Chess67 vs Swiss-Manager

By the Chess67 TeamUpdated 2026-06-10We make Chess67 — read accordingly

Swiss-Manager is the program FIDE arbiters know: a Windows license at €150 (€75 for the light version), FIDE Dutch pairings, TRF exports, and tight integration with Chess-Results.com. If you run norm events or federation-reported internationals, it's the established choice, and the arbiters you hire will expect it.

Chess67 is playing a different game. It's a web platform for the whole event — public registration, checkout, pairings, live standings, and the club around it — aimed at clubs, scholastic programs, and weekend opens more than title norms. This page is for organizers trying to figure out which game they're actually playing.

The short version

For FIDE norm events and federation reporting, stay with Swiss-Manager. For club and weekend events where registration and payments are half the work, Chess67 covers far more of the job.

Switch to Chess67 if

  • Your events are club nights, scholastic Saturdays, or weekend opens — not norm tournaments.
  • Registration, payment collection, and parent questions consume more of your week than pairings do.
  • You want players checking pairings and standings on phones instead of refreshing a results site.
  • You'd like the club around the event — members, messaging, family accounts — in the same product.

Stay with Swiss-Manager if

  • You run FIDE-rated norm events where arbiters and federations expect Swiss-Manager files.
  • Chess-Results.com publishing is part of how your circuit operates.
  • Your federation reporting workflow is settled and the €150 license is a one-time cost you've long since absorbed.

At a glance

FactChess67Swiss-Manager
What it isWeb platform for chess clubs and tournaments: registration, payments, pairings, standings, and member managementWindows pairing and reporting program, the FIDE-circuit standard
Runs onAny browser — phone, tablet, or laptopWindows PCs
PriceFree to use*; 2% platform fee on Chess67 sales, plus processor fees that may include Stripe nonprofit discounts€150 full version; €75 light version, one-time
PaymentsStripe or PayPal/Venmo checkout built into registrationNone — registration and fees are handled outside the program
Formats & reportingSwiss, round robin, double round robin, and quads; USCF tiebreaks and rating report export; FIDE TRF preparationFIDE Dutch pairings, tiebreak controls, TRF export, Chess-Results.com publishing
Best forClubs and weekend events where signup, payment, and pairing should be one systemArbiters running FIDE-rated and norm events

Swiss-Manager prices were checked at swiss-manager.at on the date below; verify before buying.

*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

The whole event is one pipeline

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.

One system, one set of records
  1. 1

    Club & event website

    • Hosted, search-ready pages for your club and every event
    • Schedule, location map, sections, and entry list in one place
    • No separate website builder to maintain
    Swiss-Manager: separate tool (or by hand)
  2. 2

    Registration & payment

    • Sections with their own pricing, eligibility, and bye requests
    • Family accounts, custom questions, live USCF membership checks
    • Stripe or PayPal checkout at signup
    Swiss-Manager: separate tool (or by hand)
  3. 3

    Tournament day

    • QR-code check-in instead of a line at the TD desk
    • Swiss, round robin, and quad pairings with USCF tiebreaks
    • Fast result entry, plus an optional self-serve kiosk
    Swiss-Manager plays here
  4. 4

    Rating submission

    • Compliance checks mapped to USCF rule numbers
    • Three-file USCF DBF package, zipped and ready to file
    • FIDE TRF preparation for FIDE-rated sections
    Swiss-Manager plays here

Then the roster becomes your club

Everyone who registered is already in your member list — there is no export at the end and no starting over.

  • Players and families join your club as members
  • Membership groups and dues collection
  • Bulk email with open and click tracking
  • Announce the next event to everyone who came to this one

Where Swiss-Manager fits: Swiss-Manager is a specialist in stages three and four — for FIDE-reported events, a superb one. Everything else on the line is yours to assemble from other tools.

