Chessable vs ChessBase Fritztrainer

Pick Chessable if you want to be drilled on a repertoire or a puzzle set at spaced intervals, and a ChessBase FritzTrainer if you want one grandmaster's video treatment of a topic that you download and keep. Both sell one title at a time, so the decision rests on the format you will actually use and on what the whole bill is, because neither seller's headline price is the full story.

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Test depth: Public information only. Nobody at ChessCourseFinder has taken a course from either seller. This page is based on published documentation, pricing and reports read on 8 November 2026. How we review explains the limits.

The axis: interactive repetition versus downloadable video

Chessable's courses run on MoveTrainer. Chess.com's help article on the same MoveTrainer in its Courses feature says a line or puzzle comes back after a gap that grows when you answer correctly; we did not confirm the exact intervals on chessable.com. A ChessBase FritzTrainer is, on the shop pages we read, a video course sold as a download or on DVD, with some interactive exercises on the one page we read in full. The category page showed 298 results, though we are not sure that figure counts only courses.

That difference decides who each suits. Spaced repetition is designed for remembering exact moves, such as an opening repertoire or a tactics set. A single grandmaster explaining a model, such as why a London System arrangement works, is a different job, and some players want only the explanation. Both jobs are real, and neither seller shows evidence on which gives better results.

One topic, priced: the London System

The London System is covered by both sellers, so it gives a matched example. Prices are list prices read on 8 November 2026, each in its own currency, which we do not convert. Cost per hour is calculated from listed figures.

We did not divide Chessable's base price by its full video hours, because the base includes only part of the video. For Chessable the price you pay depends on whether you want the video, and on the four Chessable course pages read for this page, the full-video price is 3.6 to 6.7 times the base. For ChessBase the open questions are the running time (the Pähtz page contradicts itself) and VAT, which that page states in the EU price. Read each currency on its own: dollars with dollars, euros with euros.

The ChessBase news site, which is the seller's own, reviewed the Pähtz course at 4 out of 5 and called it suited to league and tournament players from about 1600. That is a rough guide from an interested source.

The cheapest route depends on which job you want done

Once the job is clear, the list prices above sort themselves out. On these figures, watching alone is cheapest at ChessBase and drilling alone is cheapest on a Chessable base price.

The last row needs care. Two authors' London repertoires can recommend different set-ups, so check that the lines agree before paying for both.

What spaced repetition costs in time

Drilling is the cheaper purchase and the bigger commitment of time. Chess.com's article lists eight levels with waits of about 4 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. We could not confirm that chessable.com uses the same intervals, so this is an illustration.

• How long it runs. Those waits add up to about 325 days, so a line learned today would keep coming back for nearly eleven months if you never miss one. A wrong answer sends it back to a shorter interval.
• How many reviews. Liem's London lists 208 variations. Taking each through eight levels once is 1,664 reviews, or about 9 hours at 20 seconds each and about 14 hours at 30 seconds (calculated; the seconds are our assumption, and missed answers add more).
• How that compares with watching. The Pähtz course, if the listed 13 hours is right, would take 13 weeks at an hour a week and then be finished, unless you go back to it.

A 30-day refund window closes well before a line reaches the longer intervals, so it can tell you whether you like the format but not whether the repertoire has stuck.

What you actually get with a FritzTrainer

A FritzTrainer is a piece of software with video inside it, and what you can do with one depends on when it was made. The details below come from a 1 August 2026 article on ChessBase's own news site, written by a long-time ChessBase customer, so read them as the seller's side.

So check the release year before buying if you do not have a Windows PC. The same article says older titles are still sold at their original, usually lower, release prices, and that tactics, strategy and endgame courses are "essentially timeless" while opening courses vary. That is a sensible rule of thumb, but it comes from a site selling them.

Downloads stay available: a 2018 ChessBase post says they are permanently saved in your account and can be downloaded again, and the shop page says the same about its server backups. The same post notes that the free Reader only reads the course, whereas a full ChessBase program lets you add your own variations. Chessable's nearest equivalent is its Repertoire feature, announced on 19 March 2026, which builds custom courses from existing variations.

Refunds and returns, read closely

Chessable's promise is simpler, and ChessBase's depends on how you take delivery. Chessable's 30-day guarantee is stated in its own blog. ChessBase's General Terms and Conditions describe a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal for consumers, which does not apply to audio, video or software "in a sealed package if the seal has been removed after delivery". So opening a DVD ends that right, and you bear the cost of returning goods. The section we read does not say how a download is treated, so ask ChessBase before relying on it. The same terms say shop prices include German VAT.

Side by side

Chessable's apps and offline mode are described on its App Store listing. Chessable's 30-day guarantee is stated in its blog post effective 2 January 2025. Chessable said in an update on its blog dated 9 January 2025 that tax would be added to US course purchases "in about a month", so the price at checkout can differ from the list price.

Which to choose

• You want to memorise a repertoire or work a tactics set repeatedly: Chessable, with PRO considered only if you buy many courses. See the Chessable review, the PRO review and the Woodpecker Method course page.
• You want a grandmaster to explain one topic and you will keep the files: a FritzTrainer, after checking length and refund terms. See the ChessBase FritzTrainer review and the Pähtz course page.
• You want one fee for many topics: neither; see Chessable vs ChessMood.

What the seller's pages do not tell you

• ChessBase's page conflicts with itself on length. The Pähtz product page says 13 hours, then approximately 4 to 8 hours in its delivery section, which may be standard text. Other retailers list 13 hours.
• The same title costs different amounts at different retailers. The Pähtz course was listed at GBP 49.95 at one UK retailer and $70.95 at US retailers per search summaries, against 59.90 EUR on ChessBase's shop.
• A Chessable "course" can be mostly puzzles or mostly video. The 100 Endgames You Must Know Workbook lists 347 puzzles and no video price, while Liem's London lists 13h 55m of video and 208 variations; the titles do not say which you are buying.
• A Chessable PRO discount exists but its price on chessable.com was unreadable. Chessable says PRO gives at least 20% off paid courses; the only PRO price we saw was the US App Store's $74.99 a year.

Who should skip each

Skip Chessable if you dislike repeated review, only want to watch or will not keep up with reviews for months. Skip FritzTrainer if you want built-in drilling or need a stated rating range, or if you need a money-back window on a download. Under about 800, free material looks the better first step to us, which is an opinion and not a measured result.

The free resources that cover similar ground

Lichess Practice and Studies cover basic tactics and endgames at no cost. Chessable courses that still show "Get for free" let you try its format; our free Chessable courses guide lists the ones checked on 8 November 2026. See also Chess.com Lessons vs Chessable, ChessMood vs Chessly and ChessMood vs Remote Chess Academy. The full set is in comparisons. Our opening page on London System courses compares more titles.