Last updated on January 16th, 2026 at 03:44 am
Chess Clock by Chess.com – Strategy Game Review
Chess Clock by Chess.com is a Strategy/Entertainment/Board game from Chess.com, LLC, first launched in 12th April 2014.
It’s rated 4+ and currently has 328+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Chess Clock by Chess.com Stand Out
Replace your chess clock with this free game timer! It's easy to use, yet fully featured to handle any time control. 100% free: no in-app purchases, no ads!
Choose your time control and you're ready to play. The 2nd player presses her button to start the 1st player's clock – and the game is on!
FEATURES
- Large, easy-to-read buttons
- Works in landscape and portrait on all devices
- Quickly customize the app for one-tap access to all your favorite time controls
- Time controls include base minutes per player and optional per-move delays or bonus time. The app supports both Fischer and Bronstein increments, as well as simple delays. The duration is up to you!
- Supports multiple-stage time controls commonly seen in tournaments, such as "40 moves in 2 hours + game in 60 minutes." A glance at the clock shows your current stage!
- Support for handicapping lets you set different time controls for each player!
- You can adjust the time remaining on the fly, in the middle of your game, for either or both players!
- Clock pauses automatically if the app is interrupted; manually pause the clock at any time
- Pleasant sounds for buttons and "time's up" alert
At Chess.com, we really do love chess, and sometimes we even play it offline! For times like that, we created this clock – and we hope you love it as much as we do.
This Strategy game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Chess Clock by Chess.com is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 18th June 2024
Recent improvements include:
Adding some minor updates and improvements!
We hope you love this update. If so, please consider giving it a fresh five-star rating or review. It really helps us out! Thank you – and enjoy your chess.
Download & Availability
Chess Clock by Chess.com is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get Chess Clock by Chess.com on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
It is a good chess clock, played for 8 hours.
Works really well, but please add options to warn of low time. 30 seconds left, 10 seconds, 1 min, etc. At least the standard 10 seconds but more options would be great. Right now there is no warning at all. Thank you,.
Our son and we just played 3 games in the time it would have taken to play one game.
The app is simple and no annoying ads or subscriptions. Everything works.
We would have to provide you five(5) minutes ahead of the conversation to connect thoughtfully. If it came down to use to bridge disputes, then order on the command. GREAT FOR CHESS But were left with a quarter in the air, a description of Batman, and a choice to honor.
A timeless test of the human power. The ultimate dual of instincts and planning and tactics to determine the worth of a person. Chess Grandmasters, the most prestigious line to walk this green grass. Chess is not a game but a test. To be a Grandmaster is to master the art of thinking. Chess as it evolves, sees new play-styles and possibilities. With these players so bursting with intelligence, not only can they pull off mind numbing moves, but they can in matters of seconds. This is what makes this here application so interesting. A utility for the purpose of tracking the time of each turn. How long are you playing for? Thirty minutes? An hour? Perhaps a mere three minutes. This clock has you covered. It can instantly switch the turns of each of the armies and determine who falls short. This is what determines the worth of a man. A player so reckless they could not dare to approach a last square before the timer goes blank. Blank like their head. This is ultimately how somebody is immediately identified as a worthless piece of scum that does not deserve life. One thing however this app falls short from is the cheese integration. Cheese not chess. The app has no mention of the renowned chess cheese rewards system, and may you know we are a cheese master of sorts, so this being absent from the app was UTTERLY (wink wink) heart wrenching. Besides this irreversible blunder, we are proud of the human race of accomplishing this feat. Bravo world! And a Merry Christmas too.
We love the simplicity and ease of use. Easy to set up and you are ready for a game.
The app does what you need it to but the problem is that if you use more than one finger to hit the timer, it wont count. You have to use one finger for it to consistently work. If you slap it like you would a regular button, multiple fingers touch at once and it will not always register a click to switch to your opponent. Easy fix on the developers end if they see this! If using only one finger to hit the clock isnt an issue for you, then this is a great app.
When using this app on our iPhone (12 pro iOS18) the brightness on the phone and does not allow the clock to be visible in certain outdoor settings.
Just what its needed to play timed.
This is a great App to have on your phone! We have used it as a (backup clock) during our Scholastic tournaments. Alton Academy 4 Chess.
We hosted our own tournament!! We were on a budget so, we used this app for the clocks, it worked great.
This is the best chess clock app ever! Very easy to use and is versatile with its custom time controls. Highly recommend to use this when playing speed chess on a board.
We revised this two four stars because it does add an increment – note, NOT a delay – but it adds it back after your move. We believe that is called, Fischer After. You cannot change that method. We were looking for a clock that gave a simple delay Before the timer started. So we were befuddled because no matter how we set it, the clock started immediately and time was not added on in the beginning (Fischer Before) as was done with other clocks. So, yeah, this works. But it would have been nice if the method was better described.
On a budget and arent looking to buy a legit clock? This is it. Simple, easy pre-set clock times on the go. Highly recommend.
The fact that chess.com makes this free, with no ads, no data collection, and no strings attached, made us end up buying their subscription for their main app. What a great move and a wonderful way to share the game.
