# Lichess game review vs Chess.com Game Review

> Lichess game review vs Chess.com: free limits, move labels, accuracy and practice compared with official sources, plus one real game scored both ways.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/lichess-game-review-vs-chess-com/
- Updated: 2026-10-27
- Author: Ignacio Soler

In the Lichess game review vs Chess.com comparison, **Lichess** is free and generous: deep Stockfish 19 server analysis for 40 games a day, an unlimited analysis board and unlimited "Learn from your mistakes". **Chess.com Game Review** is more guided, with ten move labels from Brilliant to Blunder, a coach and retries, but free accounts get one full review a day; Platinum and Diamond are unlimited, and only Diamond explains every move.

So the choice is mostly volume versus guidance. Below are the official facts side by side, then one of my own games (I'm nacsol3 on Chess.com) scored by both methods, because the numbers don't match and that confuses a lot of people.

## Lichess game review vs Chess.com at a glance

| | Lichess | Chess.com |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; "all features are free for everybody, forever" | Basic free; Gold, Platinum, Diamond paid |
| Full reviews per day (free) | 40 deep server analyses; analysis board unlimited | 1 full Game Review |
| Unlimited reviews | Free | Platinum and Diamond |
| Engine | Stockfish 19 | Not named in the Help Center; Diamond adds Cloud Analysis and Deep/Maximum settings |
| Move labels | Inaccuracy `?!`, Mistake `?`, Blunder `??` | Brilliant, Great, Best, Excellent, Good, Book, Inaccuracy, Mistake, Miss, Blunder |
| Accuracy score | Yes, 0–100, formula published | Yes, 0–100: how closely your moves matched the engine |
| Explanations in words | Engine lines and an evaluation graph | Coach comments; explanations on every move on Diamond only |
| Practice your errors | Learn from your mistakes, unlimited | Retry at key moves |
| Estimated rating per game | Not listed on its features page | Yes (Game Rating) |

Sources, checked October 27, 2026: [lichess.org/features](https://lichess.org/features), [Lichess accuracy page](https://lichess.org/page/accuracy), Lichess's open-source [Advice.scala](https://github.com/lichess-org/lila/blob/master/modules/tree/src/main/Advice.scala) for the `?!`, `?`, `??` marks; Chess.com Help Center, [How does Game Review work?](https://support.chess.com/en/articles/8584089-how-does-game-review-work) (dated September 25, 2026) and [membership levels](https://support.chess.com/en/articles/8562418-what-does-each-level-of-premium-membership-get-me) (dated July 21, 2026).

## The same game, two accuracy scores

Accuracy is where the two reviews disagree most visibly. Lichess's [accuracy page](https://lichess.org/page/accuracy) says it plainly: "There is no universally accepted way to compute accuracy percentages," and different sites use different formulas, engines and depths.

Here's a real example. On November 12, 2024 I won a 10-minute game as White (1115) against AnandShintre (1163) ([game on Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/game/live/125194758959)). Chess.com's accuracy, as its public game data reports it, was **92.7 for me and 60.6 for my opponent**. My own Stockfish analysis (depth 18, using Lichess's published win-percentage and move-accuracy formulas, with a simplified game average) gives **92.4 and 78.2**. Almost the same for me, 18 points apart for Black.

The key moment was Black's ninth move:

> **Move 9: the bishop to d6 lets White open up Black's castled king**
> Position (FEN): `2krqbnr/ppp2pp1/2n1p2p/1B1pNb2/3P1B2/1QP1P3/PP1N1PPP/R3K2R b KQ - 5 9`
> Played: Bd6 — Bishop to d6 attacks the knight on e5, but White can take on c6 first
> Better: Nge7 — Knight to e7, keeping the king covered; slightly better for White

By the Lichess formula, White's winning chance jumped from 58.7% to 77.8% after that move, a drop of 19 points for Black. Lichess calls anything from 15 points a blunder. Stockfish's top reply takes the knight on c6 with the bishop, breaking up the pawns in front of Black's king while the queen on b3 aims straight at it. In the game I took with my knight instead, and three moves later it ended in checkmate.

