The Best Fantasy Sports Apps in 2024

Fantasy sports take You think youre such. the impulse to armchair-manage a tactical genius? Okay,. your favorite team and then draft the players,. turn it into a choose who plays each. dare: You think youre week, and see how. such a tactical genius? you do. Do you. Okay, then draft the have a better game. players, choose who plays plan than Andy Reid?. each week, and see Is your baseball IQ. how you do. Do on a par with. you have a better Joe Maddons? Or, at. game plan than Andy the very least, do. Reid? Is your baseball you have a better. IQ on a par sense of sports than. with Joe Maddons? Or, your friends? After 15. at the very least, hours of research and. do you have a two seasons worth of. better sense of sports testing (the 2023 MLB. than your friends?

After and NFL seasons, to. 15 hours of research be precise)—in which we. and two seasons worth tried six different platforms. of testing (the 2023 with a panel of. MLB and NFL seasons, 11 sports fans of. to be precise)—in which various experience levels—weve found. we tried six different ESPN Fantasy Games to. platforms with a panel be the best entry. of 11 sports fans point for most people.. of various experience levels—weve But most fantasy-sports platforms. found ESPN Fantasy Games work just fine, with. to be the best little to differentiate them.. entry point for most So if you and. people.

But most fantasy-sports your leaguemates already love. platforms work just fine, the service youre using,. with little to differentiate theres nothing game-changing enough. them. So if you to justify the work. and your leaguemates already it takes to switch.. love the service youre The ESPN Fantasy Games. using, theres nothing game-changing platform has an easy-to-understand. enough to justify the interface and a robust. work it takes to slate of analysis and. switch.

The ESPN data thats both well. Fantasy Games platform has organized and clearly delivered.. an easy-to-understand interface and It quickly surfaces relevant. a robust slate of information, including injury notifications,. analysis and data thats playing time, and projected. both well organized and performance. And it allows. clearly delivered. It quickly for a broad amount. surfaces relevant information, including of league customization, so. injury notifications, playing time, youll likely be able. and projected performance. And to set up the. it allows for a rules of your league. broad amount of league exactly as you want.. customization, so youll likely Its also the longest-running. be able to set online fantasy-sports platform (though,. up the rules of as a hobby, fantasy-sports. your league exactly as leagues have existed in. you want.

Its also analog form since the. the longest-running online fantasy-sports 1960s), and its by. platform (though, as a far the most widely. hobby, fantasy-sports leagues have used. So chances are. existed in analog form good that you or. since the 1960s), and your friends who want. its by far the to start a league. most widely used. So have either played in. chances are good that an ESPN league before. you or your friends or know someone who. who want to start has. This familiarity is. a league have either likely to outweigh any. played in an ESPN of the user-interface or. league before or know feature differences other sites. someone who has.

This may offer, and the. familiarity is likely to giant user base means. outweigh any of the its easy enough to. user-interface or feature differences get matched up with. other sites may offer, a new league if. and the giant user you dont have a. base means its easy big enough group of. enough to get matched friends. Why you should. up with a new trust me As a. league if you dont band nerd and robotics. have a big enough kid in high school,. group of friends.

sports have always been. dir="ltr">Why you should trust more fantasy than reality. me

As a band for me. I joined. nerd and robotics kid my first fantasy football. in high school, sports league around 2010 (via. have always been more Yahoo!) and have been. fantasy than reality for playing off-and-on ever since.. me. I joined my Ive also been writing. first fantasy football league for Wirecutter for six. around 2010 (via Yahoo!) years, and I have. and have been playing tested everything from toilet. off-and-on ever since. Ive brushes to podcast apps.. also been writing for But I have been. Wirecutter for six years, reporting on and testing. and I have tested games and hobby gear. everything from toilet brushes for the past two. to podcast apps. But years. To supplement my. I have been reporting experience, I also spoke. on and testing games with Nando Di Fino,. and hobby gear for managing editor for fantasy. the past two years.

and sports betting at. dir="ltr">To supplement my experience, The Athletic, and Paul. I also spoke with Charchian, former president of. Nando Di Fino, managing the Fantasy Sports &. editor for fantasy and Gaming Association (FSGA) and. sports betting at The owner of Guillotine Leagues.. Athletic, and Paul Charchian, (Guillotine is another modified-format. former president of the fantasy platform that we. Fantasy Sports & Gaming didnt consider for this. Association (FSGA) and owner guide due to its. of Guillotine Leagues. (Guillotine unique structure.) Who this. is another modified-format fantasy is for Fantasy sports. platform that we didnt started with obsessive sports. consider for this guide fans scraping together whatever. due to its unique information they could find. structure.)

Who this is in local newspaper sports. for

Fantasy sports started pages and then mailing. with obsessive sports fans (or faxing) one another. scraping together whatever information to adjudicate scores and. they could find in trades. Now, thanks to. local newspaper sports pages the internet, this is. and then mailing (or a multi-billion-dollar industry, and. faxing) one another to millions of people across. adjudicate scores and trades. the globe play fantasy. Now, thanks to the sports. And its reach. internet, this is a has grown to include. multi-billion-dollar industry, and millions all sorts of sports,. of people across the from football to F1. globe play fantasy sports. to esports. The platforms. And its reach has that facilitate these games. grown to include all are much more user-friendly. sorts of sports, from than the pen-and-paper systems. football to F1 to of the 1990s. And. esports.