This is the best. No ads, no payment and no lags.
Fantastic timer. Has all the features you need. And its free with no ads. Amazing.
Our app no longer makes a click noise when you hit the button. Even when we toggle it on/off. Very real bummer.
Love the new look and feel in the latest update.
This app is really good for chess especially when its made by chess.com and we really like the click noise from when finish your turn. But there is one thing its not bad but we are telling you this we are temporarily using this app until we get a real chess clock the kind where we press the button.
Bagel spiders haunt our dreams. Help.
What a great timer, with a nice theme but we just need more themes like (black&white) theme, this will be more beautiful! Pls add some more themes and sounds, we need a alert after a time ends up.
Free, easy to use, with the ability to save your favorite time settings with a beautiful interface. We would allow this in even biggest tournaments xD.
A simple and intuitive user interface that works well. Some nice options for more advanced use. Totally free and no annoying advertisements. Tested on our iPad and iPhone using most recent IOS version. Thank you developers.
Its a great app and we have so much fun playing with it. We totally recommend this app.
It's rare that we're pleseantly surprised by an app. No ads, beautiful UI, simple and intuitive. 10/10.
This chess timer app is perfect for almost all situations. They have some pre set options, but they also allow you to customize your clocks for different variations. Easy on use, customize and great on battery life. Perfect easy chess clock for planned or unplanned games.
Great look and feel. And functionality is top-notch.
We wanted an app for playing backgammon, and this one fits the bill VERY nicely! Use is intuitive (although it took us a bit to figure how to program delays). Automatic pause feature upon interruption is an obvious nice touch for a clock that is connected to your mobile phone. Manual pause feature works well to manage game interruptions. Two additions Id like to see: 1. A useful help/programming guide. 2. Visual countdown of the delay period. As it stands now, clock doesnt begin counting down until full delay period has expired, then clock displays count down of reserve time consumed. A great little app for backgammon or chess players. Highly recommended.
This is basically all anyone could ask for in a chess clock app. Everything works correctly, and there are preset settings for short and long games. Good work, Chess.com.
What a fantastic timer. Sometimes you find yourself playing real chess but dont have a clock on hand. This fantastic app has many of the time options of a real check clock. The button size and readability is very good. The sound effects give it a real visceral feel of hitting a clock! Would be cool to add a vibrate when hit button too.
We use this with other games like rumicube to add another dimension to it!!! What a blast!!! We put 5 min on the clock and add 2-5 sec per play to make it a blitz game.
Great clock with a lot of nice features. One small bug. Once youve made a time change in the Edit function of Settings, theres no option to cancel. There are only two choices. Both options, <Settings and Save, store the change. You have to go back and manually undo the update that was made.
- Keep the other clock running when one side runs out of time. Double forfeits are possible under USChess rules. 2. Show a progress bar marking the delay time. Other than that, great product.
We used o love the beep sound but it stopped working :(.
No updates in a long time appears to be abandoned. No iOS updates or updates for new hardware.
We cant figure out how to make the clock reset after each turn, it just pauses and then continues counting down. We want to give each player 1 minute per turn, but the clock doesnt reset after each turn. Tried messing with the settings, but couldnt get it to work. Very frustrating. EDIT: there is another app called Chess Clock Plus that does exactly what we want it to do (or close enough), and it is much more customizable.
Had to update when it was working fine, since the concept is so simple the fact that it had to be updated tells us it was a piece of junk to start with.
It's super easy to make custom time settings on this, and there are no overly complicated buttons, like in other chess clock apps. Definitely recommend.
A great clock, easy to use, easy to reset; enough of a click sound to notice but not distract; with clocks being so absurdly priced these days, this app is smart and effective. Cheers. Mark.
One idea: In delay mode how about also showing a little countdown timer.
Cant argue with free. No need for a $30 clock and this is 1,000xs better.
Coming from the makers of chess.com, our expectations were met. Everything works like it's supposed to, and it's free. For all chess lovers, this is definitely worth it.
A really nice timer for casual games with your friends. We like the ability to save your own preset times, so you can play your favorite time easily. A great alternative to an analog or electric chess timer. We would definitely pay money for this app. The only thing we would have liked to see is a sound cue for the end of the game. Overall, a very solid chess timer.
Simple app, does its job well. We'd even be willing to pay a few bucks for it.
This is one of the best chess clocks compared to it is free. Of course, if you go out and buy a real one, it is better but this is a FREE app.
Great app, does everything it needs to.
Great chess clock, we use it very frequently for Warmachine and Hordes Steamroller timing. Simple to set and up and reliable. A very good app. Still solid after an infrequent update.
Thank you for keeping this up to date! Its our favorite and we will keep using it. Its great and works well with our games with our friend who isnt super phone savvy. Perfect.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 2.0.7
- Size: 3.43 MB
- iOS: 14.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory:
- Developer: [Chess.com, LLC]()
Last updated: 18th June 2024 | Genre: Strategy, Entertainment | Developer: Chess.com, LLC