Why is Chess.com's number for Black so much lower? I can't see its full calculation, so I won't guess at the details. What I can say is how often the two methods differ. Across **781 of my games** where Chess.com reports an accuracy:

| | Chess.com accuracy | Lichess-style accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| My average | 75.9 | 80.0 |
| Games where it's the higher of the two | 22% | 78% |
| Games more than 5 points apart | 60% of games | |
| Same verdict on who played more accurately | 92% of games | |

The takeaway: don't compare a Lichess number with a Chess.com number, and don't worry when they differ. Compare your accuracy with your own past games on the same site. The labels differ too, because Chess.com also weighs the players' ratings; the cutoffs for both sites are in [inaccuracy vs mistake vs blunder](/answers/inaccuracy-vs-mistake-vs-blunder/).

## Where Lichess's review is the better choice

- **Volume for free.** Forty deep analyses a day covers almost anyone's games.
- **Learn from your mistakes.** It takes you back to each error and asks you to find a better move, as many times as you like.
- **Open and portable.** You can import Chess.com games through [lichess.org/paste](https://lichess.org/paste); requesting the computer analysis needs a free account, and imported games are public unless you use a private study.
- **The trade-off:** it shows what Stockfish prefers, not why. Reading the engine lines is up to you, which our [guide to reading Stockfish analysis](/guides/how-to-read-stockfish-analysis/) helps with.

## Where Chess.com's Game Review is the better choice

- **It's guided.** A coach summarises the game, comments on key moves, can read aloud, and lets you retry key moments.
- **More labels.** Ten categories, including Brilliant, Great and Miss, give more texture than three error marks.
- **It's right where you play,** with a Game Rating estimate per game.
- **The trade-off:** one full review a day on the free plan, and explanations on every move only on Diamond. The limits are covered in [how many free game reviews Chess.com gives you](/answers/how-many-free-game-reviews-chess-com/).

## Alternatives to both

Independent sites such as [Chessigma](https://www.chessigma.com/) and [Chess It Up](https://chessitup.com/) describe themselves as free with no daily limits, running Stockfish in your browser (their own sites, October 2026). For a broader comparison that includes Chess Coach's plans, see [Chess.com Game Review vs Chess Coach (and Lichess)](/vs/chess-com-game-review/).

## How Chess Coach fits in

Chess Coach is a connector for Claude and ChatGPT, not a third review site. It reads your finished games from both Chess.com and Lichess, runs Stockfish on our own server with the Lichess thresholds, and your assistant explains the two or three key moments in plain words on an interactive board. It's useful when the labels on either site don't tell you *why*. The free plan includes one in-depth review a day. [Connect Chess Coach](/connect/). Chess Coach is independent and not affiliated with Chess.com or Lichess.

## FAQ

### Is Lichess game review better than Chess.com?

For free volume, yes: Lichess gives 40 deep server analyses a day and unlimited Learn from your mistakes at no cost. Chess.com's Game Review is more guided, with ten move labels and a talking coach, but the free plan allows one full review a day.

### Why is my accuracy different on Lichess and Chess.com?

The two sites use different formulas, engines and analysis depths, and Lichess itself says there's no universally accepted way to compute accuracy. In 781 of my own games, a Lichess-style score came out higher than Chess.com's in 78% of them.

### Can I review a Chess.com game on Lichess?

Yes. Download the PGN from Chess.com, paste it at lichess.org/paste and tick the computer analysis option. You need a free Lichess account to request the analysis, and imported games are public unless you import them into a private study.

### Does Lichess have Brilliant or Great moves?

No. Lichess labels only inaccuracies, mistakes and blunders (marked ?!, ? and ??). Brilliant, Great, Best, Excellent, Good, Book and Miss are Chess.com's own categories.

### Is Lichess analysis really free?

Yes. Lichess's features page says all features are free for everybody, forever.

## Related

- [Chess.com Game Review vs Chess Coach: an honest comparison](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/vs/chess-com-game-review.md)
- [Inaccuracy vs mistake vs blunder in chess: the real cutoffs](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/inaccuracy-vs-mistake-vs-blunder.md)
- [How many free game reviews on Chess.com? (2026 limits)](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/how-many-free-game-reviews-chess-com.md)
- [How to read Stockfish analysis (and why it says blunder)](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/guides/how-to-read-stockfish-analysis.md)
- [Chess MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT: Chess Coach](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/connect.md)