The platforms that since the information that. facilitate these games are powers them is seamlessly. much more user-friendly than integrated into their interfaces,. the pen-and-paper systems of even people who dont. the 1990s. And since follow a given sport. the information that powers can play the fantasy. them is seamlessly integrated version, provided they have. into their interfaces, even a basic understanding of. people who dont follow statistics. But the reason. a given sport can fantasy-sports platforms have stuck. play the fantasy version, around is that they. provided they have a provide people an opportunity. basic understanding of statistics.

to socialize and have. dir="ltr">But the reason fantasy-sports fun with friends, regardless. platforms have stuck around of distance or time.. is that they provide These platforms have become. people an opportunity to gathering spaces that bind. socialize and have fun friend groups for years. with friends, regardless of (and sometimes decades), even. distance or time. These after theyve lost touch. platforms have become gathering in the real world.. spaces that bind friend Fantasy sports are for. groups for years (and everyone, and these apps. sometimes decades), even after make it easier than. theyve lost touch in ever to get started.. the real world.

Fantasy How we picked and. sports are for everyone, tested With the rise. and these apps make of daily fantasy- and. it easier than ever online-sports betting, its becoming. to get started.

How harder to define where. we picked and tested

fantasy sports end and. dir="ltr">With the rise of gambling begins. For the. daily fantasy- and online-sports purposes of this guide,. betting, its becoming harder we have focused on. to define where fantasy traditional, season-long redraft leagues.. sports end and gambling These leagues feature a. begins. For the purposes draft day at the. of this guide, we beginning of each season,. have focused on traditional, when each person forms. season-long redraft leagues.

These their team. Once the. leagues feature a draft teams are in place,. day at the beginning you compete week to. of each season, when week to earn the. each person forms their highest point totals, which. team. Once the teams accrue based on the. are in place, you performance of the players. compete week to week you choose to start.. to earn the highest Each week, lineups can. point totals, which accrue change, and players can. based on the performance be dropped, added, and. of the players you traded among the teams.. choose to start. Each A number of these. week, lineups can change, platforms also provide support. and players can be for Dynasty leagues, in. dropped, added, and traded which players keep their. among the teams.

A lineups static from year. number of these platforms to year and draft. also provide support for only from a pool. Dynasty leagues, in which of rookie players each. players keep their lineups new season. But we. static from year to opted not to include. year and draft only this sort of play. from a pool of in our testing. There. rookie players each new are a few newer. season. But we opted formats, including a set-it-and-forget-it. not to include this style called Best Ball.. sort of play in We didnt include this. our testing. There are either because our research. a few newer formats, indicates that weekly maintenance—which. including a set-it-and-forget-it style encourages interaction with leaguemates—is. called Best Ball. We one of the most. didnt include this either rewarding parts of the. because our research indicates fantasy experience. To get. that weekly maintenance—which encourages an idea of which. interaction with leaguemates—is one apps to test, we. of the most rewarding spent 15 hours researching. parts of the fantasy and reading about the. experience.

To get an different platforms. We also. idea of which apps spoke with Nando Di. to test, we spent Fino, managing editor for. 15 hours researching and fantasy and sports betting. reading about the different at The Athletic, and. platforms. We also spoke Paul Charchian, former president. with Nando Di Fino, of the Fantasy Sports. managing editor for fantasy & Gaming Association (FSGA). and sports betting at and owner of Guillotine. The Athletic, and Paul Leagues. (Guillotine is another. Charchian, former president of modified-format fantasy platform that. the Fantasy Sports & we didnt consider for. Gaming Association (FSGA) and this guide due to. owner of Guillotine Leagues. its unique structure.) To. (Guillotine is another modified-format get an idea of. fantasy platform that we which apps to test,. didnt consider for this we spent 15 hours. guide due to its researching and reading about. unique structure.)

To get the different platforms. After. an idea of which our research and discussions. apps to test, we with experts, we came. spent 15 hours researching up with a list. and reading about the of qualities and features. different platforms. After our that we think constitute. research and discussions with a great fantasy-football app:. experts, we came up Reliable push notifications: A. with a list of lot can change over. qualities and features that the course of a. we think constitute a season—players get injured, lineups. great fantasy-football app:

• shift, and formerly uninteresting. dir="ltr">Reliable push notifications: A players can suddenly become. lot can change over appealing prospects for your. the course of a team. Getting relevant news. season—players get injured, lineups as quickly and consistently. shift, and formerly uninteresting can help you make. players can suddenly become better decisions and have. appealing prospects for your a more successful season.. team. Getting relevant news Every app has news. as quickly and consistently feeds and will notify. can help you make you when conditions change,. better decisions and have and there are third-party. a more successful season. apps and news sources. Every app has news that do this too.. feeds and will notify But we compared platforms. you when conditions change, to see whether any. and there are third-party were more informative than. apps and news sources others. A low price. that do this too. point (usually free): There. But we compared platforms are so many great. to see whether any free apps that you. were more informative than really dont need to. others.

