Lichess suits players who want everything free, with no ads, no paywalls and open-source code run by volunteers, from bullet games to Stockfish analysis. Chess.com suits players who want guided lessons, a game-review coach, more than 100 bots and a huge community, with a Premium membership for the extras and no ads. If you just want to play and analyse for free, use Lichess; if you want to be taught, use Chess.com.
Both sites host millions of games a day, but they're run on very different lines. Lichess is a non-profit association powered by volunteers and donations, while Chess.com is a company with more than 650 staff working remotely from over 60 countries. I read both sites' about pages, Lichess's patron page, Chess.com's membership page and both App Store listings.
Lichess and Chess.com compared
| Lichess | Chess.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | Non-profit association, volunteers and donations | Company with 650+ team members |
| Games a day | More than five million | More than ten million, per its about page |
| Free to play | Yes, 100% free with no ads | Free games, with an optional Premium membership |
| Learning | Puzzles, studies, Stockfish analysis | Lessons by masters and a game-review coach |
| Bots | Online bots | 100+ bot opponents |
| Languages | 55 in the app | Not stated in the listing |
How Lichess stays free
Lichess's about page tells a good story. Thibault Duplessis began it in 2010 as a hobby project, and at first the site didn't even check whether moves were legal. He made it open source, so anyone can read the code, and volunteers now build features and help run the site while patrons cover the servers.
The page is blunt about why that matters: most free websites live on ads, user data or paywalls, and Lichess says it does none of these things and never will. The patron page sums it up as free chess for everyone, forever, with no ads and nothing held back for members. Its app covers real-time and correspondence chess, arena tournaments, Puzzle Storm, collaborative studies and live broadcasts of major tournaments.
What Chess.com adds
Chess.com is built around teaching. Its App Store listing describes hundreds of lessons and videos made by masters, a coach that reviews your games move by move, and a step-by-step plan that takes you from the rules to openings and endgames. There are more than 500,000 puzzles, with a rated mode that adjusts to your level, and Puzzle Rush to race the clock.
Two-player online chess is free, and the membership page offers Premium to play without ads and add more training, with a free trial. You can also watch the game's biggest names, including Hikaru, GothamChess and Magnus, through the app.
A note on the numbers
Chess.com quotes different numbers in different places: its about page says it hosts more than ten million games a day, while its App Store listing says more than 20 million and a community of more than 200 million players. Lichess says its users play more than five million games a day. Either way, you won't be short of opponents.
Handy extras on each side
Lichess's app includes a board editor and a chess clock for games at a real table, and its latest update lets you take a photo of a board to load the position, which is handy for checking a club game. Chess.com's app adds chess960, bullet and blindfold variants and offline games against the computer, so it's useful on a plane.
Who each site suits
Lichess suits players who want free analysis and tournaments without adverts, and people who like supporting open-source projects. Chess.com suits beginners, children learning the game, and improvers who want structured lessons and a coach. For more ways to practise, try these chess puzzle games and offline chess apps for Android.
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My advice on Lichess or Chess.com
If you already know how to play and want to get on with it, start with Lichess: it's all free, and its Stockfish analysis will show you where your games turned. If you're new, rusty or teaching a child, Chess.com's lessons and game-review coach will help you improve faster, and you can try Premium free first.
Do you make chess apps or game tools? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lichess completely free?
Yes. Lichess says it's 100% free, with no ads and no paywalls, funded by donations and run with volunteers.
Who started Lichess?
Lichess says Thibault Duplessis began work on it in 2010 as a hobby project.
Is Chess.com free?
Two-player online chess on Chess.com is free, according to its App Store listing, with Premium membership as an option.
How many games are played on Lichess?
Lichess says its users play more than five million games every day.
Does Chess.com have lessons?
Yes. Its app lists hundreds of lessons and videos by masters and a coach that reviews your games.
