Lichess Rating vs FIDE Rating: How They Compare

The Short Answer

Quick answer: It depends on your level and time control. On ChessGoals' July 2026 table, a Lichess blitz rating of about 1500 matches roughly 1660 FIDE, so FIDE is higher there. The two meet near 1750. Above that, Lichess runs higher, and by 2600 blitz the gap is about 200 points. Treat any conversion as a rough guide.

A rating only means something next to other ratings from the same pool. If you'd like a quick test of your level, you can play our chess bot at a strength you pick.

What I Checked

I read the July 2026 rating comparison from ChessGoals, which matches ratings across sites for almost 20,000 players. I also read the Lichess FAQ and FIDE's rating rules from March 2024.

The two best known converters didn't agree. So I ran a small check of my own. In late October 2026, I pulled the players from six large Lichess hourly arenas through Lichess's public data. That gave 1,085 players. I counted 81 who list a FIDE rating on their profile.

Those FIDE numbers are typed in by the players, and nobody checks them. One profile claims 3000, a rating no human has ever reached. So treat my check as a sanity test, not a study.

Why the Numbers Don't Match

Lichess and FIDE measure strength in different pools of players. A rating only means something inside its own pool.

Lichess uses Glicko-2. FIDE still uses the older Elo system, which the Lichess FAQ calls "dated". The FAQ also says it's best to think of ratings as "'relative' figures" rather than absolute numbers.

Its plainest line is this one. "Saying 'I have X rating' means nothing unless there are other players to compare that rating to."

Our guide to how Lichess ratings work explains Glicko-2 in more detail.

FIDE Raised Low Ratings in 2024

The biggest change came from FIDE's side. On 1 March 2024, new rating rules took effect, and every standard rating under 2000 went up.

FIDE's announcement gave the formula: 0.40 times (2000 minus the old rating). A 1400 player became 1640. A 1600 player became 1760. Players at 2000 or more kept their rating.

FIDE also raised the rating floor from 1000 to 1400. So a converter built before March 2024 can miss by hundreds of points at club level. Check the date on any table before you trust it.

Lichess Blitz to FIDE

ChessGoals only counts Lichess players whose rating is settled, so brand new accounts don't skew it. Find your blitz number below and read across.

1. Around 1490 blitz, the FIDE figure is about 1660.
2. At 1620, it's about 1685.
3. The two meet near 1755 blitz and 1740 FIDE.
4. By 1885 blitz, FIDE trails at about 1820.
5. A 2015 blitz player lines up with roughly 1915.
6. Higher up, 2340 blitz matches about 2190.
7. Near the top, 2610 blitz sits next to only 2400.

The site gives its FIDE figures a margin of 75 points either way. Below 1490 blitz, it shows no FIDE figure at all.

Rapid and Classical Sit Above FIDE

On the same table, Lichess rapid sits above FIDE in every row. The gap starts near 20 points and reaches about 200 around the 2000 to 2200 mark. If you mostly play rapid, this is your list.

1. Near the bottom, 1680 rapid is about 1660 FIDE.
2. A 1850 rapid player maps to about 1710.
3. At 2015 rapid, the table shows roughly 1820.
4. Around 2215, you'd expect about 2020 FIDE.
5. Higher up, 2445 rapid sits next to 2300.

Classical runs up to about 170 points above FIDE, then closes to level at the very top. Few people play classical on Lichess, though. ChessGoals had 240 classical profiles, against 1,935 for blitz.

Bullet Swings the Most

Bullet has the widest spread. At the low end, 1445 bullet sits next to 1660 FIDE. At the top, 2800 bullet sits next to only 2400 FIDE.

That's a swing from about 215 points below FIDE to 400 points above it.

FIDE's standard list rates long games. A one minute game tests different skills, so I'd never use a bullet rating to guess a standard one.

A Second Converter Disagrees

ChessGoals isn't the only converter. In September 2024, the Lichess blogger NoseKnowsAll published a universal rating converter made for ChessDojo. It draws on thousands of ChessDojo members, plus the FIDE list and several national lists.