• A low spend money to have. price point (usually free): an excellent fantasy-sports experience. There are so many (unless you want specific. great free apps that features or are picky. you really dont need about how your league. to spend money to is set up). Some. have an excellent fantasy-sports of these platforms offer. experience (unless you want additional analysis and assistance. specific features or are behind subscription paywalls, but. picky about how your these features are nice-to-haves,. league is set up). not necessities. A polished. Some of these platforms user interface: This is. offer additional analysis and a largely subjective aesthetic. assistance behind subscription paywalls, evaluation. But a huge. but these features are part of the experience. nice-to-haves, not necessities.

• is the way that. dir="ltr">A polished user interface: these platforms organize and. This is a largely display information, since theyre. subjective aesthetic evaluation. But all shiny skins over. a huge part of what is essentially a. the experience is the spreadsheet. Our testing group. way that these platforms rated each apps interface. organize and display information, to see whether any. since theyre all shiny stood out from the. skins over what is pack. A stable app:. essentially a spreadsheet. Our More people are playing. testing group rated each fantasy sports every season,. apps interface to see and that means more. whether any stood out stress on the apps. from the pack.

• servers each year. Inevitably,. dir="ltr">A stable app: More this leads to hiccups.. people are playing fantasy If youre up next. sports every season, and in a draft, the. that means more stress last thing you want. on the apps servers is to be kicked. each year. Inevitably, this out of the room. leads to hiccups. If or not be able. youre up next in to submit your pick. a draft, the last due to bandwidth issues.. thing you want is Armed with our research,. to be kicked out we found six apps. of the room or for our first round. not be able to of testing: CBS Sports. submit your pick due Fantasy ESPN Fantasy Games. to bandwidth issues.

Armed Yahoo Fantasy NFL Fantasy. with our research, we Sleeper Fleaflicker To get. found six apps for some sense of how. our first round of each platform worked, I. testing:

• CBS Sports spun up fantasy baseball. Fantasy

• ESPN Fantasy and football leagues on. Games

• Yahoo Fantasy

• all of the platforms.. dir="ltr">

  NFL Fantasy

• And I tested them. dir="ltr">Sleeper

• Fleaflicker

To myself, to become familiar. get some sense of with the tools and. how each platform worked, feel of each app.. I spun up fantasy Then we set up. baseball and football leagues an 11-person testing panel. on all of the and assigned each person. platforms. And I tested to at least two. them myself, to become platforms (though many joined. familiar with the tools more). We went through. and feel of each live drafts for each. app. Then we set platform and played through. up an 11-person testing the full NFL season,. panel and assigned each to get more real-world. person to at least experience. Over the course. two platforms (though many of the season, I. joined more). We went checked in with our. through live drafts for test panel—in between the. each platform and played game-related smack talk—to gauge. through the full NFL their opinions and reactions. season, to get more to each platforms aesthetics,. real-world experience. Over the ease-of-use, notification relevance, and. course of the season, more. Our pick: ESPN. I checked in with Fantasy Games Whether youre. our test panel—in between a fantasy veteran or. the game-related smack talk—to youre gearing up for. gauge their opinions and your rookie season, ESPN. reactions to each platforms Fantasy Games is the. aesthetics, ease-of-use, notification relevance, service we recommend. Its. and more.

Our pick: a robust, full-featured fantasy-sports. ESPN Fantasy Games

Whether platform with an easy-to-use. youre a fantasy veteran interface and plenty of. or youre gearing up customization options. Its the. for your rookie season, most widely used platform,. ESPN Fantasy Games is by far. According to. the service we recommend. a poll commissioned by. Its a robust, full-featured the FSGA and released. fantasy-sports platform with an in June 2023, 43%. easy-to-use interface and plenty of fantasy-sports players regularly. of customization options.

Its use ESPN Fantasy Games;. the most widely used thats 13% more than. platform, by far. According for Yahoo Fantasy, the. to a poll commissioned next-closest service in the. by the FSGA and poll. Normally, popularity isnt. released in June 2023, a huge factor in. 43% of fantasy-sports players Wirecutter pick-making. But fantasy. regularly use ESPN Fantasy sports are inherently social,. Games; thats 13% more and its much easier. than for Yahoo Fantasy, to convince friends to. the next-closest service in commit to a months-long. the poll.

Normally, popularity season if they have. isnt a huge factor at least some familiarity. in Wirecutter pick-making. But with what youre using.. fantasy sports are inherently ESPN has the best. social, and its much chance of providing that. easier to convince friends familiarity. Its easy to. to commit to a see why its so. months-long season if they popular, too. ESPN Fantasys. have at least some readily accessible analysis, information,. familiarity with what youre and advice make it. using. ESPN has the a great platform to. best chance of providing start with. And because. that familiarity.

