Lichess vs ChessDataLab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lichess
Play chess online with millions of users, participate in tournaments, solve puzzles, and analyze games. This free and open-source application offers a comprehensive chess experience for players of all levels, with features for learning and casual play.
- Real-time and correspondence chess
- Arena tournaments
- Chess puzzles
- Game analysis with Stockfish
- Interactive study feature
- Chess clock
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Lichess is a free/libre, open-source chess application powered by volunteers and donations. Today, Lichess users play more than five million games every day. Lichess is one of the most popular chess websites in the world while remaining 100% free. The following features are available right now: - play real time or correspondence chess - play arena tournaments - play against online bots - solve chess puzzles from a wide variety of themes, online or offline - race against the clock in Puzzle Storm - analyse your games with latest Stockfish locally or on the server - board editor - study chess with a collaborative and interactive study feature - learn board coordinates - play over the board with a friend - watch live chess broadcasts from all major chess tournaments - watch Lichess TV and online streamers - use a chess clock for your over the board games - many different board themes and piece sets - custom background themes - translated into 55 languages
ChessDataLab
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UNLIMITED CHESS ANALYSIS. FULLY OFFLINE. Import your Chess.com and Lichess games, analyze them with Stockfish, and improve from your own games. No subscription. No ads. Buy once and keep all features forever. UNLIMITED OFFLINE ANALYSIS Analyze as many games as you want directly on your device. • Embedded Stockfish engine • Unlimited game analysis • No internet connection required • Your data stays on your device • No usage limits Review every move and discover: • Accuracy score • Move classifications (Theory, Excellent, Good, Inaccuracy, Mistake, Blunder) • Stockfish best moves • Position evaluations • Detailed game review Understand not only what went wrong, but why. OPENING INSIGHTS Discover your chess opening repertoire and identify where you perform best. • Most played openings • Win rates by opening • Number of theoretical moves played • Opening performance statistics • Related games Access a built-in database of games played by top players and compare your choices with established theory. Find the openings that bring the best results and identify where improvement is needed. TRAIN ON YOUR OWN MISTAKES Most chess apps tell you where you made mistakes. ChessDataLab goes one step further. Mistakes and blunders detected during analysis are automatically converted into personalized training exercises based on positions from your own games. Instead of solving random puzzles, you practice the positions that actually caused you problems. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Monitor your improvement over time: • Rating progression • Accuracy trends • Blunder reduction • Complete game history Open any game directly from the statistics screens and review the positions that impacted your results. IMPORT CHESS.COM AND LICHESS GAMES Analyze games from: • Chess.com • Lichess • Bullet • Blitz • Rapid • Classical WHY CHESSDATALAB? • Unlimited analysis • Fully offline • No subscription • No ads • No in-app purchases • Personalized training from your own games • Opening statistics and theory tracking • Embedded Stockfish engine • Data stays on your device Buy once. Keep all features forever.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Lichess at Free against ChessDataLab's $3.99. Lichess also leads on chart position (#54 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.6). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Lichess is free to download; ChessDataLab costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Lichess ships an update fortnightly, ChessDataLab monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lichess | ChessDataLab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.1 (662 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 53.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 662 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #54 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 86 MB | 99 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LICHESS.ORG | guillaume moudic |
Bugs and requests
Lichess
Reported bugs
1 issue- Swipe-to-go-back gesture interferes with piece placement
Requested features
3 requests- Name of opening in opening explorer
- Ability to add and subtract additional things on the homepage
- Reset/replay button on puzzles
ChessDataLab
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Lichess
No in-app purchases
ChessDataLab
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Lichess free?
Is ChessDataLab free?
Do Lichess or ChessDataLab have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lichess or ChessDataLab?
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