BenchApp is a team app used by more than 60,000 teams, and it grew up with adult rec teams: a roster of regulars, a list of spares to call when you're short, RSVPs, chat, stats and payments. It has added tools for drop-in games too. Rostara starts from the other end: it was built for a pickup game, where there is no fixed roster, the sides change every week, and the hardest part of the evening is making even teams.
The short answer
- Choose BenchApp if you manage a rec team with regulars and spares, play in a league whose schedule you want to sync, or want stats, scorekeeping and payments in the app.
- Choose Rostara if you run a drop-in game for one group of players, want balanced teams and a self-filling waitlist without paying, and want a balance score that tells you how even the teams are.
What BenchApp does well
Highlights from BenchApp's website and help center:
- Answering without an app. Players answer In or Out in the app, on the web or from a link in the reminder email, with no password.
- Spares. Keep a list of spares and invite them when you're short, by hand for free or automatically on PRO. Its Finder lets players nearby claim an open spot in 40 cities in the US and Canada.
- Reminders that go out by themselves. By email for free, and by text and on game day with PRO.
- Season tools. Schedule import from a spreadsheet or calendar file, league schedule sync on PRO, player stats, and a live scorekeeper on PRO.
- Chat and payments. Team chat and direct messages, payment tracking, and card payments in the app through Stripe.
Where Rostara is different
Balanced teams, free, with a score
Both apps can split the players who are coming into teams by rating. In BenchApp, managers give each player one ranking from 1 to 10, and Randomize Teams uses the rankings to split players into Dark and Light. It is part of PRO and works on events set up as Drop-In or Scrimmage. In Rostara the balancer is free on every game. Players are rated privately from 1 to 10 on a few skills for your sport, not just one number, so the balancer evens out the style of the teams as well as their strength. A balance score and a breakdown show how close the teams are and where the gap is, goalkeepers are spread across the teams, and you can step through the best splits it found. On Rostara Pro, every member can rate players too, not just the organizer. See the team balancer and player ratings.
A waitlist that fills itself, and guests
BenchApp has a waitlist that managers accept people from by hand; filling spots from it automatically is part of PRO, and rostered players go ahead of spares. In Rostara, the waitlist fills itself on the free plan: when someone drops out, the first person waiting is moved in and gets a "You're in!" notification. Rostara also has guests: a member adds a friend, who counts toward the limit and joins the waitlist in turn. BenchApp's help center doesn't describe guests; someone new joins the team as a spare. See waitlists and guests.
Money without transaction fees
BenchApp's help center puts card payments at 3.9% plus 30 cents, added to the player's price unless the organizer covers it. On an $8 game fee, that is about 61 cents a payment. BenchApp also tracks payments made outside the app, for free.
Rostara never takes or moves money. Its ledger records who fronted the cost of the court, splits it among the players and shows each player what they owe. Players pay the way your group already does, by cash, Venmo, PayPal or bank transfer, so there are no transaction fees. The ledger is part of Rostara Pro; see splitting field and court fees.
No ads
BenchApp's free plan shows ads. PRO removes them for the team, and players can pay $1.99 a month to remove them for themselves. Rostara shows no ads on any plan.
BenchApp and Rostara side by side
From BenchApp's website, help center and App Store listing, checked on October 24, 2026, and from Rostara's own guides.
| What you need | BenchApp | Rostara |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free with ads; PRO is $9 a month for the team on its website ($8.99 a month or $98.99 a year on the US App Store) | Free plan with no ads; Pro is $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year for one group |
| Built for | Rec and youth teams, leagues and drop-in games | Weekly pickup and recreational groups |
| Scheduling | Single events and imports; repeating events on PRO | Single games; duplicate last week's game to repeat it |
| Sign-ups | In or Out, in the app, on the web or from an email link | Going, Maybe and Not Going, with a player limit and an RSVP deadline |
| A dropout from a full game | Managers accept from the waitlist by hand; automatic on PRO | The first person on the waitlist is moved in and notified, free |
| Extra players | Spares on the team, invited by hand or automatically on PRO | Guests added by members, who count toward the limit |
| Picking sides | One 1 to 10 ranking per player by managers; Randomize Teams on PRO, for drop-in and scrimmage events | Private 1 to 10 ratings per skill; one-tap balanced teams with a balance score, free; every member rates on Pro |
| Money | Payment tracking, free; card payments in the app at 3.9% plus 30 cents | A ledger of who paid and who owes (Pro); money moves outside the app, so there are no transaction fees |
| Messages | Team chat and direct messages | Notices with reactions; the chat stays in your group chat |
| Where it runs | iPhone and Android apps, and the web | Any browser, and iPhone and Android apps on the App Store and Google Play |
When BenchApp is the better choice
- You manage a team with regulars and a bench of spares, especially in a league with its own schedule.
- You want automatic reminders and repeating events. Rostara has neither yet: you duplicate last week's game and post a notice when the group needs a nudge.
- You want stats, live scorekeeping or line-ups with positions and batting orders.
- You want chat in the same app. Rostara leaves the conversation to your group chat.
- You want players to pay by card before they can check in.
How to move a pickup group to Rostara
- Try the balancer with no account. Paste your player list into the free team generator and rate the players you know. If you like the teams, tap Create this group in Rostara and the list comes with you.
- Create your group and pick your sport. Getting started walks you through it.
- Share the invite link in your group chat. Players who open it and sign in land in your group. See members and invites.
- Add the holdouts by name. Players who don't sign up can still be rated, put on teams and answered for on RSVPs.
- Post the first game with a player limit and an RSVP deadline. Everyone in the group is notified. See scheduling games and RSVPs.
Questions
Is team balancing free in Rostara?
Yes. Ratings by organizers and the team balancer are free on every game, along with RSVPs, the waitlist and guests. Rostara Pro, for the ledger, discipline, group tournaments, history, custom skills and member-wide ratings, is $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year for one group. Players never pay.
Can players pay through Rostara the way they do in BenchApp?
No. Rostara records who paid and who owes, and the money moves outside the app by cash, Venmo, PayPal or bank transfer. Because it handles no money, it charges no transaction fees.
Can I use BenchApp and Rostara together?
Yes. They don't connect to each other, but you can keep a league team in BenchApp and a weekly pickup game in Rostara.
Do my players need to download an app?
No. Rostara works in any browser on a phone or a laptop, and players can add it to their home screen. Players who would rather install an app can get Rostara from the App Store on an iPhone or from Google Play on Android.
More comparisons: Spond, TeamSnap, Heja and OpenSports, or all of them.
