Chess.com vs Lichess Ratings Explained
Why your rating looks different on each platform and what the numbers really mean.
Published 2026-02-01 | Last verified 2026-07-06
Professor Archer says: My students always ask why their Lichess rating is higher than their Chess.com rating. The answer is simple: different starting points, different pools, different math. Neither number is wrong - they just measure on different scales.
Why the Ratings Differ
Chess.com uses the Glicko system with a starting rating around 400 to 800 depending on your initial assessment. Lichess uses Glicko-2 with a starting rating of 1500 for new accounts. This difference in starting point ripples through the entire rating distribution.
As a result, Lichess ratings tend to run 200 to 400 points higher than Chess.com ratings for the same player. A 1500 on Chess.com might be roughly equivalent to a 1700 to 1800 on Lichess.
Platform Comparison
| Feature | Chess.com | Lichess |
|---|---|---|
| Rating system | Glicko | Glicko-2 |
| Starting rating | Based on initial games (~400-800) | 1500 for new accounts |
| Rating pools | Separate for each time control | Separate for each time control |
| Cost | Free tier with premium options | Completely free and open source |
| Rating deflation | Generally lower numbers | Generally higher numbers |
Approximate Conversion Table (Rapid)
| Chess.com rapid | Lichess rapid (approx.) | What that level looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 600 | 1300-1500 | Learning phase: games decided by hanging pieces |
| 800 | 1450-1650 | Spots one-move threats, developing consistently |
| 1000 | 1600-1800 | Basic tactics land, simple plans appear |
| 1200 | 1750-1950 | Club-beginner level, openings take shape |
| 1500 | 2000-2200 | Solid club player, real positional ideas |
| 1800 | 2250-2400 | Strong club player, gap narrows |
| 2100+ | 2450+ | Expert level: the platforms nearly converge |
How to Compare Your Ratings
Treat the table above as ranges, not laws. It reflects the commonly observed pattern: the gap is widest (300-500 points) at lower ratings, because Lichess starts everyone at 1500 while Chess.com starts most players far lower, and it narrows toward the top, where both pools are dominated by experienced players. Your personal gap also depends on which site you play more, since an inactive rating goes stale.
Remember that even within the same platform, your rating differs across time controls. Your bullet, blitz, and rapid ratings reflect different skills and different player pools, and being 200 points stronger in rapid than in bullet is completely normal.
The healthiest approach is to track your improvement within a single platform and time control over time. That trend tells you everything you need to know about whether you are getting better.
What About Blitz? The Gap Is Smaller
The conversion table above is for rapid, where the gap is largest. In blitz, the two platforms sit closer together: the commonly observed difference is roughly 100 to 300 points at club level, again narrowing to almost nothing above 2200. Two forces push the blitz numbers together. First, blitz is the most-played time control on both sites, so both pools are enormous and well-mixed. Second, blitz attracts a higher share of experienced players on Chess.com, which lifts that pool's average strength relative to its rapid pool.
The practical takeaway: if your Lichess blitz is 400 points above your Chess.com blitz, that gap is bigger than the systems explain, and the likely cause is that one of the two ratings is stale or built on very few games. Play 30 or more recent games on each before reading anything into the comparison.
How Both Compare to FIDE (Over-the-Board)
The third number people want on this chart is their official over-the-board rating. As a rough community-observed anchor at club level, Chess.com rapid tends to land within about 100 points of a player's FIDE classical rating, sometimes a little above it, while Lichess ratings sit 200 to 400 points above FIDE for the same player. So a 1600 FIDE player will often be somewhere near 1550-1700 Chess.com rapid and 1900-2100 Lichess rapid.
Two honest caveats. Online and over-the-board chess are genuinely different skills: the board is physical, the clock pressure feels different, and you cannot premove. And FIDE's pool skews toward serious tournament players, so its scale is harder at every number. If you are preparing for your first rated event, read how to get a FIDE rating and try the FIDE rating calculator to see how your first results will be scored.
Why New Accounts Swing 100+ Points Per Game
Both platforms use a Glicko-family system, which tracks not just your rating but a "rating deviation": a measure of how confident the system is about your number. A brand-new account has a huge deviation, so early results move the rating in giant steps, sometimes well over 100 points for a single game. That is a feature, not a bug: the system is racing to find your true level quickly.
After roughly 20 to 30 games the deviation shrinks, the steps settle down to the familiar 5-10 points per game, and your rating becomes meaningful. This is also why you should never judge a rating gap between platforms while either account is young: a 10-game rating is a rough guess, not a measurement.
Find Your Real Level
If the platform numbers disagree and you want a neutral read, take our free chess rating test: twenty calibrated puzzles that estimate your strength on the standard Elo scale in about fifteen minutes, independent of any platform's starting-point quirks.
And if you want to understand exactly how each result moves your number, the Elo rating calculator shows the math for FIDE, USCF, Chess.com, and Lichess systems side by side. For the longer story of why rating scales drift apart in the first place, see how chess ratings work and rating inflation and deflation.
Platform Rating FAQ
Which platform is better for improving?
Both are excellent. Chess.com has more structured lessons and a larger player base. Lichess is free, open source, and has excellent analysis tools. Try both and use the one that keeps you playing and studying.
Should I care about my online rating?
Your rating is a useful benchmark for tracking progress, but do not obsess over it. Focus on learning and playing well. The rating will reflect your improvement over time.
Is a 1500 on Lichess the same as a 1500 on Chess.com?
No. A 1500 Lichess rapid player is typically closer to 1100-1200 on Chess.com rapid, while a 1500 Chess.com rapid player would sit around 2000-2200 on Lichess. Same number, very different levels, because the scales have different starting points.
Which platform rating is closer to my real (FIDE) strength?
Chess.com rapid tends to track FIDE classical more closely at club level, usually within about 100 points, while Lichess runs 200-400 points above FIDE. But no online number is official: only rated over-the-board play produces a FIDE rating.
Professor Archer says: Pick the platform you enjoy and focus on improving there. Your real strength is determined by your understanding of chess, not by which website gives you a higher number.
Quick Quiz
Why are Lichess ratings typically higher than Chess.com ratings for the same player?
- Lichess players are weaker - The player strength is comparable. The difference is in the rating system parameters, not the players.
- Lichess starts new accounts at 1500 while Chess.com starts lower (Correct) - Correct. The higher starting point on Lichess shifts the entire rating distribution upward compared to Chess.com.
- Chess.com intentionally deflates ratings - Chess.com does not intentionally deflate ratings. The difference comes from different starting points and system parameters.
- Lichess games are easier - The difficulty of opponents depends on your rating, not the platform. Both platforms match you with similarly rated players.