Its easy it has a huge. to see why its user base, you likely. so popular, too. ESPN already know someone who. Fantasys readily accessible analysis, plays it and can. information, and advice make use their knowledge to. it a great platform help you get started.. to start with. And Youre also more likely. because it has a to find helpful information. huge user base, you or external tools from. likely already know someone current users online. And. who plays it and this is not a. can use their knowledge platform youll grow out. to help you get of—it has the tools. started. Youre also more to keep you and. likely to find helpful your leaguemates satisfied for. information or external tools years, as you develop. from current users online.

your team-management skills. It. dir="ltr">And this is not delivers quick, relevant notifications.. a platform youll grow During our testing n,. out of—it has the this platform delivered notifications. tools to keep you that were both quick. and your leaguemates satisfied to cross my transom. for years, as you and relevant to the. develop your team-management skills.

team and league. It. dir="ltr">It delivers quick, relevant also delivered general MLB. notifications. During our testing and NFL news on. n, this platform delivered par with league specific. notifications that were both news sources. The user. quick to cross my interface is good-looking and. transom and relevant to functional. ESPN Fantasys app. the team and league. and web interface put. It also delivered general vital information at your. MLB and NFL news fingertips, and they do. on par with league so in style. In. specific news sources.

The addition to raw numbers,. user interface is good-looking you get a mix. and functional. ESPN Fantasys of player photos and. app and web interface graphics, which help round. put vital information at out the experience. It. your fingertips, and they makes advanced predictions free. do so in style. for everyone. This is. In addition to raw one of the few. numbers, you get a free programs we tested. mix of player photos that doesnt hide more-advanced. and graphics, which help predictions behind a paywall.. round out the experience.

Testers said these predictions. dir="ltr">It makes advanced predictions generally helped them feel. free for everyone. This informed when building their. is one of the lineups, even if they. few free programs we didnt follow the sport. tested that doesnt hide particularly closely. Extra expert. more-advanced predictions behind a analysis is also available. paywall. Testers said these behind an ESPN+ paywall.. predictions generally helped them Flaws but not dealbreakers. feel informed when building This is a free. their lineups, even if platform, so there are. they didnt follow the ads throughout the experience,. sport particularly closely. Extra both in the ESPN. expert analysis is also mobile and desktop apps.. available behind an ESPN+ But theyre no more. paywall.

Flaws but not intrusive than most media. dealbreakers

• This is website ads. And almost. a free platform, so none of the ads. there are ads throughout are gambling-related, which is. the experience, both in a welcome difference from. the ESPN mobile and those on many other,. desktop apps. But theyre newer apps we tried. no more intrusive than (though well see how. most media website ads. long that lasts). Other. And almost none of good fantasy sports apps. the ads are gambling-related, If you want a. which is a welcome platform that feels fresher,. difference from those on with a more modern. many other, newer apps user interface, and you. we tried (though well dont mind gambling options:. see how long that Sleeper might be ideal. lasts).

Other good fantasy for you. It currently. sports apps

If you offers season-long leagues for. want a platform that football and basketball, but. feels fresher, with a not for baseball. Of. more modern user interface, the services we tested,. and you dont mind it feels the most. gambling options: Sleeper might like a modern mobile. be ideal for you. app (the desktop browser. It currently offers season-long implementation looks good too).. leagues for football and And it has one. basketball, but not for of the draft-day interfaces. baseball. Of the services our testing panel liked. we tested, it feels best, finding it colorful. the most like a and active. It also. modern mobile app (the has a customizable in-app. desktop browser implementation looks news feed, which we. good too). And it found useful. Also, the. has one of the chat feed feels more. draft-day interfaces our testing like a modern group. panel liked best, finding chat than the other. it colorful and active.

platforms built-in social features.. dir="ltr">It also has a Although its free to. customizable in-app news feed, play, Sleeper heavily advertises. which we found useful. its own pay-to-play daily. Also, the chat feed fantasy games. For instance,. feels more like a an ad for its. modern group chat than “Picks” gambling option was. the other platforms built-in sent to the chat. social features.

Although its feed immediately after our. free to play, Sleeper season wrapped up. That. heavily advertises its own feels more like something. pay-to-play daily fantasy games. youd find at DraftKings,. For instance, an ad so that may be. for its “Picks” gambling off-putting for some. The. option was sent to competition CBS Sports Fantasy. the chat feed immediately has two tiers: a. after our season wrapped free level, with no. up. That feels more customization options (youre stuck. like something youd find with a 12-team league. at DraftKings, so that and bog-standard scoring rules),. may be off-putting for or a $150 paid. some.

The competition

CBS tier, which gives you. Sports Fantasy has two the customization options found. tiers: a free level, in platforms like Yahoo. with no customization options or our pick. Considering. (youre stuck with a how many services offer. 12-team league and bog-standard these options for free,. scoring rules), or a we cant recommend spending. $150 paid tier, which that kind of money.. gives you the customization Fleaflicker is a basic,. options found in platforms football-only program, but it. like Yahoo or our provides most of the. pick. Considering how many same functions you get. services offer these options from our pick. The. for free, we cant platform is perfectly functional. recommend spending that kind (albeit in an Excel-spreadsheet. of money.

