Lichess Rating Distribution: What Percentile Are You?

The Short Answer

Quick answer: On Lichess, a blitz rating near 1480 sits in the middle of the pool. About 1990 puts you in the top 10%, and about 2360 in the top 1%. Rapid runs lower, with a middle near 1380. Bullet runs higher, near 1560. These are Lichess's own percentiles, read in late October 2026.

A percentile tells you where you stand, not how you play. For a feel of your level away from the rating list, you can play our chess bot at a strength you pick.

What I Checked

I pulled 103 percentile readings through Lichess's public API, all for players with settled ratings. I picked the players on 25 October 2026 from the 12 biggest arenas that had just finished. I took about two per 100 point band in blitz, rapid and bullet.

The players are only reading points. Each percentile comes from Lichess itself, measured against its whole weekly pool. So a small sample still traces the real curve. Between points, I drew straight lines and rounded the result.

I also read the Lichess source code that builds the number. Then I checked Google's search suggestions and Reddit threads from the past year. I didn't pull classical or puzzle ratings, so this post covers the three faster time controls.

How Lichess Works Out Your Percentile

Your percentile is the share of recent players rated below you. If Lichess says you're better than 53.1% of blitz players, then 53.1% of that pool sits under your rating.

The pool isn't everyone with an account. Lichess's stats code on GitHub works from a weekly rating spread. A player enters it after rated games in that time control, once they have at least two. They drop out seven days later unless they keep playing.

The spread refreshes every three hours. So it's a fresh picture of who's active. Old accounts that stopped playing don't count.

A Question Mark Means No Percentile

Lichess only shows a percentile once your rating is settled. Until then, a question mark sits beside the number. The Lichess FAQ ties that mark to the rating deviation, the system's measure of doubt, staying above 110.

When I tested the API, provisional ratings came back with no percentile at all. So if yours is missing, the fix is simple. Play more rated games in that one time control. The number appears once the question mark goes.

Blitz Percentiles by Rating

Google's suggestions show people searching the blitz, rapid and bullet spreads one by one. So here's each pool, starting with blitz.

1. 800 beats about 4% of active blitz players.
2. A 1000 player sits near 13%.
3. At 1200, it's about 27%.
4. Around 1500, you pass the middle, at about 53%.
5. Reaching 1800 puts you near 79%.
6. By 2000, the figure is roughly 91%.
7. Up at 2200, you beat about 96%.

The raw readings sit right on that line. A 1483 player had 50.3%, and a 1993 player had 90.3%. At the very bottom, a 508 player showed just 0.3%.

Rapid Percentiles by Rating

Rapid ratings rank higher than blitz at the same number. A 1500 rapid player beats about 61% of the pool, against 53% in blitz.

1. 800 rapid beats about 7.5% of players.
2. Players at 1000 sit near 17%.
3. With 1200, you're at about 34%.
4. Around 1500, it's roughly 61%.
5. Hitting 1800 puts you near 84%.
6. By 2000, you're at about 94%.
7. Near 2200, you beat almost 99%.

From my pull, a 1349 rapid player showed 47.4%. A 2029 player showed 95.1%.

Bullet Percentiles by Rating

Bullet runs the other way. The same number ranks lower than in blitz, and the top of the scale stretches further.

1. 800 bullet beats about 3% of players.
2. Moving to 1000, it's about 11%.
3. A 1200 player sits near 24%.
4. Around 1500, you're just under the middle, at 46%.
5. Getting to 1800 means about 69%.
6. By 2000, it's about 82%.
7. At 2200, the figure is near 92%.
8. Only at 2400 do you reach about 97%.

The highest bullet reading in my pull came from a 2706 player. Lichess put them at 99.6%.

The Middle, the Top 10% and the Top 1%

Turned around, the same data gives the rating you need for each mark. Each line below shows the middle, the top quarter, the top 10% and the top 1%.

