Chess.com vs Lichess: which is better in 2026?
Short answer: choose Chess.com if you want to learn, with a step by step lesson plan, a coach that reviews your games move by move, videos by masters and many ways to play. Choose Lichess if you want everything for free from an open source app run by volunteers, with Stockfish analysis, shared studies and arena tournaments. Both let you play people online in real time or by correspondence and solve puzzles.
How we compare: what each developer says the app does in its own App Store description, how you play, learn and analyse in each, and who runs it. Then the current standing of both on the Censuus ranking.
| Chess.com | Lichess | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | learning with lessons and a coach | free chess with deep analysis tools |
| Online play | one minute games to thirty minutes or longer, daily correspondence, tournaments | real time and correspondence games, arena tournaments |
| Variants | chess960, blitz, bullet, blindfold, Puzzle Rush, Puzzle Battle | not listed in its store description |
| Learning | step by step lessons, coach game review, videos and articles by masters | shared interactive studies, coordinates trainer |
| Analysis | game review with the coach, offline analysis | Stockfish on your phone or on the server, board editor |
| Offline | games against the computer with a timer | puzzles offline, over the board games with a friend and a chess clock |
| Who runs it | Chess.com, LLC | free, open source, volunteers and donations |
Playing online
Chess.com lets you play in real time from one minute games to thirty minutes or longer, keep daily correspondence games going, join tournaments and try variants such as chess960, blitz, bullet and blindfold. Lichess offers real time and correspondence games, arena tournaments and online bots, and lets you watch live broadcasts of major tournaments and Lichess TV.
Learning the game
Chess.com is built around learning: a step by step lesson plan from openings to endgames, interactive puzzle tutorials, videos and articles by masters, and a visual coach that plays with you, gives hints and reviews your games move by move. Lichess teaches through interactive studies you can build and share with others, plus a trainer for board coordinates.
Puzzles and analysis
Both have themed puzzles. Chess.com adds rated puzzles that adjust to your level, Puzzle Rush against the clock and Puzzle Battle. Lichess has Puzzle Storm against the clock, puzzles that work offline and analysis with the latest Stockfish engine on your device or on its server, plus a board editor to set up any position.
Cost and who runs it
Lichess describes itself as free and open source, powered by volunteers and donations, and its app is translated into 55 languages; lichess.org opens in Ukrainian. Chess.com says its two player online mode is free to play with friends, and the app has a Ukrainian interface in the UA App Store.
The verdict
Pick Chess.com to learn from scratch with lessons, a coach and many ways to play. Pick Lichess for free chess with Stockfish analysis, studies and arenas, without paying for anything. More chess apps, including one for children: chess apps.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chess.com or Lichess better?
Neither outright. Chess.com is better for learning with lessons and a coach; Lichess is better for free play with Stockfish analysis, studies and arenas.
Is Lichess really free?
Lichess describes itself as a free, open source chess app powered by volunteers and donations.
Which one works in Ukrainian?
Chess.com lists Ukrainian in the UA App Store, and lichess.org opens in Ukrainian.