Best Woodpecker Method Apps (2026): Free and Paid Options Compared
An honest comparison of Woodpecker Method apps and formats: Peck, ChessWoodie, Disco Chess, ChessPecker, Chessigma, the Chessable course, Lichess studies, and the book.
- By Peck
- 3 min read
- 715 words
Peck offers free training with no paid tier or hearts. Chessigma offers one free Woodpecker set, and Disco Chess offers free training with a heart limit. If you want the book's own exercises, buy the book or the Chessable course. The options below let you repeat a fixed puzzle set in cycles. They differ in price, where the puzzles come from, and whether you track your time automatically or by hand.
This comparison is written by Peck, one of the apps listed. We have kept the facts to what each product says on its own site, and dated them. Prices and plans change, so check before you pay.
The comparison
Last verified: 30 September 2026.
| Option | Price | Puzzle source | Cycle tracking | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peck | Free, no paid tier, no ads | Lichess puzzle database, filtered by theme and rating | Automatic: time and accuracy per cycle, missed-puzzle review | Web (installable) |
| ChessWoodie | Free plan (up to 3 courses of 100–200 puzzles); Premium $8/month | Lichess puzzle database | Automatic, with speed and accuracy stats | Web, Android |
| Disco Chess | Free (sets up to 500, 5 hearts that refill); Premium €9.99/month or €79.99/year | Curated theme sets, plus tactics from your own games | Automatic, with spaced mistake review | Web, iOS, Android |
| ChessPecker | Free tier; paid premium | Curated sets by rating | Automatic, times per cycle | Web |
| Chessigma | One free Woodpecker set; unlimited sets with Supercoach ($14/month or $97/year) | Chessigma's own curated sets | Automatic; next cycle unlocks only when you are faster and at least as accurate | Web |
| Chessable course | Paid course; check the current course and video prices | The book's authors, adapted | Chessable's Cyclical Review mode repeats the course in cycles; spaced repetition otherwise | Web, iOS, Android |
| Lichess studies | Free | Any Lichess puzzle you copy in | Manual: you time cycles yourself | Web, mobile browser |
| The book or ebook | Paid; check the publisher | 1,128 exercises by Smith and Tikkanen | Manual: notebook or spreadsheet | Print; ebook via apps such as Forward Chess |
How to choose
You want to train for free
Peck has no paid tier: every feature is free, sets run from 20 to 500 puzzles, and there are no ads or hearts. Chessigma's free plan includes one Woodpecker set, with a stricter rule that you must improve before the next cycle unlocks. Disco Chess's free tier supports sets up to 500 puzzles and unlimited cycles, but mistakes cost hearts: you have five, and one regenerates every five hours.
You want the book's exercises
The book, the ebook, and the Chessable course contain Smith and Tikkanen's hand-picked positions and explanations. Apps built on Lichess puzzles use different positions. Quality Chess offers a free, authorized PDF excerpt, while the complete book is a paid publication; see Woodpecker Method book vs Peck for the formats and a free training alternative.
You want a phone app
Disco Chess has native iOS and Android apps, and ChessWoodie has an Android app. Peck and the others run in the mobile browser; Peck can be installed to your home screen.
You want to choose the exact theme and rating
Peck and ChessWoodie build sets from the Lichess database with rating and theme filters. Peck also offers ready-made starter sets for forks, pins, skewers, sacrifices, back-rank mates and checkmate patterns.
You want to do it all by hand
Save puzzles into a Lichess study, solve them in order and log your times. It costs nothing and works, but you track cycles and misses yourself. The Woodpecker Method guide explains the schedule to follow.
What every good Woodpecker app should do
Whichever you pick, check that it:
- Keeps the set fixed. The same positions every cycle. A trainer that serves new puzzles each time is regular puzzle practice, not the Woodpecker Method.
- Times each cycle. Getting faster on the same set is the whole point, so the app should show it.
- Shows your accuracy too. Faster but sloppier is not progress. Look for both numbers side by side.
- Lets you size the set. A set you can finish in about four weeks is the book's benchmark. That is usually 50–300 puzzles, not a fixed 1,000.
- Brings back your misses. A review queue for wrong answers turns mistakes into lessons. Our missed-puzzle checklist shows what to do with them.
Try Peck
Peck is free with no premium tier. Try three puzzles without an account, or read the complete Woodpecker Method guide first.