Fleaflicker is kind of way), with. a basic, football-only program, a bare-bones interface that. but it provides most might be intimidating for. of the same functions some players. One of. you get from our our testers described it. pick. The platform is as “The Drudge Report. perfectly functional (albeit in of fantasy apps (minus. an Excel-spreadsheet kind of the sirens and screaming. way), with a bare-bones headlines).” In addition, a. interface that might be ton of analysis is. intimidating for some players. hidden behind a $25. One of our testers paywall, which could limit. described it as “The its beginner-friendliness even further.. Drudge Report of fantasy NFL Fantasy seems like. apps (minus the sirens it should have a. and screaming headlines).” In leg up on the. addition, a ton of competition simply because its. analysis is hidden behind owned by the real-life. a $25 paywall, which league, but it doesnt. could limit its beginner-friendliness quite match up to. even further.

NFL Fantasy our pick. On the. seems like it should plus side, it offers. have a leg up a feature-rich platform with. on the competition simply ample customization, and it. because its owned by provides up-to-date information. It. the real-life league, but also has some (paywalled). it doesnt quite match automation features that allow. up to our pick. players to auto-set lineups. On the plus side, and optimize based on. it offers a feature-rich projected scores, but these. platform with ample customization, features arent necessary for. and it provides up-to-date most commissioners or players.. information. It also has It was also the. some (paywalled) automation features only platform in our. that allow players to testing that had technical. auto-set lineups and optimize issues on draft day,. based on projected scores, locking out two teams. but these features arent that (thankfully) had already. necessary for most commissioners set up their auto-draft.. or players. It was In the end we. also the only platform simply liked ESPNs interface. in our testing that more because it seemed. had technical issues on fresher and more informational.. draft day, locking out Yahoo Fantasy is the. two teams that (thankfully) second-most-popular fantasy-sports platform, according. had already set up to data from the. their auto-draft. In the FSGA, and it provides. end we simply liked a robust, customizable platform. ESPNs interface more because much like ESPNs. It. it seemed fresher and presents useful information in. more informational.

Yahoo Fantasy an extremely well-organized and. is the second-most-popular fantasy-sports easy-to-navigate interface. And it. platform, according to data has paywalled automation features. from the FSGA, and and projections, including draft. it provides a robust, tools that supposedly highlight. customizable platform much like players who are uniquely. ESPNs. It presents useful positioned to fill holes. information in an extremely in your lineup. It. well-organized and easy-to-navigate interface. also had AI-generated draft. And it has paywalled report cards, which our. automation features and projections, testers found to be. including draft tools that equal parts charming and. supposedly highlight players who weird. We didnt think. are uniquely positioned to these features were significantly. fill holes in your more useful than the. lineup. It also had free projection tools it. AI-generated draft report cards, provided, and we found. which our testers found ESPNs interface slightly more. to be equal parts engaging. But otherwise this. charming and weird. We is a great option.. didnt think these features Fantasy sports take the. were significantly more useful impulse to armchair-manage your. than the free projection favorite team and turn. tools it provided, and it into a dare:. we found ESPNs interface You think youre such. slightly more engaging. But a tactical genius? Okay,. otherwise this is a then draft the players,. great option.

Fantasy choose who plays each. sports take the impulse week, and see how. to armchair-manage your favorite you do. Do you. team and turn it have a better game. into a dare: You plan than Andy Reid?. think youre such a Is your baseball IQ. tactical genius? Okay, then on a par with. draft the players, choose Joe Maddons? Or, at. who plays each week, the very least, do. and see how you you have a better. do. Do you have sense of sports than. a better game plan your friends? After 15. than Andy Reid? Is hours of research and. your baseball IQ on two seasons worth of. a par with Joe testing (the 2023 MLB. Maddons? Or, at the and NFL seasons, to. very least, do you be precise)—in which we. have a better sense tried six different platforms. of sports than your with a panel of. friends?

After 15 hours 11 sports fans of. of research and two various experience levels—weve found. seasons worth of testing ESPN Fantasy Games to. (the 2023 MLB and be the best entry. NFL seasons, to be point for most people.. precise)—in which we tried But most fantasy-sports platforms. six different platforms with work just fine, with. a panel of 11 little to differentiate them.. sports fans of various So if you and. experience levels—weve found ESPN your leaguemates already love. Fantasy Games to be the service youre using,. the best entry point theres nothing game-changing enough. for most people.

