Lichess vs RconCli

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?
FeatureLichessRconCli
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageScalaGo
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM4,096 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,557★ 677
First released20102023
ReplacesChess.com

Why pick each one

Choose Lichess if…

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

Choose RconCli if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Written in Go
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
RconCli details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lichess or RconCli better?

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

Are Lichess and RconCli free and open-source?

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

Can I run Lichess and RconCli with Docker?

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

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