How they actually differ

Be honest about FIDE reporting

Chess67 can prepare FIDE report files (TRF) and tracks FIDE IDs, arbiter rosters, and per-section reporting details — but Swiss-Manager has two decades of federation reporting behind it, and Chess67 is not approved, certified, or endorsed by FIDE. If you're running a norm event, use Swiss-Manager. We'd rather tell you that here than have you find out from your federation.

Everything before round one

Swiss-Manager assumes the entry list exists; collecting registrations and money is your problem. For a norm round-robin with ten invited players, that's no problem at all. For a 150-player weekend open with sections, early-bird pricing, and parents registering kids, it's most of the work — and it's the part Chess67 does natively with public registration pages, per-section pricing, and checkout.

Publishing

Swiss-Manager publishes to Chess-Results.com, which the international circuit reads. Chess67 publishes pairings and standings live on the event's own page, which your players' phones read. Which one matters depends entirely on who your audience is.

What each one looks like

Both screenshots come from public pages, linked below each image.

Chess67 tournament director screen showing round controls, pairings, game statuses, and board-level operations with sample data.Chess67

Chess67's round control screen: pairings, results, byes, and board operations in the browser. Real product, sample data.

Source
Swiss-Manager's website showing the pairing and tournament administration program.Swiss-Manager

Swiss-Manager's site: established pairing and reporting software, deeply tied to the FIDE reporting world.

Source

Takeaway: Swiss-Manager is specialized arbiter software. Chess67 is event software. Norm events need the former; most club calendars are better served by the latter.

Chess67 up close

The screens behind the claims on this page — real product, sample data.

Chess67 exports screen with a three-file USCF DBF submission package plus CSV, TDEXPORT, and FIDE TRF16 outputs.

The USCF submission package — all three DBF files, zipped — plus CSV, TDEXPORT, and FIDE TRF16 outputs.

See it live
Chess67 section selection step showing rating ranges, per-section prices, and a bye request control.

Sections carry their own rating range, price, and bye requests — players put themselves in the right place.

See it live
Chess67 live standings table with points, percentage, and win-draw-loss records.

Standings update for players and parents the moment results go in — no separate publishing step.

See it live

Feature by feature

Scored from each product's public documentation and pricing pages — the rubric is at the bottom of this page.

CapabilityWhy it mattersChess67Swiss-Manager
Public online registration pagesPlayers sign themselves up and the roster builds itself — nobody re-types entries from email.YesNo
Payments collected at signupEntry fees arrive with the registration, so there's no cash box reconciliation afterward.YesNo
Pairings and tiebreaks built inThe same product that took registrations can pair round one — no export into separate pairing software.YesYes
Round robin and quad formatsClub championships, K-3 sections, and small invitationals often aren't Swiss events.YesYes
Live pairings and standings for playersPlayers check their board on a phone instead of crowding a printed wallchart between rounds.YesNo
USCF rating report exportRated US events have to file a report — exporting it beats assembling one by hand on Sunday night.YesPartial
FIDE report (TRF) preparationFIDE-rated sections need a TRF file with complete player and arbiter data. Final reporting still goes through your arbiter and federation.PartialYes
Custom registration questions and per-section pricingSchool, team, bye requests, T-shirt size, different fees per section — real events need flexible forms.YesNo
Family accounts (one parent, several kids)Scholastic events run on parents. One login that manages every child beats re-typing each kid every event.YesNo
Check-in from a phone on siteMorning check-in moves faster when any TD can work the line from a phone instead of one desk with one laptop.YesNo
Messaging and announcements to playersRound delays, room changes, and next-event announcements reach everyone without a separate email tool.YesNo
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.YesNo
Full product works on phones and tabletsParents register from phones and TDs walk the floor. Desktop-only software puts a laptop between you and both.YesNo
Yes = Built into the product. Partial = Possible with limits, add-ons, or a companion tool. No = Not part of the product.
FIDE-related rows describe organizer preparation aids only. Chess67 is not approved, certified, or endorsed by FIDE; directors should verify final reporting requirements with the appropriate arbiter or federation.

Common questions

The easiest way to compare is to run one event.

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