Total level is the sum of the levels of all of a player's skills. The current maximum for members is 2,277, the first player to reach the current maximum total level was Jebrim on 27 October 2013, 247 days after the servers were first opened. The maximum total level for free players is 1,493. Total level is a common way for players to compare their stats.
The opening page on the HiScores ranks players by their total level, then by experience. Other than when new skills have been recently released, the top ranked players in the hiscores are generally listed in order of experience rather than rank. The number one player won't have a higher level than the number two player, but certainly more experience.
Certain worlds require total level requirement to access such as world 81 (F2P, 500 total), 85 (F2P, 750 total), 53 (P2P, 1250 total), 66 (P2P, 1500 total), 73 and 91 (P2P, 1750 total), 49 and 61 (P2P, 2000 total). Average skill levels to access these worlds are as follows (rounded up): 500 (22), 750 (33), 1250 (55), 1500 (66), 1750 (77), 2000 (87). If the player is free-to-play and has never been a member, the 8 level 1 member's skills add a total of +8 to the player's total level, but do not count toward the total level requirement of the free-to-play worlds 81 and 85.
In RuneScape Classic, the maximum total level was 1,782 (1,390 for free players). The addition of Runecrafting (1,881), Slayer (1,980), Farming (2,079), Construction (2,178) and the latest skill, Hunter (2,277), brought the maximum total level to 2,277 (1,493 for free players).