You search “best app for learning openings” and get thirty listicles, all naming the same handful of apps, none telling you which one actually fits you. There’s no shortage of tools. The catch is they don’t teach the same way: some hand you courses to read, some drill you with flashcards, some just hand you a blank canvas and wish you luck. Which one’s right depends on what you’re actually trying to do.

Here’s how I sort them out, and who each one suits.

The criterion that changes everything: how you learn

What separates these apps isn’t how much content they pack in, it’s how the theory actually gets into your head. Three broad approaches.

Watching and reading. You follow a course, a video, a narrated lesson. Comfortable, but passive: it makes sense while you watch, then evaporates by your first real game.

Reviewing with cards. A position comes up, you have to find the right move, the app tests you again later. That’s spaced repetition, and it does work for raw recall.

Playing the moves. You’re at the controls, placing each piece yourself, in game order. It’s the closest thing to what you’ll actually be doing over the board.

Hold onto those three families, the rest follows from them.

Chessable: spaced repetition on courses

Chessable is built around the MoveTrainer and spaced repetition. You take a course (often written by a master or grandmaster), learn the lines, then the app quizzes you at widening intervals to lock them in. It’s solid and serious, especially if you like working a repertoire in depth.

The catch is that most of the good courses are paid, and the exercise stays anchored on “find the right move in this position” rather than playing out a game. If learning by cards suits you, it’s a benchmark. I go into it in Prologue vs Chessable.

Chess.com: the complete ecosystem

Chess.com is first and foremost where you play. Built around that: interactive lessons, an opening explorer, analysis tools, and stats on your own games (the Insights). If you want everything under one roof, play, analyze, learn, it’s hard to beat.

On openings specifically, things get more scattered. The lessons cover plenty of ground, but a chunk of the content and training features sits behind a subscription. Full comparison here: Prologue vs Chess.com lessons.

Lichess: studies, free and open source

Lichess is completely free and open source, no ads. For openings, its main tool is studies: interactive lessons anyone can build and share, plus a first-rate opening explorer drawing on millions of games. For a curious, self-directed player, it’s a goldmine.

Its weakness is the flip side of that strength. Because the content is community-made, quality is uneven, and there’s no ready-made path walking you from your first move to mastery. You chart the route yourself. Details in Prologue vs Lichess studies.

Prologue: learning by playing each move

Prologue goes all in on the third family. You don’t watch an opening or flip through cards, you replay it move by move in three passes. Guided first, with the move shown. Then with a small hint. Then cold, from memory. Every move gets a why, so you’re not parroting squares, you know what your bishop is doing on that diagonal.

The catalog runs to more than 300 sourced openings, and the whole Italian family is free, which is plenty to start. Its weak spot: it’s not where you play rated games or pick apart last night’s loss. It does one thing, teach openings, and stays in that lane.

The Italian after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, bishop already trained on f7: the kind of whole opening a good app makes you actually remember by having you replay it move by move.

So which one to choose?

There’s no overall winner here, just the right tool for what you need.

If you want one roof for playing, analyzing, and learning, that’s Chess.com. If you’d rather explore freely on your own terms without paying, Lichess. Chessable is the pick when you want to drill a deep repertoire into memory with spaced repetition. And if your goal is specifically to learn openings by playing them, explanations included, rather than memorizing them in the abstract, that’s where Prologue fits.

Nothing says you have to pick one. Plenty of players play on one platform and learn their openings on another. Still weighing the criteria? Read how to choose a chess app when you’re starting out, then browse the comparisons hub.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free app for openings?

Lichess, all of it, studies and explorer included. Prologue also gives you the whole Italian family free, which is already a full opening for White. What really decides it is the method: open-ended exploration on Lichess, guided learn-by-playing on Prologue. More in learning openings for free.

Do you have to pay to learn an opening well?

Not at the beginner-to-intermediate stage, no. An opening you understand well over five or six moves carries you a long way, and you can get that for free. Paying earns its keep once you want a deep, structured repertoire across many lines. Cost breakdown in how much it costs to learn openings.

Is an app enough, or do you need a book?

For most players an app is enough, because it makes you practice instead of just reading. A book still earns its place for the wider view and deeper analysis. I weigh the two in opening book or app.

Why learn by playing rather than with cards?

Because you’re reproducing the actual motion of playing, in order, which layers motor memory on top of the visual kind. Cards sharpen how you recognize positions; playing sharpens how you execute them. Full comparison in flashcards vs playing the opening.