OpenSports is a platform for running sports activities that people pay to join: drop-in games, leagues, tournaments, memberships and passes, with payments collected up front, waivers and public listings that bring in new players. It is closest to Rostara of all the team apps, because it has pickup organizers in mind. The difference is the kind of game: OpenSports suits a game you sell spots in, and Rostara suits a game where the same crowd plays every week and settles the court money among themselves.
The short answer
- Choose OpenSports if you sell spots to the public, want players to pay before they play, or run leagues, tournaments or memberships.
- Choose Rostara if you run a private weekly game, want to start free, and want even teams every week without anyone paying through an app.
What OpenSports does well
Highlights from OpenSports' website and help articles:
- Getting paid up front. Players pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay when they sign up, and payouts reach your bank automatically. OpenSports' own advice is that players who paid show up more.
- Finding new players. Public groups and games are listed for people nearby, and organizers can invite local players by sport and level.
- More than pickup. Leagues and tournaments, memberships and class passes, waivers, discount codes, check-in at the door and a widget for your website.
- Repeating events and reminders. A bulk creator for recurring games on the web, and an automatic reminder 24 hours before each game.
- Chat. Event chat for attendees and announcements to the whole group.
If you run a business or a public program, those are real strengths, and Rostara doesn't try to match them.
Where a private weekly game is different
Free to start
OpenSports has no free plan for organizers. To run a group and its games you subscribe first: the Recreational Group plan is $30 a month, or $25 a month billed yearly, and new groups are approved by OpenSports before they go live. Rostara is free for running your games, with RSVPs, the waitlist, guests and the team balancer included. Pro, for the ledger and the extras, is $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year for one group.
Money without transaction fees
On top of the plan, OpenSports takes 3% of what players pay through it, and Stripe adds 2.9% plus 30 cents. OpenSports' help center explains that the fee comes out of the price, so organizers raise their price to cover it. On an $8 game fee, that is about 77 cents a payment. Cancellations before your deadline become credit for the group by default.
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, including people who pay in cash. 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.
A waitlist that moves people in
Both apps cap a game and keep a waitlist, and they fill an open spot differently. In OpenSports, the first person waiting is offered the spot and has between 10 minutes and a few hours, depending on how soon the game is, to tap Join and pay; if they miss it, the offer moves to the next person, one at a time. In Rostara, the first person waiting is moved in straight away and gets a "You're in!" notification. Both let players bring guests; in Rostara a guest can also wait on the waitlist, which OpenSports doesn't allow. See waitlists and guests.
Fair sides every week
OpenSports lets you set up team spots in advance, a dark team and a light team for example, and players pick one when they sign up. Its help center doesn't describe balancing teams by skill. In Rostara, players are rated privately from 1 to 10 on a few skills for your sport, nobody sees who gave which score, and the balancer splits the players who are coming into even teams in one tap. A balance score tells you how close the game should be, and goalkeepers are spread across the teams. See the team balancer and player ratings.
OpenSports and Rostara side by side
From OpenSports' website, help articles and store listings, checked on October 24, 2026, and from Rostara's own guides.
| What you need | OpenSports | Rostara |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $30 a month ($25 a month billed yearly), no free plan for organizers; 3% of payments plus Stripe's fees | Free plan; Pro is $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year for one group; no transaction fees |
| Built for | Paid drop-ins, leagues, tournaments, memberships and public programs | Weekly pickup and recreational groups |
| Scheduling | Single and recurring events, created in bulk on the web | Single games; duplicate last week's game to repeat it |
| Sign-ups | Players register, and pay if the spot has a price; an account is needed | Going, Maybe and Not Going, with a player limit and an RSVP deadline |
| A dropout from a full game | The next person is offered the spot and must claim it and pay in time | The first person on the waitlist is moved in and notified |
| Guests | Up to the number the organizer allows, paid for by the player; not on the waitlist | Members add guests, who count toward the limit and can wait on the waitlist |
| Picking sides | Team spots set up in advance that players choose | Private 1 to 10 skill ratings and one-tap balanced teams with a balance score; keepers spread across teams |
| Money | Collected in the app by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with automatic payouts | A ledger of who paid and who owes (Pro), including cash; money moves outside the app |
| Finding new players | Public games listed for people nearby | Your group's own invite link |
| Where it runs | iPhone and Android apps, and the web, where admins do most of their work | Any browser, and iPhone and Android apps on the App Store and Google Play |
When OpenSports is the better choice
- You sell spots to people you don't know, and want them to pay before they play.
- You want your games listed publicly so new players can find them.
- You run leagues, tournaments, memberships or class passes, or need waivers.
- You want repeating games and automatic reminders. Rostara has neither yet: you duplicate last week's game and post a notice when the group needs a nudge.
- You want chat in the same app. Rostara leaves the conversation to your group chat.
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.
- Bring old balances over if players carry credit or debts. On Pro, Record opening balance adds each one to the ledger.
Questions
Is Rostara free?
Running your games is free, team balancing included, with no approval step. 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 OpenSports?
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. If you need players to pay before they play, OpenSports does that.
Can I use OpenSports and Rostara together?
Yes. They don't connect to each other, but you can sell public drop-ins on OpenSports and keep a private weekly 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 BenchApp, or all of them.
