Alternatives to Stockfish Chess
The world's strongest engine, free and open source. If that's not for you - or you want to try something different - here are apps that overlap on features and use cases.
8 alternatives at a glance
Ordered by weighted overlap with Stockfish Chess across use cases, features and platforms - not a quality ranking.
| App | Free tier | Paid from | Offline mode | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Chess | See review | Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS | ||
| Scid vs. PC | Free only | Windows, macOS, Linux | ||
| Arena Chess GUI | Free only | Windows, Linux | ||
| Chess.com | $4.17/mo | Not listed | Web, iOS, Android | |
| Chess King Learn | See review | Web, iOS, Android, macOS | ||
| Shredder Chess | $8.99 one-time | iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, Web | ||
| Lichess | Free only | Web, iOS, Android | ||
| Chessnut Air | $249.99 one-time | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS |
Forward Chess
Forward Chess, LLC
Interactive chess ebook reader with embedded engine.
Scid vs. PC
Steven Atkinson and contributors
Open-source database and analysis powerhouse.
Arena Chess GUI
Martin Blume
Veteran free GUI for running 250+ chess engines.
Chess.com
Chess.com, LLC
The default home of online chess.
Chess King Learn
Chess King (CHESSQUEEN INC, ex-Convekta)
Huge Convekta course catalog in one app.
Shredder Chess
Stefan Meyer-Kahlen
A classic standalone chess engine for offline play.
Lichess
Lichess (charity)
Free, open-source chess. Forever.
Chessnut Air
Pendo Technology Ltd. (Chessnut)
Affordable electronic board with multi-app support.