Chess.com Diamond vs Platinum: Which Should You Buy in 2026?

Chess.com Diamond vs Platinum: which should you buy in 2026?

Buy Platinum unless you will use Diamond's extra analysis tools after most of your games. Chess.com's own plan list, updated July 21, 2026, gives Platinum unlimited Game Review, puzzles and lessons, every bot and no ads, while Diamond adds coach explanations on every move, Insights, Cloud Analysis with Deep and Maximum engine strength, and Advanced Stats. If those extras would sit unopened, Platinum is the better buy.

This comparison is built from Chess.com's published plan documentation and help articles, plus one board maker's product page, rather than first-hand use of either tier.

The quick rule: Platinum pays for unlimited engine review, and Diamond pays for a coaching layer on top of that review.

Diamond vs Platinum, feature by feature

Each tier includes everything below it. Per Chess.com's Help Center (checked October 2026), Platinum accounts get everything Basic and Gold accounts get plus "UNLIMITED game review and analysis", and Diamond accounts get everything Basic, Gold and Platinum accounts get plus the extras marked in this table:

Feature	Platinum	Diamond
Game Review	Unlimited	Unlimited, with coach explanations on all of your moves
Puzzles, Puzzle Rush, lessons and video library	Unlimited	Unlimited
Every bot, no ads	Yes	Yes
Daily tournaments you can manage at once	Up to 100	Up to 100
Vacation days	3 per month, store up to 30	3 per month, store up to 30
Free trial	7 days	7 days
Insights (patterns and stats across your games)	No	Yes
Cloud Analysis, Deep and Maximum engine strength	No	Yes
Advanced Stats and Brilliant Moves	No	Yes
Customizable analysis settings	No	Yes
Family option	None	Friends & Family plan shares Diamond across up to six accounts

Apart from the coach explanations in the first row and the last five rows, the two tiers are identical, so the decision rests on those differences alone.

What Platinum already covers

For a player who reviews games, the bigger jump is from Gold to Platinum, not from Platinum to Diamond. A free account gets one full game review per day and three puzzles per day, according to Chess.com's plan list. Gold removes the puzzle and lesson limits and adds no ads, all of the computer personalities and the full video library. Platinum then adds unlimited game review and analysis, so every game you play can go through the engine.

If your routine is play, review, then fix the mistakes with puzzles and lessons, Platinum covers all of it. Our guide to analyzing your own games lays out a review loop that needs nothing beyond that tier.

What Diamond adds on top

Coach explanations on every move. Chess.com describes Diamond's review as "Unlimited Game Review PLUS get coach explanations on all of your moves". Platinum's review is just as unlimited; what Diamond adds is the per-move commentary.

Insights. This is the most extensive Diamond-only tool. Chess.com's Help Center calls it a feature "available to Diamond members" that reveals patterns such as wins and losses, accuracy, common mistakes "and even the time of day when you're most successful". It also tracks found and missed forks, pins and mates, and the pieces you and your opponent left hanging. Insights only counts standard chess, with no Chess960 or other variants, and skips games played against a computer, so it needs a steady supply of standard games against people to have much to say.

Cloud Analysis and deeper engine settings. "Only Diamond members can use Cloud Analysis, along with Deep and Maximum engine strength," per Chess.com's Game Analysis help page. That matters most for sharp positions you want to check at depth; for spotting the blunder that decided a club game, the standard analysis in Platinum is usually enough.

Advanced Stats, Brilliant Moves and custom analysis settings. These round out the analysis toolkit, along with extra custom flair icons, which are cosmetic.

Who should buy which

Pick Platinum if:

• you want the engine's verdict on every game, not just one a day;
• your training is mostly puzzles, lessons and Game Review;
• you play a handful of games a week, which gives Insights little to work with.

Pick Diamond if:

• you want an explanation for every move rather than reading the engine's verdicts on your own;
• you play enough standard games against people for Insights to find real patterns;
• you analyze sharp positions and want Cloud Analysis at Deep or Maximum strength;
• several people in one household play, in which case the Friends & Family plan puts everyone on Diamond.

Pick neither yet if you only want unlimited puzzles and lessons: Gold already removes those limits, and Platinum is worth its premium only for unlimited reviews. For the wider cost-per-use argument, read whether Chess.com Diamond is worth it; for the free route, see our Chess.com vs Lichess comparison.

How to compare both before paying

1. Run the free trial on Diamond. Each eligible account gets one free 7-day trial on Gold, Platinum, Diamond or the Family plan, and Chess.com itself recommends choosing Diamond "to explore all the features." A payment method is required, and the trial renews as a paid subscription unless you cancel before it ends.
2. Note which Diamond-only tools you open. If a week passes without Insights, Cloud Analysis or the per-move explanations, Platinum is the plan to keep.
3. Know the refund window. Chess.com gives first-time buyers a 30-day refund guarantee.
4. Upgrade later instead of guessing now. Card and PayPal subscribers get a discount for the unused part of their current plan; Chess.com's own example is a 50% discount on the upgrade price after 6 months of a 1-year subscription. Google Play converts the leftover balance into extra time on the new plan, while Apple charges the full amount and should refund part of the old subscription.

What it costs, and where to check

Chess.com does not publish one global price. Its Help Center says prices and currency are shown based on your location and that local taxes are added at checkout, so the only reliable number is the one on the Membership page for your own account; check the current price there before you buy (checked October 2026).

Be wary of older comparison tables. Chess.com's plan list notes that the current plans took effect on September 1st, 2022, and that members who signed up before then stay on the classic plans, so pages written for the old structure can show tier contents and prices that no longer match what a new subscriber gets.

If you also play over the board

Neither tier changes what happens at a physical board, but two pieces of kit connect over-the-board chess to whichever plan you choose:

• An electronic board. Chessnut's product page says the Chessnut Air "supports online play through compatible Chessnut apps and integrations, including Chess.com and Lichess", so your online games can be played with real pieces on either tier. Check price on Amazon. Other options are covered in our electronic chess board comparison.
• A scorebook. Chess.com's analysis board accepts a pasted PGN of "any game you want to analyze", so club and tournament games written down on paper can be analyzed with the same engine as your online games. Check price on Amazon

For sets, boards and clocks beyond these two, see our full shortlist.

Sources

1. What does each level of premium membership get me? — Chess.com Help Center (checked October 2026)
2. Where can I find the prices for the different levels of membership? — Chess.com Help Center (checked October 2026)
3. Is there a free trial on Chess.com? — Chess.com Help Center (checked October 2026)
4. I want to upgrade, what will I be charged? — Chess.com Help Center (checked October 2026)
5. What is Insights on Chess.com? — Chess.com Help Center (checked October 2026)
6. How do I use Game Analysis? — Chess.com Help Center (checked October 2026)
7. How do I use the analysis board? — Chess.com Help Center (checked October 2026)
8. Chessnut Air — Chessnut (checked October 2026)