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Best Chess Clock Apps Compared, Plus When You Need a Physical Clock

The short version: for a free timer, Giulio Di Maria's Chess Clock on Android and the Chess.com clock on both platforms are the strongest picks. For tournament-style time controls, add ChessClock+ on iPhone. If you want the results of your over-the-board games saved and rated, that's what Checkmate IRL is built for. FIDE-rated tournaments still need a physical clock.

I've tried a lot of chess clocks. The app stores are full of them, and after a while they blur together: free, clean, a few time controls, a satisfying tap. Then the game ends and the clock forgets it ever happened.

That last part is what bothered me. I play most of my chess against my dad, and we kept losing track of the score. So I built a clock that writes the result down. That means I have a horse in this race, so I'll tell you plainly where the other apps are the better pick. There are several.

I checked 8 apps against their store listings on 20 October 2026, and the Chess.com Android clock and the Lichess app against their open-source code too.

What a Chess Clock Actually Does

A chess clock is two timers in one. Each player gets a set amount of time for the whole game. You press your side after your move, which stops your clock and starts your opponent's. Run out of time and you lose, unless your opponent can't possibly checkmate you.

Most modern clocks add a small cushion each move. There are three common ways to do it:

Increment (also called Fischer). A fixed number of seconds is added to your clock after every move. Play 3 plus 2 and you start with 3 minutes and gain 2 seconds per move. Time you don't use builds up.

Simple delay (US delay). The clock waits a few seconds before your main time starts running. Move within the delay and your time doesn't drop at all.

Bronstein delay. After your move, you get back the time you used, up to the delay. The effect is the same as simple delay; only the display differs.

Two more modes show up on dedicated clock apps. Multi-stage controls change partway through, like 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 30 minutes for the rest, which is how classical tournaments are timed. Hourglass is a casual mode: while you think, time drains from your clock onto your opponent's.

The speed names are time brackets. By FIDE's lines, blitz is 10 minutes or less per player, rapid is more than 10 and under 60, and classical is 60 or more. Bullet, usually under 3 minutes, is an online term. Chess.com and Lichess draw their lines a little differently.

The 8 Chess Clock Apps at a Glance

Ratings and listings checked on the US App Store and Google Play on 20 October 2026. Ratings are rounded; the figure in brackets is the number of ratings. Most of these apps also let you give each player a different time.

The Best Chess Clock App for Each Job

Best free timer on Android: Chess Clock by Giulio Di Maria. No ads, a 4.9 rating from more than 10,000 reviews, 3-stage FIDE controls, hourglass, and it was still being updated in October 2026.

Best free timer on both platforms: the Chess.com clock. No ads, every common time control including multi-stage, and the biggest install base in the category, with more than 10 million downloads on Android. Its store listings haven't been updated since January 2025 on Android and June 2024 on iPhone.

Best for tournament controls on iPhone: ChessClock+. Increment, both delays, multi-phase controls and hourglass, free with optional tips. Its last update was in September 2023.

Already have Lichess: use its clock. It's inside the Lichess app, free, with increment and both kinds of delay. It doesn't do multi-stage controls.

Best for keeping a record of your results: Checkmate IRL. It saves each result, your opponent confirms it, and rated games build a Glicko rating and a head-to-head history. It has no Bronstein delay, multi-stage controls or hourglass, so for those, use one of the apps above. If you only want stats on one iPhone with no account, look at Chess Clock | Game Timer.

Best for FIDE-rated tournaments: a physical clock. FIDE requires a clock with two time displays and keeps unapproved electronic devices away from the board. More on that below.

The Apps, One by One

Chess Clock by Chess.com. The default for most people, and a good one. It handles Fischer increment, Bronstein and simple delay, and multi-stage controls such as 40 moves in 2 hours plus 60 minutes, and on iPhone you can give each player different times. It's free with no ads, and the Android version is open source. It times the game and saves nothing.

Lichess. The Lichess clock lives inside the main Lichess app. It covers increment and both delays, lets each side have different times, and counts moves. Lichess also has an "over the board" mode, which is a board on your phone screen for two people sharing one device. It doesn't time a game on a physical board or rate it.

Chess Clock by Giulio Di Maria. The best-rated big clock app on Android. Increment, both delays, up to 3 stages in FIDE mode, hourglass, time per move and handicaps, with no ads and no purchases. Android only.

ChessClock+. The widest set of controls of the iPhone apps here: increment, both delays, multi-phase controls, hourglass and per-player settings. Free, with optional tips. Its last update was in September 2023.

TouChess. A small, well-reviewed Android clock with classic, hourglass and FIDE modes, a move counter and no ads.

Chess Clock: Play Blitz Chess. Clean and popular, with presets and custom times. It shows ads, with paid options to remove them and add themes. Its listings mention increment but no delay modes.

Chess Clock | Game Timer. A new iPhone app, released in May 2026, and the only other app here that keeps games. It saves wins, losses and draws, head-to-heads between up to 10 local profiles, and how long each move took, with time charts and a PGN-style export of the timings, all on one phone. There's no rating and no account, so the record lives on that device. It has no store reviews yet.

