---
title: "Chess.com vs Lichess: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?"
description: "Which is more popular in search, Chess.com or Lichess? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Online chess sites set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/chess-com-vs-lichess"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Chess.com vs Lichess: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?

Which is more popular in search, Chess.com or Lichess? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Online chess sites set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Compared**: Chess.com and Lichess
- **Competitive set**: Online chess sites
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Chess.com Share of Search**: 58%
- **Lichess Share of Search**: 37.4%

## Which is more popular in search, Chess.com or Lichess?

- In August 2026, Chess.com had more branded searches than Lichess among online chess sites in New Zealand. Chess.com was estimated to have 16.7K branded searches compared to Lichess’ 10.8K, and held a 58% Share of Search versus Lichess’ 37.4%.
- The lead changed hands once in the 11 months ending August 2026: Chess.com took it in March 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Chess.com’s estimated Share of Search among online chess sites in New Zealand moved from 36.7% to 58%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 6.9K to 16.7K.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Lichess’ estimated Share of Search among online chess sites in New Zealand moved from 58.1% to 37.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 10.8K.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand online chess sites in August 2026?

- In August 2026, Chess.com lost estimated Share of Search among online chess sites in New Zealand, from 59.1% to 58%.

## Month by month

| Month | Chess.com estimated searches | Chess.com Share of Search | Chess.com rank | Lichess estimated searches | Lichess Share of Search | Lichess rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 6.9K | 36.7% | 2 | 10.8K | 58.1% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | 7.3K | 38.1% | 2 | 10.7K | 55.7% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | 8.4K | 41.8% | 2 | 10.7K | 53.5% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | 8.7K | 42.9% | 2 | 10.9K | 53.7% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | 9.9K | 45.9% | 2 | 10.9K | 50.5% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | 14.6K | 55.3% | 1 | 10.7K | 40.3% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | 14.2K | 55.1% | 1 | 10.7K | 41.6% | 2 |
| May 2026 | 23.7K | 62.3% | 1 | 13.1K | 34.4% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | 23.3K | 61.1% | 1 | 13.1K | 34.4% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | 17K | 59.1% | 1 | 10.8K | 37.6% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | 16.7K | 58% | 1 | 10.8K | 37.4% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Chess.com’s and Lichess’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- **Chess.com**: Measured on the search terms “chess com”, “chess com chess online”, “chess com near me”, “chess com online”, “chess com online play”, “chess com play”, “chesscom” and “www chess com”, summed into one figure.
- **Lichess**: Measured on the search terms “en lichess”, “lichess”, “lichess 0rg”, “lichess apps”, “lichess chess online”, “lichess free online chess”, “lichess online” and “lichess org chess”, summed into one figure.

- [Chess.com profile](/demand/nz/brands/chess-com)
- [Lichess profile](/demand/nz/brands/lichess)
- [All online chess sites in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-online-chess-sites): The set both shares are measured inside, 4 brands.

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is more popular in search, Chess.com or Lichess?

In August 2026, Chess.com had more branded searches than Lichess among online chess sites in New Zealand. Chess.com was estimated to have 16.7K branded searches compared to Lichess’ 10.8K, and held a 58% Share of Search versus Lichess’ 37.4%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Chess.com vs Lichess: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/chess-com-vs-lichess

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/chess-com-vs-lichess. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.