Lichess Review 2026: The Best Free Chess App
Lichess is our pick for the best free chess app, and it is not close. Everything is free, there are no ads, and the code is open source. Our own product, ChessHelper (chesshelper.ai), works on Lichess boards, but this review is about Lichess itself.
What Lichess is
Lichess calls itself "a free, libre, no-ads, open source chess server". It is funded by donations and by Patrons who give a regular amount; there are no investors and no paid tier. Patrons get exactly the same features as everyone else. The website and the mobile app are both open source, and the app is free on iOS, Google Play and F-Droid.
Who it is for
Lichess is for anyone who wants to play and study without paying or seeing ads. It works especially well for self-directed improvers who are comfortable using an analysis board, building studies and drilling puzzles without a teacher's script. Absolute beginners can learn the rules in its free Learn section, but they get less hand-holding than on Chess.com. The terms of service set a minimum age of 15 to register; younger players need a parent's or guardian's authorization, and a child's account should run with kid mode on (see our kids guide).
Key features
The feature page lists the same tools for free users and Patrons. The ones that matter most for improvement:
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Analysis board | Stockfish in the browser, unlimited; board editor and PGN import/export |
| Server analysis | Deeper Stockfish analysis of whole games, up to 40 games a day |
| Learn from your mistakes | Replays your errors as exercises, unlimited |
| Puzzles | Unlimited, drawn from real games; Puzzle Streak, Storm and Racer |
| Studies | Shareable, persistent analysis boards for notes and courses |
| Opening explorer | Database of about 6 billion games, plus a personal explorer |
| Endgame tablebase | 7-piece tablebase lookups |
| Tournaments | Unlimited Arena and Swiss events, plus simuls |
From the Lichess features page, November 2026.
Free vs paid
There is no paid version. Becoming a Patron is a donation that covers server and running costs; it adds no features. That makes Lichess the benchmark for every "free" claim in this guide: when another app says it has a free plan, the useful question is how much of Lichess's free offer it matches. Our best free chess apps guide makes that comparison directly.
Strengths
For a free product, the depth is remarkable. A full Stockfish engine runs in your browser with no daily cap, so you can analyze as many positions as you want. Learn from your mistakes turns a finished game into a set of exercises from your own errors, which is often more useful than generic puzzles. Studies let you build your own opening notes or follow ones other players share, and the opening explorer shows what masters and online players actually choose in a position. The interface is clean and fast, with no ads or upsell banners competing for attention.
Strengths
- Every feature free, no ads
- Unlimited browser analysis
- Learn from your mistakes exercises
- Studies and a large opening explorer
- Open-source website and app
Weaknesses
- Few structured lessons past the basics
- Engine is always full strength
- Smaller pool at some time controls than Chess.com
- Minimum age 15 without guardian consent
- Self-study takes discipline
Weaknesses
Lichess gives you tools rather than a curriculum. Past the Learn section's basics there is no paid-style course path; you build your own plan from puzzles, studies and practice. Some players thrive on that, and others drift. The engine is also always at full strength, so the analysis board recommends the objectively best move even when a simpler one would teach a 1200 player more. Players who want level-matched suggestions often add ChessHelper on top of Lichess's board for that reason.
The player pool is large but smaller than Chess.com's, which you may notice at unusual time controls or rating extremes. And while kid mode is useful, Lichess is designed for teenagers and adults rather than as a walled garden for young children.
Getting the most from Lichess
Because Lichess hands you tools rather than a plan, a simple structure makes a big difference. After each game you lose, request the server analysis and open Learn from your mistakes; it turns your own errors into short exercises, which is the most personal training material you can get. Spend ten minutes a day on puzzles, and use Puzzle Storm only as a warm-up, since speed puzzles reward pattern recognition more than calculation. Build one study per opening you play, add the lines that come up in your games, and compare them with the opening explorer to see what stronger players choose. Once a month, look at Chess Insights to see which openings and time controls are costing you the most points. That routine covers playing, review, tactics and openings without spending anything.
Fair play on Lichess
The Lichess terms of service ban external help during an ongoing game: engines, opening books, tablebases, and advice from people or software. The only exception is correspondence games, where the Lichess opening explorer and opening books are allowed. Run analysis after the game is over, never during it.
Alternatives
- Chess.com: guided lessons and the biggest player pool, with a paid tier for full study tools.
- ChessHelper: level-matched suggestions on Lichess and Chess.com boards.
- Chessable: structured opening courses with spaced repetition.
- DecodeChess: explanations in words for the positions you analyze.
Verdict
Our verdict
Lichess is the best free chess app in 2026. If cost matters, start here and you may never need anything else. If you want a guided course or engine advice pitched at your rating, add a second tool for that one job rather than replacing Lichess.
See also: best free chess apps and the full 2026 ranking.