Ten platforms, their own published numbers, and the four questions that decide what a season actually costs your families. Our numbers are in the table too.
Every board that shops for registration software runs into the same wall. Half the platforms will not publish a price, the ones that do bundle card processing into a single number you cannot take apart, and nobody quotes what a payment plan does to the total.
So we built the table we wanted when we started. Every row comes from that platform's own published pricing, its help center, or a fee schedule a club published to its own families. Verified July 2026. Clubside is in the table on the same terms as everyone else.
This is not a scoreboard and there is no winner marked. We are not the cheapest option here and we are not going to pretend we are. What we will do is show our work, and tell you which four questions matter more than the headline rate.
Published figures only. Where a platform does not publish a number, the cell says so rather than guessing. Sources are listed in the last column.
| Platform | Software cost | Take on payments | Who holds the money | Per-team payouts | Pricing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TeamSnap for Business | Custom quote | Bundled, roughly 3.25% + $1.50 all in | The platform | No | Quote only | TeamSnap pricing and help center pages |
| SportsEngine HQ | About $799 per year for the club tier | Tiered, roughly 3.2% to 4.5% + $1 to $2 all in | The platform | No | Partially published | SportsEngine published fee schedule, plus fee schedules clubs publish to their own families |
| PlayMetrics | Custom quote | Bundled, not published | Not published | Not published | Quote only | PlayMetrics website, which requires a demo to see pricing |
| Sports Connect (Blue Sombrero) | Monthly fee | A flat $3 per transaction, plus the club's card cost | The platform | No | Partially published | Sports Connect and Stack Sports pricing pages |
| LeagueApps | Setup fee, no recurring software fee | Undisclosed percentage, plus an optional $1 to $5 per registration | The platform | No | Quote only | LeagueApps pricing page |
| Jersey Watch | $348 to $588 per year | 3.5% + $1 all in, as an aggregator | The platform | No | Published | Jersey Watch pricing page |
| TeamSideline | $468 per year flat | None. You bring your own payment gateway | Your organization | No | Published | TeamSideline pricing page |
| Spond / TeamLinkt | Free | Roughly 3.3% to 3.5% + $1 all in | The platform | No | Published | Spond and TeamLinkt pricing pages |
| Clubside | Free Starter, or $49 per month for Club, or $99 per month for Pro | $3.50 per registration paid by the family and capped at $7 per family per season, plus a platform percentage by plan, plus Stripe at their published 2.9% + $0.30 paid directly to Stripe | Your organization | Yes | Published | clubside.io/pricing |
Verified July 2026. Rates change and several of these platforms quote club pricing individually, so ask any vendor for your own number in writing before you sign. If you find a figure here that is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
A bundled rate hides the card processing cost inside the platform’s number, so you cannot tell what is software margin and what is Visa. An unbundled model shows you both, and lets you check the processing rate against the processor’s public price list.
The fixed dollar portion of a fee usually repeats on every installment. Per SportsEngine’s published fee schedule, a $100 registration split into three payments carries an effective fee of 9.25%, because the fixed per-transaction fee repeats on each installment. Ask any platform to quote you a $100 registration paid in 3 installments, in writing.
If the platform is, then it holds your registration money and disburses it back to you. That controls payout timing, chargeback handling, and how much of your financial history is portable if you ever leave.
9.25%
Effective fee on a $100 registration split into 3 payments.
Per SportsEngine’s published fee schedule, a $100 registration split into three payments carries an effective fee of 9.25%, because the fixed per-transaction fee repeats on each installment.
The families who pick a payment plan are usually the families for whom the number matters most. Clubside never repeats a fee across installments. A two-pay or three-pay costs a family exactly what paying in full costs.
See our fee scheduleAcross the ten platforms benchmarked in July 2026, none offered per-team payout routing. Every one of them pools registration money into a single organization account and leaves the club to do its own internal fund accounting.
Clubside does, per payment, to each team's own connected account. Miami Valley Xpress, a ten-team Ohio travel fastpitch club, runs its season this way today.
A 2026 study of 337 youth sports clubs found dues collected online came in at 98.2%, while dues collected offline, meaning checks, cash, and payment apps, came in at 83.6%.
For most clubs that gap is larger than the entire difference between any two fee schedules on this page. Fix collection first.
Most bundle card processing into a single rate that lands between roughly 3.2% and 4.5% plus a fixed dollar or two per transaction, on top of a software subscription that ranges from free to about $799 per year. Several do not publish a rate at all and quote it on a sales call.
Because most fee schedules charge the fixed per-transaction portion again on every installment. Per SportsEngine’s published fee schedule, a $100 registration split into three payments carries an effective fee of 9.25%. The percentage part stays flat, but the fixed part triples.
On most of them, the platform does. It is the merchant of record, collects the payment, and disburses to the club on its own schedule minus fees. Clubside and TeamSideline are the exceptions in this benchmark: the club is the account owner and money lands in its own bank.
Across the ten platforms benchmarked in July 2026, none offered per-team payout routing. Everything pools into one organization account and the treasurer does the internal accounting. Clubside routes each payment to that team’s own connected account at the moment of the charge.
Neither is inherently better, but only one lets you check the math. Unbundled means you can see the software fee and the card processing rate separately and verify each against a public price list. Bundled means you are taking one number on faith.
The demo is a real club with real data and no login required.