1. Blitz: about 1480, 1750, 1990 and 2360.
2. Rapid: about 1380, 1670, 1890 and 2240.
3. Bullet: about 1560, 1890, 2170 and 2590.

So a 2000 blitz rating already puts you in the top 10%. In bullet, you'd need about 2170 for the same spot.

Why the Same Rating Ranks Differently

Each time control has its own pool, with its own mix of players. A rating only means something inside its pool. That's why 1500 sits above the middle in rapid and below it in bullet.

Lichess doesn't explain the gap, and my data can't tell you the reason either. It does show that raw numbers don't compare across time controls.

Compare percentiles instead. A 1500 rapid player at 61% stands higher in their pool than a 1500 bullet player at 46%.

Your Percentile Can Move Without a Game

Because the pool covers the past week, your percentile can drift while your rating sits still. The spread refreshes every three hours, as players join and drop out.

If more lower rated players are active this week, you'll show a higher percentile. If stronger players flood in, it can dip. Neither change says anything about your play.

So don't read much into a small move. If your rating didn't change, a shift of a point or two is just the pool moving.

Average vs Middle Rating

Google's suggestions show people asking for the average Lichess rating. Lichess doesn't publish one. Its percentiles give you the middle instead, the rating that half the pool sits below.

In late October 2026, that middle sat near 1480 in blitz, 1380 in rapid and 1560 in bullet. Every new account starts at 1500, according to the Lichess FAQ. So the middle isn't far from where everyone begins.

Those numbers describe active players only. Accounts that stopped playing months ago don't pull them down.

What Counts as a Good Lichess Rating?

Good depends on your goal, but percentiles give it a shape. In blitz, about 1750 puts you in the top quarter of active players. Around 1990 gets you into the top 10%.

For many players, the climb slows well before that. A September 2026 post in r/chess celebrated reaching the top 1%. Its author wrote, "The hardest plateau so far has definitely been 1700!"

If you're stuck at one band, our post on breaking a rating plateau has a plan.

Lichess vs Chess.com Percentiles

Search suggestions also pair Lichess percentiles with Chess.com ones. The two don't line up, and Reddit shows why people get confused.

In December 2025, a player in r/chess wrote, "My Blitz rating is 819 on Chess.com and 1340 on Lichess.org." They added, "Chess.com tells me I'm better than 73% of their Blitz players, whereas Lichess states that I'm only at the 38.2% percentile."

My October 2026 blitz numbers put 1340 at roughly 38 to 39%, so that reading still holds. The two sites rate different groups of players. Our post on Chess.com vs Lichess ratings covers the gap in rating points.

What Other Players Report

Other Reddit posts show the same surprise. In September 2026, a player in r/chessbeginners wrote, "After ~1k games, I'm sitting at 1100 on Lichess." They were surprised that it "only puts me in the 24th percentile."

That fits the curves. Depending on the time control, 1100 sits between about 17% and 26% in my data.

Some players now prefer percentiles to ratings. In February 2026, a post in r/chess argued that saying "top 8% blitz" "instantly shows where you stand." I'd agree, as long as you compare inside one site.

Where to Find Your Own Percentile

Open your Lichess profile and click the rating for a time control. Its stats page shows a line that reads, "You are better than X of Blitz players," with your own figure in place of X.

That line only appears for a settled rating. Lichess also keeps a rating distribution chart for each time control, if you'd like to see the whole curve.

If you play several time controls, check each one. Your rapid percentile can differ a lot from your bullet one.

Climbing to the Next Band

The middle of the scale is crowded, so each rating point moves your percentile further there. In blitz, going from 1200 to 1500 adds about 26 points of percentile. From 2000 to 2300, it's only about 7.

1. Pick one time control and play most of your games there.
2. Play enough games to lose the question mark first.
3. Track your percentile monthly, not daily, since the pool moves.
4. Review your losses, especially the quick collapses.
5. Check the FIDE side too, if you play over the board. Our post on Lichess vs FIDE ratings compares the two.