Lichess vs Posio

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureLichessPosio
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageScalaPython
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM4,096 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,557★ 689
First released20102020
ReplacesChess.com

Why pick each one

Choose Lichess if…

  • Full-featured chess platform
  • Completely ad-free
Lichess details

Choose Posio if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Written in Python
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Posio details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lichess or Posio better?

Neither is universally better. Lichess has the larger community, while Posio is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Lichess and Posio free and open-source?

Yes. Lichess is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Posio under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Lichess and Posio with Docker?

Lichess: yes. Posio: check the project docs for container support.

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