Chess.com vs Lichess vs FIDE rating: how they compare

The table uses Chess.com blitz as the starting point. Each row shows the average rating that players with that Chess.com blitz rating have in the other pools.

Source: ChessGoals rating comparison, as of July 2026, based on almost 20,000 active player profiles. ChessGoals uses Chess.com blitz as the baseline because it correlates best with the other pools, and it includes only Lichess players with a stable rating. There is no reliable data for FIDE ratings below about 1550, so the first two rows have no FIDE value.

• The values are averages. Many players with a Chess.com blitz rating of 1400 have a Lichess blitz rating far from 1685. ChessGoals gives a window around each value that contains only about half of the active players; for FIDE it is plus or minus 75 points.
• The gap changes with the level. At 800 on Chess.com blitz, Lichess blitz is about 490 points higher. At 1600 the gap is about 220, at 2200 only about 10. A fixed rule such as "add 300" does not work.
• Each time control is its own pool. On both sites, the rapid rating is higher than the blitz rating at most levels in the table. Compare blitz with blitz and rapid with rapid.
• It is a snapshot. Player pools change over time, so the values change as well. The table describes July 2026.

A higher number on one site does not mean that the players there are stronger. The scales simply sit at different heights, in the same way that 20 degrees Celsius and 68 degrees Fahrenheit describe the same temperature. Unlike temperature, there is no exact formula between chess rating scales, only statistical averages, and they shift as the player pools change.

• Different rating systems. Lichess uses Glicko-2, Chess.com uses Glicko and FIDE uses Elo. All three are built on the same idea of an expected score, but they handle uncertainty and new players differently. The formulas are explained on the Elo calculator page.
• Different starting points. Lichess starts every new player at 1500. On Chess.com the starting rating depends on the skill level chosen when the account is created; according to Chess.com's help center, most new players start at 400 or 800. Where a pool starts shapes where its players end up.
• Different players. A rating only compares you with the people in the same pool. Who plays on a site, how often and at which time controls differs from site to site, and the over-the-board players on the FIDE list are a different group again.
• Different conditions. FIDE games are played over the board, mostly with long time controls. Online blitz rewards speed and familiarity with the interface. The same player can be relatively stronger in one setting than in the other.
• Rating floors. The FIDE list starts at 1400, according to the FIDE rating regulations; players below that are shown as unrated. Online pools go much lower.

The conversion to FIDE is the least certain part of the table. It is based on fewer players than the online columns, and only on players for whom both an online and an over-the-board rating are known. Lichess itself advises that its ratings should not be compared directly with those of other organizations, because player pools and systems differ.

If you are planning your first rated tournament, use the table only as a rough idea of what to expect. Under the FIDE regulations, your first rating is published only after at least five games against rated opponents, and it is calculated from your results in those games, not from any online rating.

A conversion table tells you where players with your rating usually stand elsewhere. It does not tell you how well you play. For that, the moves of your own games are a better source than any number.

The ChessWOW app can estimate the playing level shown in a game for imported Lichess blitz and rapid games, for both players, as a rough range on the Lichess scale. Combined with the game report, which shows accuracy and the critical moments of each game, you see which moves cost you points and how your games compare over time. For Chess.com games and PGN files, the report works the same way, without the level estimate.