ChessManager is web-based pairing software done simply: Swiss, double Swiss, and round robin in the browser, TRF/PGN/CSV exports, SMS pairing notifications, a free tier to try it, and a premium plan listed at $97/year that adds online payment collection. If you've been on WinTD or Swiss-Manager, it's an easy modernization step.
Chess67 agrees with ChessManager about the browser and disagrees about scope. Pairing is one chapter of a tournament — Chess67 also owns the registration page, the checkout, the family accounts, the USCF membership checks, and the club that runs the next event. The question is how much scope you actually want.
If you want lean web pairings and nothing else, ChessManager is a tidy tool. If registration, payments, and your club are part of the job, lean stops being a feature.
| Fact | Chess67 | ChessManager |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Web platform for chess clubs and tournaments: registration, payments, pairings, standings, and member management | Web-based tournament pairing software |
| Runs on | Any browser — phone, tablet, or laptop | Any browser |
| Price | Free to use*; 2% platform fee on Chess67 sales, plus processor fees that may include Stripe nonprofit discounts | Free tier; Premium listed at $97/year |
| Payments | Stripe or PayPal/Venmo checkout built into registration | Online payment collection on the premium plan |
| Formats & reporting | Swiss, round robin, double round robin, and quads; USCF tiebreaks and rating report export; FIDE TRF preparation | Swiss, double Swiss, round robin; TRF, PGN, and CSV export; SMS pairing notifications |
| Best for | US clubs and scholastic programs that want registration through standings in one product | Organizers who want simple web pairings without a surrounding platform |
ChessManager's free-tier limits and premium price were checked at chessmanager.com on the date below; verify before subscribing.
*Free to use means no base subscription: publish events, run tournaments, and manage members at $0. Chess67 takes a 2% platform fee only on sales processed through Chess67; merchant processing fees are separate. Eligible nonprofits may qualify for Stripe's discounted nonprofit processing rates where available. The optional PayPal add-on gives a 0% platform fee on PayPal and eligible Venmo sales while active. Full details on the pricing page, and Stripe's nonprofit-pricing details are available from Stripe.
Venmo appears only where PayPal marks it eligible: US merchant and buyer, USD checkout, supported browser/device, and the Venmo app installed. PayPal eligibility docs
Chess67 replaces the toolchain, not one link of it. The club website, the registration form, tournament day, and the rating report all read and write the same records — and the people who register become the club that fills your next event.
Everyone who registered is already in your member list — there is no export at the end and no starting over.
Where ChessManager fits: ChessManager covers stages two and three — web pairings, with payment collection on the premium plan. US rating submission and the membership loop live elsewhere.
ChessManager starts when you have players and ends when you have standings. Chess67 starts when you announce the event — public page, registration with per-section pricing, checkout — and keeps the roster alive afterward as club members and families. If those chapters are handled elsewhere in your life and you like it that way, ChessManager's narrowness is a feature, not a gap.
Chess67 is built for US-rated events: USCF rating report export, rating syncs, and membership validation at registration that can warn, email, or block expired IDs. ChessManager leans European — TRF exports for FIDE-style events. Match the tool to the federation you actually file with.
ChessManager collects payments on its premium plan: $97/year, plus a 2% commission on the entry fees you collect (processor fees separate). Chess67 builds checkout into registration with no subscription — the same 2% platform fee on sales processed through Chess67, processor fees separate, eligible Stripe nonprofit discounts where available, and an optional PayPal add-on ($10/mo billed yearly) that drops it to 0% on PayPal and eligible Venmo sales. So on paid events both take about 2%; the difference is that Chess67 has no $97/year on top. Free events cost nothing on either product.
Both screenshots come from public pages, linked below each image.
Chess67Chess67's round control screen: pairings, results, byes, and board operations in the browser. Real product, sample data.
Source
ChessManagerChessManager's public site: web pairing software, presented simply.
SourceTakeaway: Both moved pairings to the browser. The difference is whether the browser tab should also contain the registration, the money, and the club.
The screens behind the claims on this page — real product, sample data.
USCF membership checked live during signup: current ratings, status, and expiration before the entry is accepted.
See it live
Standings update for players and parents the moment results go in — no separate publishing step.
See it live
The USCF submission package — all three DBF files, zipped — plus CSV, TDEXPORT, and FIDE TRF16 outputs.
See it liveScored from each product's public documentation and pricing pages — the rubric is at the bottom of this page.
| Capability | Why it matters | Chess67 | ChessManager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public online registration pages | Players sign themselves up and the roster builds itself — nobody re-types entries from email. | Yes | Yes |
| Payments collected at signup | Entry fees arrive with the registration, so there's no cash box reconciliation afterward. | Yes | Partial |
| Pairings and tiebreaks built in | The same product that took registrations can pair round one — no export into separate pairing software. | Yes | Yes |
| Round robin and quad formats | Club championships, K-3 sections, and small invitationals often aren't Swiss events. | Yes | Yes |
| Live pairings and standings for players | Players check their board on a phone instead of crowding a printed wallchart between rounds. | Yes | Yes |
| USCF rating report export | Rated US events have to file a report — exporting it beats assembling one by hand on Sunday night. | Yes | Partial |
| FIDE report (TRF) preparation | FIDE-rated sections need a TRF file with complete player and arbiter data. Final reporting still goes through your arbiter and federation. | Partial | Partial |
| Custom registration questions and per-section pricing | School, team, bye requests, T-shirt size, different fees per section — real events need flexible forms. | Yes | Yes |
| Family accounts (one parent, several kids) | Scholastic events run on parents. One login that manages every child beats re-typing each kid every event. | Yes | No |
| Check-in from a phone on site | Morning check-in moves faster when any TD can work the line from a phone instead of one desk with one laptop. | Yes | Partial |
| Messaging and announcements to players | Round delays, room changes, and next-event announcements reach everyone without a separate email tool. | Yes | Partial |
| Member history (attendance, payments, engagement) | Recurring clubs need to know who's active, who paid, and which families are drifting away — per member, over time. | Yes | No |
| Full product works on phones and tablets | Parents register from phones and TDs walk the floor. Desktop-only software puts a laptop between you and both. | Yes | Partial |
Chess67 is free to set up — publish a tournament page, take a few registrations, and pair a round. You'll know within an hour whether it fits how you direct.
We build Chess67, so read these pages knowing that. We base each comparison on the other product's public pricing and documentation, and we say plainly when the other tool is the better pick. Verify prices and features with each vendor before you buy — they change theirs, and we change ours.
Updated 2026-06-10