I've been playing on the free version for about 6 months and I'm getting frustrated with the ads and limited puzzle rush games. A bunch of my friends upgraded to premium and they keep talking about unlimited lessons and better analysis features. Is it actually worth dropping money on a subscription right now, or should I stick with free and use other sites?
It depends on what you're actually using it for. If you're serious about improving through lessons and deeper analysis, premium does add real value - the unlimited puzzle rush and better engine analysis are genuinely useful. But if you're mostly just playing casual games, the free version gets the job done fine, and honestly the ads aren't that intrusive once you get used to them. I'd suggest trying it for a month to see if the features actually change how you study, since you can always cancel if it doesn't click for you.
The ads thing alone drives most people crazy after a while, so I get the frustration. Before you commit though - are you actually using those lessons your friends mention, or are they just sitting there? Puzzle Rush is genuinely better unlimited, but here's what nobody talks about: you can get most of the analysis power for free by downloading your games and running them through Stockfish locally or on lichess (which is free and open-source). If you're grinding puzzles and want the ad-free experience without the full premium cost, Chess.com sometimes runs discounts on the cheaper tiers around holidays, so worth checking back in a few months rather than paying full price right now.
The real question is whether you'd actually *use* premium features or just pay to make the ads go away. Those are two different things, and a lot of people confuse them. If you're mainly annoyed by ads and just want to play casually, premium probably isn't worth it - you'd be paying mostly for convenience. But if you're genuinely interested in improving through lessons and want better analysis tools to review your games, then yeah, it makes sense.
Here's the thing though: unlimited puzzle rush sounds cool until you realize most people don't grind puzzles that much anyway. The real value is in the analysis features and the video lessons library. Before you commit, go check out what those lessons actually cover and whether they match where you're weak in your game. If your friends are actually *doing* the lessons and improving, ask them which ones helped most. If they just upgraded and haven't touched them? That's your answer right there.
Also worth considering: other sites like Lichess are completely free and have solid analysis tools. The Chess.com premium advantage isn't huge if you're comfortable with a different interface. So maybe try running a few of your games through Lichess analysis first - if you're happy with that level of detail, save your money. If you find yourself wanting more, then premium starts to feel worth it.
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