lichess.org
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The 70M Visit Chess Revolution
How a free, ad-free platform is crushing paid competitors
While chess.com raises venture capital and injects ads into every corner of its platform, lichess.org operates on a radically different model: 100% free, open-source, and funded by donations. It's not just a chess server; it's a philosophical statement that happens to serve 70 million monthly visitors.
"Lichess proves you don't need venture capital to build a world-class product—you need a mission that resonates with millions."
The Power of Zero Friction
Lichess operates with a radical user acquisition strategy: no registration required to start playing. This frictionless approach, combined with a clean interface and no ads, creates a user experience that converts casual browsers into daily active users. The 71% direct traffic share is telling—it means users are typing 'lichess.org' directly into their browsers, not finding it through search or ads. This is brand loyalty at its purest.
The Open Source Advantage
With 84 employees and $11.8M in revenue, lichess operates with a lean efficiency that proprietary software can't match. Their tech stack—Ant Design, PWA capabilities, RSS feeds—prioritizes performance over profit. The 27% organic search traffic (despite being a direct traffic dominant site) suggests strong SEO fundamentals, but more importantly, it reveals a community that actively promotes the platform through backlinks, blogs, and word-of-mouth.
The Trustpilot rating of 2/5 from 294 reviews reveals an interesting tension. While the product is beloved by millions, the rating suggests friction points—likely around customer support expectations for a free service. This is the classic open-source dilemma: when you remove the financial barrier, users often expect immediate, personalized support that funded projects can't sustainably provide.
- 70M+ monthly visits with zero ad spend—pure product-market fit
- 71% direct traffic demonstrates exceptional brand recall
- Open-source model enables community-driven development
- Multi-language support (Russian keywords dominate top searches)
- Progressive Web App technology for cross-platform experience
The Unicorn That Doesn't Need a Valuation
Lichess challenges the fundamental assumption that scale requires venture funding. With 70M visits and $11.8M in revenue, it's a sustainable, mission-driven business that prioritizes users over shareholders.
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https://lichess1.org/assets/logo/lichess-tile-wide.png
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lichess.org • Free Online Chess
Free online chess server. Play chess in a clean interface. No registration, no ads, no plugin required. Play chess with the computer, friends or random opponents.
The best free, adless Chess server
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Reviews (20)
Best chess website
Best chess website, open source, free and lots of resources to study and learn from
I am very happy with the website
I am very happy with the website. It is free, looks good, allows one to play in tournaments and join groups (optional), and it has a forum (both for chess and non-chess topics). One can also peruse the list of chess instructors, should you need one.
The best free alternative to chess.com
It is good for what it is made for, for playing chess on. Beyond that, however, it doesn't do much else. The puzzles are bad, the forums are dead. But, it is better than the free version of chess.com.
Lie Chess: Platform utilizing computers
UPDATE - morning of 27/09 I was doing a little too well for Lichess' liking, in view of the fact that I am not subscribed, and so in come the computers (to reiterate, they're playing at too high a level for their grades). UPDATE - early afternoon of 21 /09 Two robots in a row, following some wins. I'd love to know where the platform's office is. Love to. Words don't... -------------- UPDATE - early morning a couple hours later I have a string of successes and then suddenly in come the computers. Lie Chess - you are lying scum UPDATE - just gone midnight on 20/09 More computers. ------ UPDATE - evening My opponents were too high a strength, again, and then my piece wouldn't move and then I lost the piece. Their tricks are innumerable. Hate, literally, this platform. UPDATE - 19/09 (early afternoon) Lichess need their teeth broken. Again, the same. Morons. ------------- UPDATE - 17/09...