Chess.com rating to FIDE?

How does a chess.com rating translate in terms of FIDE? It seems like players at the 1700-1800 rating in chess.com don't play as well as the ones I've played irl. 

Ratings only measure and predict the performance of a player relative to the group being measured. A FIDE rating of 1700-1800 in over the board games is only comparable to other current FIDE over the board ratings.  (I assume that's what you meant-- FIDE is now offering its own online blitz ratings. What kind of FIDE rating were you talking about?)

"Relative" is the key word. Ratings are not absolute measures like the temperature at which water boils (at sea level). Back in the olden days, ratings were limited to over the board performance.  Saying that someone was an 1800 USCF or FIDE (or whatever the rating system in the country where you played was)  20 years ago meant something pretty understandable to most people.  (I seem to recall that FIDE ratings weren't even issued if your performance was below 2000.)  

Now every site has its own ratings for each time control.  You have four separate ratings for play here -- bullet, blitz, rapid and correspondence ("online" or "daily) on Chess.com.  Which of them are you trying to compare to what kind of a FIDE rating?

You just joined the site so your ratings aren't very accurate yet.  Your 1905 rapid rating is mostly based on a series of wins against 1622 rated Computer3-hard.  The archive says that you haven't beaten anyone stronger than 1703. How accurate do you think that 1905 rating is? The Glicko RD is over 100 points for each of your ratings here. (Please read Chess.com's  article Ratings- How they work if you don't know about the Glicko ratings system that Chess.com uses.)

There are correlations between the difference sets of ratings but there is no way to accurately translate one rating into another.  Attempts have been made to do so here in the forums but they are based on limited data. 

https://www.chess.com/article/view/chesscom-rating-comparisons

https://www.chess.com/blog/smarterchess/chesscom-rating-comparison-2015

I'm talking about FIDE ratings in general, regardless of category. Thanks for clarifying on the Glicko system! So FIDE ratings are only comparable to other FIDE ratings. Hypothetically, though, how would a FIDE rating (in general) compare to the Glicko system that chess.com uses?

Oh nevermind, I didn't see the links below.

One thing to keep in mind, I think, when reading the "translation to FIDE/USCF" articles his HOW you play.  This is referring to turn-based only.

Previously I had been playing against mostly lower-rated players, and was using the "analyze" feature constantly, which led to much better moves in my opinion.  Recently I made a conscious decision to play primarily HIGHER rated players, and to not use the "analyze" feature at all.  Predictably, I initially saw my rating plummet, but recently I have been s-l-o-w-l-y inching my way back up in rating. 

I made the decision to change how I play because in OTB tournament, a player can NEVER move pieces around prior to making a move.  That's a HUGE factor, I think, in why chess.com Turn Based ratings are much lower than "real life" OTB ratings.