanging Piece, Missed Fork, or Endgame Error.
Does Chessful have Grandmaster courses like Chessable?
No. Chessful has no courses by named players. It has 156 lessons that start with the board itself and run through checkmates, tactics, openings, endgames, thinking, and strategy, all free, plus 15,000 puzzles and 96 endgames. If you want a structured Grandmaster-authored repertoire, Chessable's catalogue is the better pick.
How much does Chessful cost compared to Chessable?
Chessful is free with daily limits: 2 analyses, 3 puzzles, and 2 coach hints a day, the first 10 opponents, and all 156 lessons. Premium removes the limits and costs $2.99/month or $17.99/year, each with a 7-day free trial, or $29.99 once. Nothing is sold per course. Chessable is freemium with a Chessable Pro subscription (around $129/year), and most courses are sold separately at $20 to $200 each.
Can I use both Chessable and Chessful?
Yes. Chessable is for memorising a repertoire or tactics course until recall is automatic. Chessful is for finding and fixing the mistakes you repeat in real games. Its Opening Repertoire also reads your analysed games and shows where you leave the book in the openings you actually play.
Does Chessful work offline like a downloaded Chessable course?
Yes, for everything you do with chess. Playing, Stockfish analysis, lessons, the puzzle library, and endgames run on the device with no account. Buying or restoring Premium and Game Center need a connection. Chessable can download courses for offline study, but it is an account-based online platform.
Try it
Open Chessful
Spaced-repetition training built from the games you've played, with no course catalogue to buy.
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