The Honest Answer
Quick answer: There's no official conversion. FIDE and Chess.com use different rating systems on different pools of players, so the same number means different things. FIDE uses the Elo system for over the board games. Chess.com and Lichess use Glicko systems for online play. The only reliable way to know your FIDE rating is to play FIDE rated games.
That's not the answer most people want. But it's the true one, and it saves a lot of confusion.
What you can do is understand why the numbers differ. Once you know that, your online rating becomes a useful guide rather than a misleading one.
Two Different Rating Systems
FIDE, the international chess federation, rates over the board games with the Elo system. Wikipedia notes that FIDE uses an approximation of the logistic distribution rather than the normal distribution Elo first proposed.
Online sites mostly use Glicko. Wikipedia's Glicko entry lists Chess.com and Lichess among the platforms that use Glicko or Glicko 2.
The big difference is that Glicko tracks how certain it is about your rating. That's the rating deviation, a measure of how accurate your number is likely to be.
So a new online account can swing hundreds of points in a few games. A FIDE rating moves far more slowly.
Why Pools Matter More Than Formulas
Even with identical formulas, the numbers wouldn't match. A rating only means something inside its own pool of players.
Wikipedia's Elo entry puts it plainly: the ratings of different organizations aren't directly comparable, because they measure results within a closed pool rather than absolute skill.
The Lichess FAQ says the same thing in its own words. It advises against thinking of ratings as absolute numbers or comparing them with other organizations.
Think of it like two leagues. Being fifth in one league and fifth in another doesn't mean you're equally strong. It depends on who else is playing.
FIDE's pool is tournament players. Chess.com's pool is everyone with an account.
What Changed in FIDE Ratings in 2024
If you're comparing with an older FIDE rating, know that the system changed.
I read ChessBase's report on the new regulations. From 1 March 2024, FIDE raised the ratings of every player below 2000 by a one time adjustment of 0.40 times the gap to 2000. The rating floor rose from 1000 to 1400.
Here's what that means in practice. A player rated 1500 gained 200 points, since 0.40 times 500 is 200. A player rated 1800 gained 80.
The stated reason was rating deflation from earlier changes to the system.
So a 1600 FIDE rating from 2023 and a 1600 from 2026 don't mean quite the same thing.
How Lichess Starts You Off
Online ratings start in a very different place.
I checked the Lichess FAQ, and it says new accounts start at 1500 with a very wide uncertainty. The system then moves your rating quickly until it's confident.
Lichess shows a question mark next to a rating while its deviation is above 110. That's the site telling you the number isn't settled yet.
Chess.com also uses a Glicko system, so its ratings behave in a similar way early on, with large jumps at first.
The practical rule: ignore your online rating for your first few dozen games. It's still finding you.
Time Controls Don't Match Either
People often compare the wrong numbers.
FIDE has separate ratings for standard, rapid and blitz games. Chess.com and Lichess have separate ratings for bullet, blitz, rapid and more.
A FIDE standard rating comes from long games, often an hour or more per player. Most online ratings come from much faster games.
Comparing your online blitz rating with a FIDE standard rating mixes two different skills. Fast chess rewards pattern speed. Slow chess rewards calculation and planning.
If you want the closest comparison, use your online rapid or daily rating against FIDE standard. Even then, treat it as a rough guide.
Why Online Ratings Often Look Higher
Many players find their online number is higher than their over the board rating. There are a few likely reasons.
The pools are different. Online sites include huge numbers of casual players. Tournament pools are smaller and made up of people serious enough to enter events.
The floors are different. FIDE's floor is 1400 now, so its lowest ratings start higher than many online ones.
The conditions are different. At home you're relaxed, with no clock across the table and no opponent staring at you.
None of that makes online ratings fake. They just measure a different thing in a different room.
Online Conversion Charts
You'll find plenty of charts online claiming that a Chess.com rating of X equals a FIDE rating of Y. Treat them with care.
They're usually built from surveys, where players report both ratings. That can give a rough trend, but the samples are self selected and small at the extremes.
They also age quickly. The 2024 FIDE adjustment moved every rating below 2000, so charts made before it may now be off by a lot.
If you use one, use it as a guess about the range you might land in, not as a prediction of your exact number.
The tournament will tell you the real answer.
Chess.com vs Lichess, Too
Even the two big online sites don't match each other.
Both use Glicko based systems, but they start players differently and have different player pools. The same person can hold noticeably different numbers on each.
That's the clearest proof that ratings aren't universal. Two sites with similar systems and millions of players still disagree.
We looked at this gap in detail in our explainer on the Chess.com and Lichess rating difference.
If two online sites can't agree, it's no surprise that neither matches FIDE.
How to Get a FIDE Rating
If you want a real FIDE number, you have to earn it over the board.
That means playing in FIDE rated tournaments, usually through your national federation. Most federations list which events are FIDE rated.
You need to score results against rated opponents before a rating is published. The exact rules are in the FIDE Rating Regulations in the FIDE Handbook.
Start with local weekend events. They're usually the easiest entry point and give you games against a range of ratings.
Your first published rating is your real starting point. Everything before it was an estimate.
What Your Online Rating Is Good For
Online ratings are still very useful. Just use them for the right job.
They're great for tracking your own progress. If your rapid rating climbs 150 points over six months, you've improved, whatever that means in FIDE terms.
They're good for finding fair opponents. The site matches you with people near your level.
They're weak for comparing yourself with tournament players or claiming a strength level off the site.
If you're stuck at the same number for months, our guide to breaking out of a rating plateau has a plan for that.
Why FIDE Ratings Move Slowly
Over the board ratings feel sticky compared with online ones, and that's by design.
Wikipedia lists FIDE's development coefficients, called K factors. New players and juniors below 2300 use a K of 40. Players who have always been rated under 2400 use 20. Established players at 2400 and above use 10.
A higher K means bigger swings per game. That's why new and young players move quickly, and established players move slowly.
You also play far fewer rated games over the board. A busy tournament player might manage a few dozen a year, compared with hundreds online.
Fewer games and a smaller K make every result count for less.
Practice for Both
Online and over the board chess reward slightly different habits. Train for the one you care about.
If FIDE is your goal, play longer online games and write your moves on paper while you think. It builds the patience tournament chess needs.
If online is your goal, practice openings until the first moves are automatic, so you save time on the clock.
Either way, the same basics decide most games: safe pieces, a safe king and calculating one move further than feels comfortable.
You can play a practice game against the computer on our play page, at any strength you like.
The Bottom Line on Comparing
Here's how to think about the two numbers.
Your Chess.com rating tells you where you stand among Chess.com players, in that time control, today. Your FIDE rating tells you where you stand among tournament players over the board.
They overlap, but they aren't the same measurement. No chart turns one into the other precisely.
If someone asks your rating, name the site and the time control. "1650 rapid on Chess.com" is clear. "1650" on its own isn't.
And if you want a FIDE number, go and earn one. It's the only way to know.