Chess Caddy and ChessHost are both free, friendly tools for running casual chess tournaments, and both are made for organisers who are not arbiters. So which one should you use? They take quite different approaches, and the right pick depends on your venue and your players. Here is an honest Chess Caddy review and a straight comparison with ChessHost.
Pick Chess Caddy if your venue has no internet: it runs a whole event offline, with no sign-up, and keeps everything on your device.
Pick ChessHost if you want players to join from their own phones by QR code, pairings and standings on a TV, and certificates at the end. Free for one event a month of up to 12 players.
What Is Chess Caddy?
Chess Caddy is a free tournament app for in-person chess. It runs in a browser, and there are apps on the App Store and Google Play. It handles Swiss, round robin, knockout and Bughouse (teams of two), with automatic pairings and live standings, plus a Chess960 position generator.
Its big idea is privacy and independence. Chess Caddy says it needs no sign-up, works with no internet, and that your player data never leaves your device. Everything saves to your browser.
What Does Chess Caddy Cost?
Running tournaments is free. The only paid extra is an optional club page at $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year, which gives your club its own address with a rating ladder, a tournament archive and a page for each member. Sharing a results link is free.
What Chess Caddy Does Well
- Offline. A dropped Wi-Fi connection never stops play. For a church hall or a basement club with no signal, that is a real advantage.
- No account. Open it and start. Nothing to sign up for.
- Bughouse. Few tournament tools handle Bughouse at all.
- Choice of tiebreaks. Buchholz, Buchholz Cut-1, Median-Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger, cumulative and head-to-head.
Where Chess Caddy Is Different
The offline design has a trade-off. Chess Caddy's own app says tournaments are saved on that device only, and tells you to export a backup file. So:
- One device runs the event. If the laptop goes flat or the browser data is cleared, you need that backup.
- The organiser enters the players. Its site describes adding your players yourself; it does not describe players joining from their own phones.
For a small club night with one organiser and one laptop, neither matters. For a school hall with 40 kids arriving at once, it can.
The Chess Caddy Alternative: ChessHost
ChessHost is a free chess tournament app that runs in any browser, built around the busy moments of a real event: everyone arriving, everyone looking for their board, and everyone wanting to know who won.
- Players join themselves. Show a QR code at the door. Players scan it, type their name and wait for you to approve them, or turn on auto-approve. No app and no player account.
- Pairings on the TV. One link on any TV or projector shows pairings, live standings and a break timer, in four themes: Casual, Esports, Kids and Modern.
- Saved in the cloud. Your event is not tied to one laptop. Start it on your phone, check it on a computer.
- Swiss, round robin, knockout or team battle, with tiebreaks explained in plain words.
- Certificates. PDF certificates for every player when you finish, free.
- Chess lessons. Ready-made lessons you can show on the same TV. Basics lessons are free, the rest come with Pro.
Chess Caddy vs ChessHost: Side-by-Side
| Feature | Chess Caddy | ChessHost |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; club page $2.99 a month | Free for 1 event a month up to 12 players; Pro $7 a month |
| Account | None | Free account for the organiser; none for players |
| Works with no internet | Yes | Needs a connection |
| Where the event is saved | On your device | In your ChessHost account |
| Formats | Swiss, round robin, knockout, Bughouse | Swiss, round robin, knockout, team battle |
| Players join from their phones | Not described on its site | Yes, by QR code |
| Venue TV display | Yes, its app has a "Publish TV display" option | Full-screen pairings and standings, four themes |
| Certificates | Not described on its site | Yes, PDF, free |
| Best for | Small club nights with no Wi-Fi | Schools, cafes, offices and busy club nights |
Choose Chess Caddy If
Your venue has no internet, you run the event from one laptop, or you want Bughouse.
Choose ChessHost If
You want players signing in by QR code, pairings and standings on a TV, certificates at the end, and an event you can open from any device.
How to Run Your First ChessHost Event
- Create the event with a free account: a name and a time control is all it asks.
- Open registrations and show the QR code at the door.
- Start round 1 and put the TV link on the big screen.
- Tap in results. Standings update live, and certificates are ready at the end.
Comparing more tools? See Tornelo vs ChessManager vs Chess Caddy.
Try ChessHost Free Tonight
No download. No credit card. Create a free account and go. Players join by QR code, no app and no account.
Launch ChessHostFrequently Asked Questions
Is Chess Caddy free?
Yes. Running tournaments in Chess Caddy is free. The only paid extra is an optional club page at $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year, with a rating ladder, a tournament archive and member pages.
Does Chess Caddy work offline?
Yes. Chess Caddy says it runs a whole event with no internet and saves everything in your browser. Tournaments are saved on that device only, so export a backup file to keep a copy.
What is the best Chess Caddy alternative?
ChessHost, if you want players to join from their own phones by QR code, pairings and standings on a TV, and PDF certificates at the end. It is free for one event a month of up to 12 players and saves your event in your account rather than on one device.
Does ChessHost work without internet?
No. ChessHost needs a connection so that players can join by QR code and the TV display can update live. If your venue has no internet at all, an offline tool such as Chess Caddy is the better fit.
Do players need an account to join a ChessHost event?
No. Players scan a QR code or open a link and type their name, with no app and no account. Only the organiser creates a free account.
Can ChessHost run Bughouse?
No. ChessHost runs Swiss, round robin, knockout and two-team battles. For Bughouse, Chess Caddy is one of the few tools that supports it.