The Short Answer
Quick answer: Gold is for puzzles, lessons and no ads. Platinum adds unlimited Game Review, which is the feature most improving players want. Diamond adds coach explanations on every move and the Insights stats page. If you only need computer analysis, Lichess gives you that free.
That's the decision in one paragraph. The rest of this post shows exactly what each plan unlocks, what it costs, and how to pick without overpaying.
Everything here is as of October 2026.
What the Free Account Gets
Start here, because the free account is better than most people think.
I checked Chess.com's own support page on membership levels, last updated July 21, 2026. A free account gets unlimited games in every time control and 20+ bot personalities.
The limits sit on training tools. Free accounts get 3 puzzles a day, 1 full Game Review a day, and 1 game against the Coach per month. Lessons are limited too.
So the free account is fine for playing. It's thin for structured study. That's the gap every paid plan is built to fill.
What Gold Adds
Gold removes the training limits that hurt most on a free account.
Per the support page, Gold adds:
- No ads
- Unlimited lessons and unlimited puzzles
- Unlimited Puzzle Rush and Puzzle Battle
- Full use of the opening explorer
- 100+ computer personalities
- Unlimited games against the Coach
What Gold doesn't add is unlimited Game Review. You're still on the free allowance there.
That makes Gold a puzzles and lessons plan. If your training is mostly tactics, it covers you.
What Platinum Adds
Platinum takes everything in Gold and adds one big thing: unlimited Game Review and analysis.
The support page also lists the ability to manage up to 100 Daily tournaments at once, plus storage for up to 30 vacation days and extra flair icons. Most players won't care about those.
Game Review is the point. It walks back through your game, marks your mistakes and shows the better move. On a free account, you get one full review a day.
If you play several games a day and review each one, Platinum is the plan that stops rationing your analysis.
What Diamond Adds
Diamond is the top plan. It adds three things over Platinum.
First, Game Review comes with coach explanations on all moves. Instead of just marking a mistake, it explains why the move was wrong in plain language.
Second, you get the Insights feature, which shows stats across all your games. That's where you see patterns, like which openings lose you the most points.
Third, you get Advanced Stats and Brilliant Moves.
None of these change what you can play. They change how much the site explains to you after you play.
What They Cost
Chess.com shows prices in your local currency, so the number you see depends on your country.
I pulled the prices Chess.com showed me from India on October 3, 2026, taxes included:
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | ₹199 | ₹1,599 |
| Platinum | ₹349 | ₹2,499 |
| Diamond | ₹549 | ₹3,799 |
The page also offered a weekly Platinum pass at ₹99.
Your prices will differ outside India. But the gaps between the plans give you a useful sense of scale, and the same logic applies wherever you buy.
Yearly Beats Monthly by a Lot
I compared twelve monthly payments with one yearly payment, using the prices above.
| Plan | 12 months, paid monthly | Paid yearly | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | ₹2,388 | ₹1,599 | about 33% |
| Platinum | ₹4,188 | ₹2,499 | about 40% |
| Diamond | ₹6,588 | ₹3,799 | about 42% |
The higher the plan, the bigger the yearly discount.
That changes the math. Yearly Diamond costs less than paying for Platinum month by month for a full year.
The catch is commitment. Pay monthly for a month or two first. Switch to yearly once you know you'll use it.
The Friends and Family Plan
There's a fourth option that few people notice.
Chess.com's Friends and Family FAQ says up to six members can share a Diamond yearly membership. One person signs up and invites up to five others.
In India, it showed at ₹6,499 a year. Split six ways, that's well under the price of a single Gold plan.
There are rules. Existing Premium members can't join as a secondary account. In some countries, everyone has to live in the same location as the main account holder.
If you have a chess club, a family or a group of friends who all play, it's the cheapest way to get Diamond.
Which Plan Fits How You Train
Match the plan to what you actually do every week:
| How you train | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Mostly play, rarely study | Free |
| Lots of puzzles and lessons | Gold |
| Review every game you play | Platinum |
| Want explanations, not just engine lines | Diamond |
| Several players in one house or club | Friends and Family |
Be honest about the first column. Pick the row that describes your real week, not the one you hope for.
The best plan is the cheapest one that removes the limit you hit most often.
Is Game Review Worth Paying For?
For most improving players, yes. Reviewing your own games is one of the most reliable ways to improve.
But be clear about what you're paying for. Engine analysis itself is available free elsewhere. What you pay for is the presentation: the move labels, the coach style summaries and the convenience.
The accuracy score that comes with it has limits. Our breakdown of how accurate Chess.com accuracy scores are covers what that number does and doesn't tell you.
And however you review, review well. Our guide to using Game Review better shows how to get more from each review.
The Free Alternative: Lichess
Before you pay, know what's free elsewhere.
Lichess gives every account free computer analysis of your games, unlimited puzzles and no ads. It's run as a nonprofit and doesn't sell premium tiers.
What it lacks is Chess.com's presentation layer. There's no coach voice explaining moves, and the review is more raw engine output.
So a common setup is to play on Chess.com and analyze on Lichess by importing the game. It costs nothing.
Our full Chess.com vs Lichess comparison goes through the rest of the differences.
When Diamond Is Worth It
Diamond makes sense in a few specific cases.
You're a newer player who doesn't understand engine lines yet. Coach explanations translate the engine into plain reasons, and that's where Diamond earns its price.
You play a lot and want to know where your points go. Insights shows patterns across hundreds of games that you'd never spot one game at a time.
You share it. On the Friends and Family plan, Diamond costs each person less than solo Gold.
If none of those fit, Platinum gives you the review you need for less.
When to Stay Free
Plenty of players should keep their money.
If you mostly play blitz for fun, the free account already gives you unlimited games.
If you're willing to import games into Lichess, you get free analysis there.
If you train openings, a paid plan isn't the deciding factor anyway. Opening work is about repetition, and free tools handle it. CheckmateX, the app behind this site, has opening drills built around spaced repetition.
Pay when you hit a limit every single day. Until then, the free tools are enough.
A Simple Way to Decide
Try this for one week before you buy anything.
Play on a free account. Every time you hit a limit, write down which one. Was it puzzles, Game Review, or lessons?
At the end of the week, count them.
Mostly puzzles or lessons means Gold. Mostly Game Review means Platinum. If you kept wishing the review explained itself, that's Diamond.
Then start with one month, not a year. Switch to yearly once you're sure, because that's where the real savings are.