Lichess vs Ticket to Ride
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Lichess is the better app overall, scoring 8.9 to 8.3. Lichess wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Ticket to Ride on 1.
Chess players who want serious tools without ads or subscriptions
Families and friends who want an easy board game to play together remotely
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Lichess | Ticket to Ride |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Card & Board Games | Card & Board Games |
| Category rank | #3 of 8 | #6 of 8 |
| Developer | Lichess.org | Marmalade Game Studio |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | — | ✓ |
| Windows | — | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Lichess better than Ticket to Ride?
Lichess is the better app overall, scoring 8.9 to 8.3. Lichess wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Ticket to Ride on 1.
Which is cheaper, Lichess or Ticket to Ride?
Lichess: Completely free; funded by donations, with no ads or paid features. Ticket to Ride: $4.99 on the App Store; expansion maps and packs are optional purchases. On value for money, Lichess scores higher.
Do Lichess and Ticket to Ride work on the same devices?
Only Lichess runs on Web. Only Ticket to Ride runs on Windows, Mac.
Which is more private, Lichess or Ticket to Ride?
Lichess scores higher on privacy (9.2/10). App Store label: contact info and identifiers may be linked to you; user content, search history and diagnostics are collected but not linked. No tracking is listed.
Strengths and weaknesses
Lichess
- Everything is free, with no ads or premium tier
- Open source and funded by donations
- Strong analysis and puzzles that work offline
- Fewer structured lessons than paid rivals
- The interface feels plainer than Chess.com's
Lichess gives you everything most chess apps charge for, and asks for nothing. Play live or correspondence games, join arena tournaments, grind themed puzzles or Puzzle Storm, and analyze games with the latest Stockfish, all without ads or a paywall. Offline bots now include Maia, which plays more like a human. The app is younger than Chess.com's and lighter on lessons, but it improves every few weeks.
Full Lichess review
Ticket to Ride
- Ad-free and easy to learn
- Async mode fits games around busy days
- New maps kept arriving through 2026
- Most maps are paid add-ons
- Online games with friends need a Bubble account
Ticket to Ride is the modern classic of family board games, and Marmalade's app captures it well. You collect colored train cards and claim routes to finish your destination tickets, against AI, friends on the couch or players online. Async games let you take turns over days. The base game is cheap and ad-free, but most maps cost extra, and the full bundle gets pricey.
Full Ticket to Ride review
