Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#1

Post by mobeigi » Mon, Oct 06, 2025, 12:29 PM UTC

Chess.com regional pricing: A case study
mobeigi.com

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#2

Post by schnitzelstoat » Mon, Oct 06, 2025, 12:57 PM UTC

It seems like the US has really cheap pricing compared to Western Europe, especially when you consider the poorer countries such as Portugal, Italy, Spain etc.

I wonder if they can get away charging higher prices in these countries because chess is more popular there.

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#3

Post by mobeigi » Mon, Oct 06, 2025, 1:10 PM UTC

schnitzelstoat wrote: post #2

It seems like the US has really cheap pricing compared to Western Europe, especially when you consider the poorer countries such as Portugal, Italy, Spain etc. I wonder if they can get away charging higher prices in these countries because chess is more popular there.

Great observation! This is definitely something they do. India is a good example where the price should be lower based on purchasing power, but it’s been increased since chess is really popular there and they can make more overall profit by increasing the membership price.

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#4

Post by beejiu » Tue, Oct 07, 2025, 2:23 PM UTC

schnitzelstoat wrote: post #2

It seems like the US has really cheap pricing compared to Western Europe, especially when you consider the poorer countries such as Portugal, Italy, Spain etc. I wonder if they can get away charging higher prices in these countries because chess is more popular there.

Isn't it the case that US prices are without sales tax, whereas all EU/UK prices are inclusive of tax by law?

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#5

Post by dec0dedab0de » Tue, Oct 07, 2025, 2:30 PM UTC

beejiu wrote: post #4

schnitzelstoat wrote: post #2

It seems like the US has really cheap pricing compared to Western Europe, especially when you consider the poorer countries such as Portugal, Italy, Spain etc. I wonder if they can get away charging higher prices in these countries because chess is more popular there.

Isn't it the case that US prices are without sales tax, whereas all EU/UK prices are inclusive of tax by law?

Makes me wonder if the author tried different states/providences to see if they have multiple prices per country.

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#6

Post by Y_Y » Tue, Oct 07, 2025, 2:34 PM UTC

Chess.com is a scam anyway. Rather than comparing the price of Norwegian Chess.cok to Nigerian Chess.con you should be comparing to lichess.org. They have a better app and plenty of people to play with, without any paywalling or marketing or rent-seeking.

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#7

Post by mobeigi » Tue, Oct 07, 2025, 2:36 PM UTC

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #5

beejiu wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it the case that US prices are without sales tax, whereas all EU/UK prices are inclusive of tax by law?

Makes me wonder if the author tried different states/providences to see if they have multiple prices per country.

I checked several states from the US and some from other countries. I did not find any discrepancies within a country but I didn't check every combination of course!

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#8

Post by mobeigi » Tue, Oct 07, 2025, 2:40 PM UTC

Y_Y wrote: post #6

Chess.com is a scam anyway. Rather than comparing the price of Norwegian Chess.cok to Nigerian Chess.con you should be comparing to lichess.org. They have a better app and plenty of people to play with, without any paywalling or marketing or rent-seeking.

I'm a big fan of lichess! Their developers are also super friendly and helped answer my questions when I was using their open source projects to build a hobby chess app. I donate regularly too.

This post was more about exploring regional pricing using a case study and lichess being free in every country wasn't a good fit :)

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#9

Post by teiferer » Tue, Oct 07, 2025, 2:40 PM UTC

Y_Y wrote: post #6

Chess.com is a scam anyway. Rather than comparing the price of Norwegian Chess.cok to Nigerian Chess.con you should be comparing to lichess.org. They have a better app and plenty of people to play with, without any paywalling or marketing or rent-seeking.

> Chess.com is a scam anyway

Is it? How so?

Just because you like an alternative better doesn't make it a scam.

Sure they are turning a profit. But when you pay, you get more features. You don't need to pay if you don't want those features or want them somewhere else.

And they use some money to sponsor events. Titled Tuesday is a staple in the worldwide chess community and most top players play there. Not really yo make money, but to stay relevant (it's great PR to play against Magnus Carlsen and last for more than 20 moves or even make a draw) or to have a constant supply of really good players which keeps you sharp. They provide streaming and top-class commentary for top events. They are also involved in tournament sponsorship.

So, please keep the hate to yourself and don't use "scam" lightly. You don't need to like them or ever use them. But once you come across an actual scam, it would be a pity if you burned that term.

Re: Chess.com regional pricing: A case study

#10

Post by ziofill » Tue, Oct 07, 2025, 2:42 PM UTC

Y_Y wrote: post #6

Chess.com is a scam anyway. Rather than comparing the price of Norwegian Chess.cok to Nigerian Chess.con you should be comparing to lichess.org. They have a better app and plenty of people to play with, without any paywalling or marketing or rent-seeking.

I used to subscribe to chess.com and now I only play on lichess, but in all fairness when you subscribe to chess.com you don’t just get to play games (that you can do for free), you get all the videos which I used to enjoy but now I got no time.