Where we stand, before the list. We make Chess Clock & Scorepad, free with banner ads, so we compete with these. It is last below, it is not the verdict, and we take no referral fee from anything named here.
On either phone, Chess.com’s Chess Clock is still the default. On Android, Giulio Di Maria’s Chess Clock does the same job and is still being updated. For rated over-the-board play, buy a physical clock.
The short answer, by player
App Store ratings and update dates were read on 26 October 2026. Google Play figures are from our reading on 20 October 2026, in the full comparison.
| If you | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Want a plain clock on any phone | Chess Clock by Chess.com | Free, no ads, no data; iPhone update Jun 2024 |
| Use Android and want it maintained | Chess Clock (Giulio Di Maria) | 4.9 from 10.2K reviews, no ads, Oct 2026 update |
| Want per-player settings on iPhone | ChessClock+ | 104 ratings at 4.9; Data Not Collected |
| Also play online and analyze games | Lichess | A clock inside a full chess app; updated 23 Oct 2026 |
| Play rated tournaments | DGT2010 | A physical clock, which DGT calls FIDE’s official one |
| Want the moves recorded as you play | Chess Clock & Scorepad (ours) | Scoresheet and PGN; banner ads; new |
Each pick in a paragraph
Chess Clock by Chess.com
The clock most players already have: 10M+ downloads on Google Play and 342 App Store ratings at 4.6. No ads, no purchases, and both stores say it collects no data. It only keeps time, and the iPhone version was last updated on 18 June 2024.
Chess Clock, by Giulio Di Maria
The best-rated clock-only app we found on Android, with 500K+ downloads. It covers Fischer, Bronstein and simple delay, handicaps and three-stage FIDE controls, with no ads or purchases. We found no iPhone version.
ChessClock+
An iPhone clock with separate settings for each player, multi-phase controls and custom low-time alerts. Apple’s panel reads Data Not Collected. Its last update was 10 September 2023.
Lichess
The free, open-source chess site’s app lists an over-the-board clock among its tools, with 772 App Store ratings at 4.1. Online play, puzzles and analysis come in the same install, so the clock takes more taps to reach.
DGT2010
A physical clock with 22 presets on two AA batteries. It never rings with a call or locks mid-game. DGT prints no price on its own page.
Chess Clock & Scorepad, ours
Fifteen ready time controls, multi-stage controls and a handicap. Make each move on the board on screen and the clock presses itself, then share the game as PGN. Banner ads sit on the menus, never on the running clock. Version 1.0.1 came out on 26 October 2026, with no ratings yet.
What these do better than ours
Chess.com’s clock, Giulio Di Maria’s and ChessClock+ show no ads and declare no data collected; ours shows banners, and its Google Play listing says it shares location and device IDs. The big two have millions of downloads behind them. A DGT2010 is allowed at a rated event, which no app is. If you only need a clock, Chess.com’s still does the job.
- App Store — Chess Clock by Chess.com
- Google Play — Chess Clock by Chess.com
- Google Play — Chess Clock (Giulio Di Maria)
- App Store — ChessClock+ (Brad Bambara)
- App Store — Lichess
- DGT — DGT2010 official FIDE chess clock
- App Store — Chess Clock & Scorepad, ours
- Google Play — Chess Clock & Scorepad, ours