Home › Blog › Chess Clock Apps vs Physical Clocks: Which to Use?
The short version: most chess clock apps are free, and they all do the same one thing. Physical clocks still own rated tournaments. If you want a clock that also keeps a record of the game, that is the part almost nobody builds.
I have 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 click when you 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. We keep score in our heads, argue about who is ahead over the year, and lose track by March. A clock that counts the time and remembers nothing was never going to settle that.
So this is an honest comparison: digital chess clock apps, physical chess clocks, and where each one earns its place. I build one of these, so I will tell you plainly where the others are the better pick.
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 the position is a forced draw.
Most modern clocks add a small cushion each move, in one of two ways:
Increment (also called Fischer). A fixed number of seconds is added to your clock after every move. Play a 3 plus 2 game and you start with three minutes and gain two seconds per move.
Delay (Bronstein or simple delay). The clock waits a few seconds before your main time starts counting down. You get the same per-move cushion, but unused delay is not banked into your total.
The speed names are just time brackets. Bullet is roughly one to three minutes per player, blitz three to five, rapid ten to thirty, classical an hour or more. Every serious clock, physical or digital, handles all of them.
| CheckmateIRL | Chess.com clock | Typical timer app | DGT 3000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | Free or ads | ~$80 |
| Works offline | ✅ | ✅ | Usually | n/a |
| Increment and delay | ✅ | ✅ | Most | ✅ |
| Records the game | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Result plus Elo rating | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Board photo and history | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Legal at rated tournaments | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Best for | Casual and club games you want on record | A free pure timer | A quick free timer | Rated tournaments |
✅ yes ❌ no
Open either app store, search "chess clock," and you get dozens of results that are hard to tell apart. The best of them is the free clock from Chess.com. It supports increment, Bronstein and delay, multi-stage tournament controls, and a move counter, and it has more than ten million installs on Android alone. If you want a straight, no-cost timer to sit next to a real board, it is the obvious pick and I will happily say so.
One clarification, because it trips people up. Both Lichess and Chess.com run a clock inside every online game, but those are built into on-screen play and cannot time a game on a real board. The Chess.com clock in this comparison is its separate, free over-the-board timer app. When most people picture the Lichess clock, they are picturing the online one.
The strongest independent option is the Chess Clock app by Giulio Di Maria, with around half a million installs and the same deep set of time controls. Below those two sits a long tail of near-identical timers, most free, many with ads, all built to imitate a physical clock.
Here is the thing they share: when the game is over, nothing is saved. No result, no move record, no rating, no history. They are stopwatches with a chess skin. That is fine if a stopwatch is all you want.
CheckmateIRL is the part I built differently. It is a chess clock first, with bullet, blitz, rapid, and classical presets plus custom times, increment, and delay. Then it keeps the game. Move count, who won, a photo of the final position if you want one, and an offline Elo and Glicko rating that updates every time you play. Your opponent confirms the result before it counts, so the record stays honest. It all works with no internet, because cafés and parks do not come with wifi.
In other words, it works as an over-the-board chess game tracker. If you have searched for a Chess.com alternative for in-person play, or for apps like Chess.com that work at a real board, that recording layer is the piece the online platforms leave out.
Every other app times the game and forgets it. Ours writes it down.
For a long time the clock was a physical object, and for the most serious chess it still is. The reference point is the DGT 3000. It is FIDE approved, handles every modern time control, and is the clock you will see on the tables at rated events around the world. A new one runs about 80 dollars. The Chronos GX is the premium enthusiast choice at around 110 dollars, built like a tank. At the budget end, clocks like the LEAP sell for under 20.
Physical clocks beat any app at the things that matter most in a tournament hall. The buttons are decisive, there is no screen to lock or notification to interrupt, and there is no question of whether your phone is allowed at the board. At FIDE and USCF rated games an approved clock is required equipment and phones are restricted at the board. No app changes that, and you should not trust one that claims otherwise.
What they do not do is remember anything. A physical clock times the game and stops. It also costs money, lives in a bag you have to remember to bring, and hides custom time controls behind preset numbers you look up in a manual.
At a rated tournament, bring the DGT. Everywhere else, the clock is already in your pocket.
Best free pure timer: the Chess.com clock. Free, deep time controls, no ads, and the largest install base in the category.
Best for rated tournament play: a physical clock, with the DGT 3000 as the standard. It is required equipment at FIDE and USCF events, so there is no real contest here.
Best if you also want the game on record: CheckmateIRL. A chess clock that tracks every game, rates it offline, and keeps your head-to-head history. Built for cafés, clubs, and the rivalry you actually care about.
Best cheap physical option: an entry clock like the LEAP for under 20 dollars, or the DGT North American for US club play.
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 thing 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 the part the rest of the category skips.
CheckmateIRL is free on iOS and Android. It works offline, it tracks every game, and it builds an Elo rating earned across a real board instead of a screen.
Is there a free chess clock app? Yes. Most chess clock apps are free, including the Chess.com clock and CheckmateIRL. CheckmateIRL also records the game, confirms the result, and updates an offline Elo rating, while most free apps only keep the time.
What is the difference between increment and delay on a chess clock? Increment, also called Fischer, adds a set number of seconds to your clock after every move. Delay, whether Bronstein or simple delay, waits a few seconds before your main time starts counting down but does not add time to your total. Both give you a small cushion each move.
Can you use a phone app as a chess clock in a tournament? No. FIDE and USCF rated games require an approved physical clock such as the DGT 3000, and phones are usually restricted at the board. A chess clock app is for casual, club, and practice play.
What is the best chess clock app? For a free pure timer, the Chess.com clock is excellent. For casual and club games where you also want the game recorded and rated, CheckmateIRL is a chess clock that tracks every game. For rated tournaments, use a physical clock.
Do I need a physical chess clock? Only for rated tournament play, where an approved clock like the DGT 3000 is required. For casual games, club nights, home practice, and travel, a free app on your phone does the same timing job and keeps a record of the game.
Is there an over-the-board chess game tracker app? Yes. CheckmateIRL is an over-the-board chess game tracker. It works as a chess clock, then records each game with the result, a move count, and an offline Elo and Glicko rating, all without internet. Chess.com and Lichess track your online games, and CheckmateIRL does the same for games played on a real board.
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 real board, CheckmateIRL covers the in-person side: a chess clock that tracks every game, an offline rating, and a map of nearby venues and players. Many people use both, one for online and one for over-the-board.
Sources: FIDE Laws of Chess and clock regulations, Digital Game Technology (DGT 3000), Chess House and US Chess Sales (current clock prices), and Google Play and App Store listings (install counts, accessed June 2026).