The statistical website Chessmetrics.com estimates that Lange was one of the top ten players in the world in the 1860s.
Lange should not be confused with the lesser-known but identically named Dr. Max Lange (1883–1923), who is generally referenced as Max Lange 2 in chess literature and whose best known tournaments were Hilversum 1903 and the 14th DSB-Congress at Coburg 1904.