Lichess rapid rating distribution
On 1 September 2026, 201,221 accounts played a rated rapid game on Lichess. Half were rated below about 1445, a quarter below about 1170 and a quarter above about 1705. About 1910 reaches the top 10 percent and about 2240 the top 1 percent.
What does a rapid rating rank among Lichess players?
The table reads each rating as a position. A player rated 1800 in rapid, for example, is higher than 82.8% of the active players in that time control, and 17.2% are rated 1800 or higher.
| Rating | Higher than | Rated this or higher | Players this or higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 | 0.9% | 99.1% | 199,386 |
| 700 | 2.2% | 97.8% | 196,803 |
| 800 | 4.5% | 95.5% | 192,229 |
| 900 | 8.0% | 92.0% | 185,053 |
| 1000 | 13.1% | 86.9% | 174,802 |
| 1100 | 19.8% | 80.2% | 161,385 |
| 1200 | 27.4% | 72.6% | 146,035 |
| 1300 | 36.3% | 63.7% | 128,093 |
| 1400 | 45.7% | 54.3% | 109,263 |
| 1500 | 55.3% | 44.7% | 90,012 |
| 1600 | 65.2% | 34.8% | 70,123 |
| 1700 | 74.5% | 25.5% | 51,387 |
| 1800 | 82.8% | 17.2% | 34,680 |
| 1900 | 89.4% | 10.6% | 21,271 |
| 2000 | 94.1% | 5.9% | 11,819 |
| 2100 | 97.0% | 3.0% | 5,948 |
| 2200 | 98.6% | 1.4% | 2,764 |
| 2300 | 99.4% | 0.6% | 1,185 |
| 2400 | 99.8% | 0.2% | 425 |
What rating is the top 1, 5 and 10 percent in rapid?
Reaching the top 10 percent of active rapid players takes a rating of about 1910, the top 5 percent about 2025 and the top 1 percent about 2240. The thresholds are read from the counts of players in each 25-point step and rounded to the nearest 5.
| Position | Blitz | Rapid | Bullet | Classical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | 1530 | 1445 | 1640 | 1560 |
| Top 25% | 1795 | 1705 | 1945 | 1755 |
| Top 10% | 2010 | 1910 | 2200 | 1925 |
| Top 5% | 2135 | 2025 | 2345 | 2025 |
| Top 1% | 2375 | 2240 | 2625 | 2215 |
Which rating band holds the most rapid players?
The busiest 100-point band in rapid is 1500 to 1599, with 9.9% of the players. Lichess starts every new account at 1500, so newcomers whose rating is still settling add to the crowd near that number.
| Rating band | Share of players |
|---|---|
| under 600 | 0.9% |
| 600 to 699 | 1.3% |
| 700 to 799 | 2.3% |
| 800 to 899 | 3.6% |
| 900 to 999 | 5.1% |
| 1000 to 1099 | 6.7% |
| 1100 to 1199 | 7.6% |
| 1200 to 1299 | 8.9% |
| 1300 to 1399 | 9.4% |
| 1400 to 1499 | 9.6% |
| 1500 to 1599 | 9.9% |
| 1600 to 1699 | 9.3% |
| 1700 to 1799 | 8.3% |
| 1800 to 1899 | 6.7% |
| 1900 to 1999 | 4.7% |
| 2000 to 2099 | 2.9% |
| 2100 to 2199 | 1.6% |
| 2200 to 2299 | 0.8% |
| 2300 to 2399 | 0.4% |
| 2400 and above | 0.2% |
How does rapid compare with blitz, bullet and classical?
Each time control has its own pool of players and its own rating, so the same number means a different rank. The median is about 1445 in rapid, compared with 1530 in blitz, 1640 in bullet, 1560 in classical.
Pick a rating on the percentile pages to see how it ranks in all four. For what a time control counts as on Lichess and under FIDE rules, use the time control calculator.
How were these percentiles measured?
Accounts that played a rated game on 1 September 2026, counted once per time control at the rating after their last game, bots left out. The hub page explains the method in full.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Lichess rapid rating?
That depends on the comparison you want. A rating of about 1445 is the middle of active rapid players, about 1705 is the top quarter and about 1910 is the top 10 percent, measured on 1 September 2026.
What is the average Lichess rapid rating?
The median, the rating with half the active players below it, was about 1445 on 1 September 2026. The mean differs a little because the distribution is not symmetric, so this page uses the median.
Are these ratings the same as FIDE or chess.com ratings?
No. Lichess ratings are their own scale, and Lichess says they cannot be compared with ratings from other sites or organizations. This site publishes no conversion.
Sources
- Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026, read 2026-10-22
- Lichess FAQ, read 2026-10-20
- Lichess: Chess rating systems, read 2026-10-20
Related guides and tools
- Lichess blitz rating distribution
- Lichess bullet rating distribution
- Lichess classical rating distribution
- Is a 1000 chess rating good?
- Is a 1200 chess rating good?
- Is a 1500 chess rating good?
- Is a 1800 chess rating good?
- Is a 2000 chess rating good?
- Average chess rating and a good chess rating
- Chess time control calculator
- Chess ratings explained
- Book your first lesson
Last updated 2026-10-22.
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