But to justify the work. most fantasy-sports platforms work it takes to switch.. just fine, with little The ESPN Fantasy Games. to differentiate them. So platform has an easy-to-understand. if you and your interface and a robust. leaguemates already love the slate of analysis and. service youre using, theres data thats both well. nothing game-changing enough to organized and clearly delivered.. justify the work it It quickly surfaces relevant. takes to switch.

information, including injury notifications,. dir="ltr">The ESPN Fantasy Games playing time, and projected. platform has an easy-to-understand performance. And it allows. interface and a robust for a broad amount. slate of analysis and of league customization, so. data thats both well youll likely be able. organized and clearly delivered. to set up the. It quickly surfaces relevant rules of your league. information, including injury notifications, exactly as you want.. playing time, and projected Its also the longest-running. performance. And it allows online fantasy-sports platform (though,. for a broad amount as a hobby, fantasy-sports. of league customization, so leagues have existed in. youll likely be able analog form since the. to set up the 1960s), and its by. rules of your league far the most widely. exactly as you want.

used. So chances are. dir="ltr">Its also the longest-running good that you or. online fantasy-sports platform (though, your friends who want. as a hobby, fantasy-sports to start a league. leagues have existed in have either played in. analog form since the an ESPN league before. 1960s), and its by or know someone who. far the most widely has. This familiarity is. used. So chances are likely to outweigh any. good that you or of the user-interface or. your friends who want feature differences other sites. to start a league may offer, and the. have either played in giant user base means. an ESPN league before its easy enough to. or know someone who get matched up with. has.

This familiarity is a new league if. likely to outweigh any you dont have a. of the user-interface or big enough group of. feature differences other sites friends. Why you should. may offer, and the trust me As a. giant user base means band nerd and robotics. its easy enough to kid in high school,. get matched up with sports have always been. a new league if more fantasy than reality. you dont have a for me. I joined. big enough group of my first fantasy football. friends.

Why you league around 2010 (via. should trust me

As Yahoo!) and have been. a band nerd and playing off-and-on ever since.. robotics kid in high Ive also been writing. school, sports have always for Wirecutter for six. been more fantasy than years, and I have. reality for me. I tested everything from toilet. joined my first fantasy brushes to podcast apps.. football league around 2010 But I have been. (via Yahoo!) and have reporting on and testing. been playing off-and-on ever games and hobby gear. since. Ive also been for the past two. writing for Wirecutter for years. To supplement my. six years, and I experience, I also spoke. have tested everything from with Nando Di Fino,. toilet brushes to podcast managing editor for fantasy. apps. But I have and sports betting at. been reporting on and The Athletic, and Paul. testing games and hobby Charchian, former president of. gear for the past the Fantasy Sports &. two years.

To supplement Gaming Association (FSGA) and. my experience, I also owner of Guillotine Leagues.. spoke with Nando Di (Guillotine is another modified-format. Fino, managing editor for fantasy platform that we. fantasy and sports betting didnt consider for this. at The Athletic, and guide due to its. Paul Charchian, former president unique structure.) Who this. of the Fantasy Sports is for Fantasy sports. & Gaming Association (FSGA) started with obsessive sports. and owner of Guillotine fans scraping together whatever. Leagues. (Guillotine is another information they could find. modified-format fantasy platform that in local newspaper sports. we didnt consider for pages and then mailing. this guide due to (or faxing) one another. its unique structure.)

Who to adjudicate scores and. this is for

Fantasy trades. Now, thanks to. sports started with obsessive the internet, this is. sports fans scraping together a multi-billion-dollar industry, and. whatever information they could millions of people across. find in local newspaper the globe play fantasy. sports pages and then sports. And its reach. mailing (or faxing) one has grown to include. another to adjudicate scores all sorts of sports,. and trades. Now, thanks from football to F1. to the internet, this to esports. The platforms. is a multi-billion-dollar industry, that facilitate these games. and millions of people are much more user-friendly. across the globe play than the pen-and-paper systems. fantasy sports. And its of the 1990s. And. reach has grown to since the information that. include all sorts of powers them is seamlessly. sports, from football to integrated into their interfaces,. F1 to esports.

The even people who dont. platforms that facilitate these follow a given sport. games are much more can play the fantasy. user-friendly than the pen-and-paper version, provided they have. systems of the 1990s. a basic understanding of. And since the information statistics. But the reason. that powers them is fantasy-sports platforms have stuck. seamlessly integrated into their around is that they. interfaces, even people who provide people an opportunity. dont follow a given to socialize and have. sport can play the fun with friends, regardless. fantasy version, provided they of distance or time.. have a basic understanding These platforms have become. of statistics.

But the gathering spaces that bind. reason fantasy-sports platforms have friend groups for years. stuck around is that (and sometimes decades), even. they provide people an after theyve lost touch. opportunity to socialize and in the real world.. have fun with friends, Fantasy sports are for. regardless of distance or everyone, and these apps. time. These platforms have make it easier than. become gathering spaces that ever to get started.. bind friend groups for How we picked and. years (and sometimes decades), tested With the rise. even after theyve lost of daily fantasy- and. touch in the real online-sports betting, its becoming. world.

Fantasy sports are harder to define where. for everyone, and these fantasy sports end and. apps make it easier gambling begins. For the. than ever to get purposes of this guide,. started.