It only covers Lichess classical, and it says blitz ratings don't apply. Its FIDE figures sit much lower.

1. It maps 1600 classical to about 1400 FIDE.
2. For 1850 classical, it gives roughly 1600.
3. A 2310 player comes out near 2000.
4. At 2470, it reaches about 2400.

Look at 2310 classical. NoseKnowsAll says about 2000 FIDE, while ChessGoals puts 2280 classical next to 2190. That's close to 200 points apart for nearly the same player.

What My Own Check Showed

For blitz, my small sample sided with ChessGoals. I kept the 75 players with an established blitz rating, meaning 20 or more games and no question mark. Then I grouped them by blitz rating and took the middle value of each group.

1. Players around 1575 blitz had a middle FIDE rating near 1630.
2. The group around 1905 blitz sat near 1775 FIDE.
3. Those around 2120 blitz sat near 2040 FIDE.

Each one lands within about 60 points of the ChessGoals table. With 14 to 43 players per group, that's about as close as you can expect.

Start From FIDE and the Gap Flips

Here's the twist. When I grouped the same players by FIDE instead, the picture changed.

Players rated 1400 to 1800 FIDE had a middle Lichess blitz about 135 points above their FIDE. Players rated 2100 to 2400 FIDE sat about 105 points below it.

These are the same people, read from the other side. It happens with any two ratings that don't match perfectly. People near the edge of one list tend to sit closer to the middle of the other.

So a converter only works in the direction it was built. Reading it backwards gives a different answer.

Why the FIDE Floor Matters

FIDE's 2024 rules say a first rating "must be at least 1400". They also say players whose ratings drop below 1400 "are shown as unrated."

So weaker players drop out of the FIDE side of any comparison. ChessGoals says it has no accurate data for players under about 1550 FIDE, and it removes them as outliers. Every converter is thin at the bottom for the same reason.

If your Lichess blitz is under 1500, no table can tell you much. If you earn a FIDE rating at all, it'll start at 1400 or higher.

New Lichess Ratings Jump Around

Lichess starts every account at 1500, with a huge margin of error. The FAQ says the system is "95% sure that your rating is somewhere between 500 and 2500" at the start.

A question mark shows next to a rating while its deviation, the system's measure of doubt, is over 110. To reach a leaderboard, you need 30 rated games, a game in the last week and a deviation under 75.

So don't convert a rating with a question mark. Play 30 or more games in one time control first.

What Players Report on Reddit

Reddit threads show the same messy picture. In April 2026, an r/chess post took on the claim that "Lichess ratings are inflated" and used Big Mac prices in different countries to explain why.

Single reports vary a lot. In July 2026, a coach wrote of a "current FIDE rating of 1950 and a 2060 FIDE Blitz rating." The same coach put their Chess.com and Lichess blitz between 2200 and 2300. By the ChessGoals table, that blitz range points 100 to 200 points above their standard rating.

In October 2026, a player in r/chessbeginners described an opponent as "1700 rated on Lichess (1694 FIDE)." That one sits close to the table.

How to Estimate Your FIDE Rating

If you want a rough number, a few steps keep it honest.

1. Use a rating with no question mark and at least 30 games.
2. Pick your slowest time control with enough games. It's the closest match to FIDE's long games.
3. Read it off the ChessGoals table, then allow at least 75 points either way.
4. Check it against your Chess.com number too. Our post on FIDE vs Chess.com ratings covers that side.
5. Play a FIDE rated event if you want the real answer.

A converter is a guess about a crowd. Your own rated games are the only thing that settles it.

Do Lichess Games Count for FIDE?

Ordinary Lichess games don't. FIDE rates games from events registered with FIDE, and a first rating needs at least 5 games against rated opponents.

Lichess does recognise FIDE titles. Titled players can ask Lichess to verify their title, and it then shows next to their name. That doesn't change their Lichess rating.

If you play on both, you'll carry two numbers that won't line up. Our post on Chess.com vs Lichess ratings explains a third one.