Chess Subscription Break-Even Calculator

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This calculator compares a yearly subscription with buying the courses you actually want one by one, and shows how many months of monthly billing equal the yearly price. It is based on published documentation, pricing and reports, not on a test of any plan, and its only built-in prices are ChessMood's two yearly plans, dated 8 November 2026.

What it starts with

The defaults are ChessMood's yearly-billed prices from its pricing page, read on 8 November 2026. Essential is $948 a year ($79 a month billed yearly), and Pro is $1,188 a year ($99 a month billed yearly). Confirm both on the page before relying on a result, because prices change.

The monthly rate is a blank you fill in. ChessMood's pricing page has a monthly option and its FAQ says monthly billing can be cancelled anytime, and the script behind that page lists $99 for Essential and $129 for Pro, read on 8 November 2026. They are not in the visible page text, so confirm the current figure at checkout and enter it yourself. Our ChessMood pricing page explains what we could and could not read.

What it calculates

1. Yearly plan against buying courses. You enter the prices of the courses you would buy otherwise. The calculator adds them up and shows whether the yearly plan costs less, and by how much.
2. How many courses it takes. Given a typical single-course price, it shows how many courses you would need to buy before the yearly plan is cheaper.
3. Monthly against yearly. Given the monthly rate, it shows the first month at which paying monthly would have cost at least as much as the yearly price.
4. Essential against Pro. It shows the yearly difference ($240 on the dated defaults) and what that is per week, so you can decide if the extras are worth it.

For comparison prices you can use the standalone prices ChessMood lists on its course pages, which we read as WhiteMood Openings $250 and BlunderProof $300, or prices from other sellers. Many single ChessBase FritzTrainer courses list at EUR 29.90 as of 8 November 2026. The catalogue's price and refund tracker has current rows. Keep every price in one currency, because the calculator does not convert.

How to read the result

A yearly plan only looks cheap if you would use the courses. The calculator compares prices, not value: if you would buy two courses a year, a plan that includes hundreds of listed hours may cost more than what you need. If you would buy six, it may cost less. Use the price-per-hour calculator to see what the plan costs per hour you actually use, and the lifetime access vs subscription guide for the trade-off in general.

Check the refund rules too. ChessMood's refund policy gives 30 days from your first payment and covers the first subscription only; renewals are not refundable. The calculator therefore treats the second year as a commitment, not a trial. A plan is only worth it if it gets used, and the free Basic plan is the cheapest way to find out. For other options, see best chess subscriptions, or our ChessMood review. To narrow down courses first, use the course finder or the repertoire mapper, and see the tools hub for others. How we review explains the limits of this site's evidence. Nobody at ChessCourseFinder has used a paid plan.

What the seller's pages do not tell you

The figures this calculator most needs are the ones sellers leave out. ChessMood's monthly and Lifetime prices are in the script behind its pricing page and not in its visible text, so check the checkout page and enter them yourself. The four ChessMood course pages we read show a standalone price but not how long standalone access lasts, which matters when you compare buying with subscribing. No seller we read publishes how many courses members finish, so the number of courses you would really use is your own estimate.