I've been grinding chess.com blitz for like 6 months and got up to 1800. Recently I tried lichess and my rating there is only 1600. Are the rating systems that different, or am I just playing worse on lichess? Should I stick to one platform or does it matter?
The rating systems are completely separate and calculated differently - a 1800 on chess.com doesn't transfer over, so you're essentially starting fresh on lichess. The 200-point gap is pretty normal when switching platforms since the player pools, time controls, and rating algorithms aren't the same, plus you're just less familiar with how lichess feels.
Your chess.com rating doesn't bleed into lichess at all - they're completely isolated systems, so no, grinding one platform won't hurt the other. The 200-point gap you're seeing is totally normal since lichess calculates ratings differently and you're literally just newer there, so you haven't had time to stabilize yet. You can bounce between both without worry, though if you want one rating to climb faster, pick whichever one you enjoy more and stick with it for a while since your rating needs volume to settle.
Log into answer.
