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Online Chess Platforms · Tool Face-Off

Chess.com vs Lichess

Quick answer

Lichess is the scrappier, totally free open-source underdog that punches well above its weight; Chess.com is the polished mainstream giant with more bells, whistles, and a bigger bill.

Chess.com
The world's largest chess platform — with a price tag to match.
4.1★
VS
Our pick
Lichess
100% free, open-source chess for purists who hate paywalls.
4.2★
Price
Free tier + $14-16/mo or ~$99/yr for Premium
100% free, forever, no premium tier
Registered Users
~150 million+
~10 million registered
Daily Active Games
Millions; largest active pool
Hundreds of thousands daily
Puzzles
Millions of puzzles; adaptive trainer (Premium)
Millions of puzzles; fully free, open-source
Game Analysis
AI analysis; deep engine free (limited), unlimited Premium
Unlimited Stockfish analysis, always free
Lessons / Courses
Extensive video lessons & courses (mostly Premium)
Basic lessons only; no structured courses
Variants (Chess960, etc.)
Most popular variants supported
20+ variants including Crazyhouse, Antichess, etc.
Mobile App
Polished, feature-complete iOS & Android app
Good app, slightly less polished UI
Tournaments
Large official & user tournaments; some paywalled
Unlimited free arena & Swiss tournaments for all
Streamers / Content
Huge streamer ecosystem; Chess.com TV integrated
Streamer support via Lichess TV, smaller scene
Open Source
Proprietary
Fully open-source (AGPL)
Ad-Free
Ads on free tier
No ads, ever

Chess.com

Pricing★★½☆☆
Features★★★★★
Mobile App★★★★½
Ease of Use★★★★½
Learning Tools★★★★½
Community & Players★★★★★
Fair Play / Anti-Cheat★★★★½

Lichess

Pricing★★★★★
Features★★★★½
Mobile App★★★★☆
Ease of Use★★★★☆
Learning Tools★★★★☆
Community & Players★★★½☆
Fair Play / Anti-Cheat★★★★½

Worth knowing

Lichess spends roughly $0.005 per user per year — Magnus Carlsen probably spends more on a single espresso.

If you want

You want the richest learning experience with video courses and structured improvement

Chess.com's Premium library of lessons and coaches is unmatched for serious improvers willing to pay.

→ Pick Chess.com
If you want

You want everything for free with no compromise on core features

Lichess gives you unlimited analysis, puzzles, and tournaments without asking for a single cent.

→ Pick Lichess
If you want

You love playing weird chess variants like Antichess or Horde

Lichess supports 20+ variants out of the box; Chess.com's variant selection is comparatively slim.

→ Pick Lichess
If you want

You want the biggest player pool and fastest matchmaking at all time controls

150M+ users means you'll find an opponent in seconds, day or night, at any rating.

→ Pick Chess.com
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