(just gone midnight) Same again. People at much higher standard than their rating. It's the Lichess platform cheating. UPDATE - later same evening Two more games in a row - too high level. It's Lie Chess. They're evil, and that is not an exaggeration. UPDATE - evening I make mistakes but these people are playing at a higher strength. It's Lie Chess, not individual cheating efforts. UPDATE - early afternoon Computer-usage, following a day mostly consisting of successes. ---------- Something needs to be done about this continuing situation, where globalist set-ups such as Lichess can simply go about such antics without reprisal. UPDATE - afternoon of 11/09 Four games in a row were computers. And you can't complain because Lichess is running one of these socialist conformist type outsourcing style websites and so meaning little to no communication, at least which is eventful, with an actual human-being. This situation is lessening Chess in its standards. UPDATE - all day, 11/09 On and off, players displaying a strength way beyond their rating and again this following a day of successes - one player was playing about eight or nine-hundred points above his own. This is more sinister than I thought...because not only is Lichess initiating the deployment of computers but to keep scores down, they make sure many of them are of low ratings and which yanks your own efforts right down the ladder should you lose. I am playing at least sixty-percent machines. UPDATE - Morning of 07/09/25 Lichess, this morning, has obtained a few robots or people using Chess-computers, yet again, following a day of successes. UPDATE - Evening of 05/09/25 I made some mistakes, sure, yet nevertheless the level is much higher than the ratings on-screen and this is following a string of days where my rating was climbing. UPDATE - Afternoon of 05/09/25 Same again with 85% of games, today. UPDATE - 21:06 23/08 They're evil. More cheating by Lichess - absolutely sure. One-hundred percent. Using computers to keep stats down. UPDATE - 20:12 23/08 Lichess cheating again: using computers to beat their opponents. I can tell. As said, I was a 190 something BCF at 15 years old. Liars. Just happened again. I know they're using computers and that this won't get investigated. I just emailed them, as well. Someone needs a punch on the nose. UPDATE AGAIN: It's Lichess, themselves: another game: absolutely not playing against a human. One player here and there, individuals cheating, maybe, but seven or eight or nine: that's the company. They ARE employing robots and people with computers. And, they are behaving as an outsourcing company and which means there is no way to complain. UPDATE 23/08 25 Again, the same, players at a much higher level than their rating - absolutely no way is this not organised with so many in a row. UPDATE 22/08/25 Happened again and isn't it a coincidence that I'd just had a run of seven games. Old Review I've written the same for Chess.com because they're up to the same thing and I can't be bothered to argue a point a second time over when I have already had my time wasted: The second time I have found players to be playing at a much higher strength than their ratings reflect. If you have a run of wins, they have users to play with computers. This is certain. I do make mistakes, this is online Chess, playing positionally almost on auto-pilot, yet you get a sense of whether a game is genuine and especially when you have a history of Chess playing - played for country, county and club and county and club was top-board for a while before I then quite the game at fifteen. My BCF grade was 190, edging upwards, myself winning tournaments around the country, so I would know. The game is almost built into me. Cheating is cheating. I notice that these platforms don't like emails and that you have to get in contact via these annoying Ai chat-support features, leaving` no room for argument.
Reporting cheaters is a waste of time…
Reporting cheaters is a waste of time on LiChess. I reported players who never lost 22 games, but LiChess will do nothing about it. No more LiChess.
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About lichess.org
Free online chess server. Play chess in a clean interface. No registration, no ads, no plugin required. Play chess with the computer, friends or random opponents.
Company Overview
lichess.org Social Media
Technology Stack
lichess.org uses 7 technologies across their website including Vimeo, YouTube Embed, HSTS, Priority Hints, and more.
Video
Vimeo, YouTube Embed
Security
HSTS
Performance
Priority Hints
Web Standards
RSS, PWA
UI Libraries
Ant Design
Traffic & Audience
lichess.org receives approximately 70.5M monthly visitors and ranks #288 globally. The website has a bounce rate of 18% with visitors viewing an average of 23.3 pages per visit. Users spend an average of 15:23 on the site.
The majority of lichess.org's traffic comes from undefined, undefined, .
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This page provides publicly available information about lichess.org. Data is collected from various public sources and may not always be up to date. For the most accurate information, please visit lichess.org directly at https://lichess.org.