How we picked we have focused on. and tested

With the traditional, season-long redraft leagues.. rise of daily fantasy- These leagues feature a. and online-sports betting, its draft day at the. becoming harder to define beginning of each season,. where fantasy sports end when each person forms. and gambling begins. For their team. Once the. the purposes of this teams are in place,. guide, we have focused you compete week to. on traditional, season-long redraft week to earn the. leagues.

These leagues feature highest point totals, which. a draft day at accrue based on the. the beginning of each performance of the players. season, when each person you choose to start.. forms their team. Once Each week, lineups can. the teams are in change, and players can. place, you compete week be dropped, added, and. to week to earn traded among the teams.. the highest point totals, A number of these. which accrue based on platforms also provide support. the performance of the for Dynasty leagues, in. players you choose to which players keep their. start. Each week, lineups lineups static from year. can change, and players to year and draft. can be dropped, added, only from a pool. and traded among the of rookie players each. teams.

A number of new season. But we. these platforms also provide opted not to include. support for Dynasty leagues, this sort of play. in which players keep in our testing. There. their lineups static from are a few newer. year to year and formats, including a set-it-and-forget-it. draft only from a style called Best Ball.. pool of rookie players We didnt include this. each new season. But either because our research. we opted not to indicates that weekly maintenance—which. include this sort of encourages interaction with leaguemates—is. play in our testing. one of the most. There are a few rewarding parts of the. newer formats, including a fantasy experience. To get. set-it-and-forget-it style called Best an idea of which. Ball. We didnt include apps to test, we. this either because our spent 15 hours researching. research indicates that weekly and reading about the. maintenance—which encourages interaction with different platforms. We also. leaguemates—is one of the spoke with Nando Di. most rewarding parts of Fino, managing editor for. the fantasy experience.

To fantasy and sports betting. get an idea of at The Athletic, and. which apps to test, Paul Charchian, former president. we spent 15 hours of the Fantasy Sports. researching and reading about & Gaming Association (FSGA). the different platforms. We and owner of Guillotine. also spoke with Nando Leagues. (Guillotine is another. Di Fino, managing editor modified-format fantasy platform that. for fantasy and sports we didnt consider for. betting at The Athletic, this guide due to. and Paul Charchian, former its unique structure.) To. president of the Fantasy get an idea of. Sports & Gaming Association which apps to test,. (FSGA) and owner of we spent 15 hours. Guillotine Leagues. (Guillotine is researching and reading about. another modified-format fantasy platform the different platforms. After. that we didnt consider our research and discussions. for this guide due with experts, we came. to its unique structure.)

up with a list. dir="ltr">To get an idea of qualities and features. of which apps to that we think constitute. test, we spent 15 a great fantasy-football app:. hours researching and reading Reliable push notifications: A. about the different platforms. lot can change over. After our research and the course of a. discussions with experts, we season—players get injured, lineups. came up with a shift, and formerly uninteresting. list of qualities and players can suddenly become. features that we think appealing prospects for your. constitute a great fantasy-football team. Getting relevant news. app:

• Reliable push as quickly and consistently. notifications: A lot can can help you make. change over the course better decisions and have. of a season—players get a more successful season.. injured, lineups shift, and Every app has news. formerly uninteresting players can feeds and will notify. suddenly become appealing prospects you when conditions change,. for your team. Getting and there are third-party. relevant news as quickly apps and news sources. and consistently can help that do this too.. you make better decisions But we compared platforms. and have a more to see whether any. successful season. Every app were more informative than. has news feeds and others. A low price. will notify you when point (usually free): There. conditions change, and there are so many great. are third-party apps and free apps that you. news sources that do really dont need to. this too. But we spend money to have. compared platforms to see an excellent fantasy-sports experience. whether any were more (unless you want specific. informative than others.

• features or are picky. dir="ltr">A low price point about how your league. (usually free): There are is set up). Some. so many great free of these platforms offer. apps that you really additional analysis and assistance. dont need to spend behind subscription paywalls, but. money to have an these features are nice-to-haves,. excellent fantasy-sports experience (unless not necessities. A polished. you want specific features user interface: This is. or are picky about a largely subjective aesthetic. how your league is evaluation. But a huge. set up). Some of part of the experience. these platforms offer additional is the way that. analysis and assistance behind these platforms organize and. subscription paywalls, but these display information, since theyre. features are nice-to-haves, not all shiny skins over. necessities.

• A polished what is essentially a. user interface: This is spreadsheet. Our testing group. a largely subjective aesthetic rated each apps interface. evaluation. But a huge to see whether any. part of the experience stood out from the. is the way that pack. A stable app:. these platforms organize and More people are playing. display information, since theyre fantasy sports every season,. all shiny skins over and that means more. what is essentially a stress on the apps. spreadsheet. Our testing group servers each year. Inevitably,. rated each apps interface this leads to hiccups.. to see whether any If youre up next. stood out from the in a draft, the. pack.