Checkmate IRL. That's mine. It's a chess clock with bullet to classical presets, custom times up to 3 hours, increment and simple delay. When the game ends, the result is saved and your opponent confirms it. Rated games, where both players have an account, update an offline Glicko rating once the game syncs. The clock and game saving work with no signal. It also maps places to play and players nearby. The clock, tracking and club tools are free; an optional Pro plan is there for supporters.

Apps That Record Over-the-Board Games

"Records the game" can mean two different things, and no phone timer does both.

The result. Who played, who won, the time control, when. Checkmate IRL keeps this across two accounts, with the opponent confirming the result, and turns it into a rating and a head-to-head record. Chess Clock | Game Timer keeps similar stats on a single iPhone without accounts.

The moves. A phone clock can't see the board, so no app in this list records the actual moves. For that you still need a scoresheet, which you can type into Lichess afterwards for analysis, or an electronic board that records moves as you play.

If you've been looking for a chess game tracker for over-the-board play, the result is usually what you're after: a record of who you've played and how it went, the way Chess.com and Lichess track your online games.

Physical Chess Clocks

For the most serious chess, the clock is still a physical object. The reference point is the DGT 3000: FIDE approved, able to run every modern time control, and the clock you'll see on the tables at rated events around the world. Cheaper models handle casual and club play fine.

At FIDE events this isn't optional. The laws define a chess clock as one with two time displays, and players may not carry an electronic device the arbiter hasn't approved, so phones stay away from the board. I couldn't find a US Chess rule on phone clocks. Tournament directors on the US Chess forum say it's up to the director, and that some small local events allow a phone clock if both players agree. Ask before you rely on one.

Physical clocks have real advantages in a tournament hall. The buttons are decisive, and there's no screen to lock or notification to interrupt you. What they don't do is remember anything, and they cost money and live in a bag you have to remember to bring.

At a rated tournament, bring a physical clock. Everywhere else, the clock is already in your pocket.

Why I Built a Clock That Remembers the Game

The first version existed for one reason. I wanted to settle the running score against my dad. We play often, the lead changes hands, and a normal clock was no help once the game was over. I wanted every result logged, a rating that moved, and a history I could point at the next time he claimed he was ahead.

It turned out a lot of people want the same for their own games. The clock is the easy part. Keeping the record, confirming the result, and turning a year of café games into something you can look back on is what Checkmate IRL is for.

Checkmate IRL is free on iOS and Android.

More on the clock itself: the Checkmate IRL chess clock app. For how a clock app fits next to Chess.com, Lichess and Chessable, read the four apps every chess player needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free chess clock app? On Android, Chess Clock by Giulio Di Maria (free, no ads, rated 4.9 from more than 10,000 reviews) and the Chess.com clock (free, no ads, more than 10 million downloads) are the strongest. On iPhone, the Chess.com clock and ChessClock+ are the best-rated dedicated clocks. All of them keep time only.

Which chess clock apps support increment and delay? The Chess.com clock, the Lichess clock, Giulio Di Maria's Chess Clock, ChessClock+ and Chess Clock | Game Timer all support Fischer increment, Bronstein delay and simple delay. Checkmate IRL supports increment and simple delay.

Can a chess clock app handle tournament controls like 40 moves in 2 hours plus 60 minutes? Some can. The Chess.com clock supports multi-stage controls, Giulio Di Maria's app supports up to 3 stages, and ChessClock+ supports multi-phase controls. Checkmate IRL and the Lichess clock don't.

Is there a chess clock app that records over-the-board games? Yes, for results. Checkmate IRL saves each game's result, which your opponent confirms, and keeps a head-to-head record and a rating across accounts. Chess Clock | Game Timer on iPhone keeps win, loss and draw stats on one device. Neither records the moves themselves; for that you need a scoresheet or an electronic board.

Can I use a phone chess clock app in a rated tournament? Not in FIDE events, which require a clock with two time displays and don't allow electronic devices the arbiter hasn't approved. I couldn't find a US Chess rule on it; tournament directors say it's their call, and some small local events allow a phone clock if both players agree.

Do chess clock apps work without internet? Dedicated timers like the Chess.com clock, Giulio Di Maria's Chess Clock and ChessClock+ run entirely on the phone. In Checkmate IRL the clock and game saving work offline, and your rating updates once the game syncs.

Do chess clock apps have ads? Most of the well-rated ones don't. The Chess.com clock, Giulio Di Maria's, Lichess, ChessClock+, TouChess and Checkmate IRL show no ads. Chess Clock: Play Blitz Chess and several low-rated timers do.

What is a good Chess.com alternative for over-the-board chess? Chess.com and Lichess are built for online play. For chess on a physical board, Checkmate IRL covers the in-person side: a chess clock that saves each result, an offline rating, and a map of nearby places and players. Many people use both, one online and one over the board.

Sources: Google Play and App Store listings for each app (US, checked 20 October 2026); the open-source code of the Chess.com Android clock and the Lichess mobile app; FIDE Laws of Chess (Articles 6.1 and 11.3.2, in force from 1 January 2023) and FIDE's time-control categories; the US Chess forum thread on phone clocks.