• A stable last thing you want. app: More people are is to be kicked. playing fantasy sports every out of the room. season, and that means or not be able. more stress on the to submit your pick. apps servers each year. due to bandwidth issues.. Inevitably, this leads to Armed with our research,. hiccups. If youre up we found six apps. next in a draft, for our first round. the last thing you of testing: CBS Sports. want is to be Fantasy ESPN Fantasy Games. kicked out of the Yahoo Fantasy NFL Fantasy. room or not be Sleeper Fleaflicker To get. able to submit your some sense of how. pick due to bandwidth each platform worked, I. issues.

Armed with our spun up fantasy baseball. research, we found six and football leagues on. apps for our first all of the platforms.. round of testing:

• And I tested them. dir="ltr">CBS Sports Fantasy

• myself, to become familiar. dir="ltr">ESPN Fantasy Games

• with the tools and. dir="ltr">Yahoo Fantasy

• NFL feel of each app.. Fantasy

• Sleeper

• Then we set up. dir="ltr">Fleaflicker

To get some an 11-person testing panel. sense of how each and assigned each person. platform worked, I spun to at least two. up fantasy baseball and platforms (though many joined. football leagues on all more). We went through. of the platforms. And live drafts for each. I tested them myself, platform and played through. to become familiar with the full NFL season,. the tools and feel to get more real-world. of each app. Then experience. Over the course. we set up an of the season, I. 11-person testing panel and checked in with our. assigned each person to test panel—in between the. at least two platforms game-related smack talk—to gauge. (though many joined more). their opinions and reactions. We went through live to each platforms aesthetics,. drafts for each platform ease-of-use, notification relevance, and. and played through the more. Our pick: ESPN. full NFL season, to Fantasy Games Whether youre. get more real-world experience. a fantasy veteran or. Over the course of youre gearing up for. the season, I checked your rookie season, ESPN. in with our test Fantasy Games is the. panel—in between the game-related service we recommend. Its. smack talk—to gauge their a robust, full-featured fantasy-sports. opinions and reactions to platform with an easy-to-use. each platforms aesthetics, ease-of-use, interface and plenty of. notification relevance, and more.

customization options. Its the. dir="ltr">Our pick: ESPN Fantasy most widely used platform,. Games

Whether youre a by far. According to. fantasy veteran or youre a poll commissioned by. gearing up for your the FSGA and released. rookie season, ESPN Fantasy in June 2023, 43%. Games is the service of fantasy-sports players regularly. we recommend. Its a use ESPN Fantasy Games;. robust, full-featured fantasy-sports platform thats 13% more than. with an easy-to-use interface for Yahoo Fantasy, the. and plenty of customization next-closest service in the. options.

Its the most poll. Normally, popularity isnt. widely used platform, by a huge factor in. far. According to a Wirecutter pick-making. But fantasy. poll commissioned by the sports are inherently social,. FSGA and released in and its much easier. June 2023, 43% of to convince friends to. fantasy-sports players regularly use commit to a months-long. ESPN Fantasy Games; thats season if they have. 13% more than for at least some familiarity. Yahoo Fantasy, the next-closest with what youre using.. service in the poll.

ESPN has the best. dir="ltr">Normally, popularity isnt a chance of providing that. huge factor in Wirecutter familiarity. Its easy to. pick-making. But fantasy sports see why its so. are inherently social, and popular, too. ESPN Fantasys. its much easier to readily accessible analysis, information,. convince friends to commit and advice make it. to a months-long season a great platform to. if they have at start with. And because. least some familiarity with it has a huge. what youre using. ESPN user base, you likely. has the best chance already know someone who. of providing that familiarity.

plays it and can. dir="ltr">Its easy to see use their knowledge to. why its so popular, help you get started.. too. ESPN Fantasys readily Youre also more likely. accessible analysis, information, and to find helpful information. advice make it a or external tools from. great platform to start current users online. And. with. And because it this is not a. has a huge user platform youll grow out. base, you likely already of—it has the tools. know someone who plays to keep you and. it and can use your leaguemates satisfied for. their knowledge to help years, as you develop. you get started. Youre your team-management skills. It. also more likely to delivers quick, relevant notifications.. find helpful information or During our testing n,. external tools from current this platform delivered notifications. users online.

And this that were both quick. is not a platform to cross my transom. youll grow out of—it and relevant to the. has the tools to team and league. It. keep you and your also delivered general MLB. leaguemates satisfied for years, and NFL news on. as you develop your par with league specific. team-management skills.

It delivers news sources. The user. quick, relevant notifications. During interface is good-looking and. our testing n, this functional. ESPN Fantasys app. platform delivered notifications that and web interface put. were both quick to vital information at your. cross my transom and fingertips, and they do. relevant to the team so in style. In. and league. It also addition to raw numbers,. delivered general MLB and you get a mix. NFL news on par of player photos and. with league specific news graphics, which help round. sources.

The user interface out the experience. It. is good-looking and functional. makes advanced predictions free. ESPN Fantasys app and for everyone. This is. web interface put vital one of the few. information at your fingertips, free programs we tested. and they do so that doesnt hide more-advanced. in style. In addition predictions behind a paywall..