Free sports registration software for schools: what "free" really costs

The software can be free. The registrations aren't. Free registration platforms earn their money on each payment, about $3–4 on a $90 registration, and that fee often lands on parents at checkout. Above about 100 registrations a year, a flat fee costs less than free.

What the free plans charge

Here's the cost of one $90 registration on each, from the vendors' own pages.

Platform	Software	Fee on a $90 registration	Who pays it
Sports Connect	$0	$3.00 per checkout	The parent, at checkout
Spond	Free for most clubs	$3.96 ($1 + 3.29%, card cost included)	The club by default; it can pass the fee to parents
TeamLinkt Core	$0	Not published; by quote	The club chooses, per form
mysports.io	$99.99 a year	$2.91 (Stripe's rate); $0 to us	The school; nothing is added at checkout

TeamLinkt says over half of its organizations pass the fee to registrants. Sports Connect is also being retired in 2027, so a school choosing today shouldn't start there.

Why free can charge more than Stripe

Taking a card costs money on every platform, ours included. Through Stripe it's 2.9% + 30¢, or $2.91 on $90. The free platforms charge more than that and keep the difference, and they can, because of who's paying. The people who choose the software aren't the people who pay for it. A board picks a free platform; the fee lands on 150 families at checkout, three dollars at a time; and nobody on the board ever sees a total. The club chooses, the family pays, and the club never sees the bill. That's why a free platform never loses a customer over its rate.

On a 150-family program, about 400 registrations a year, the free plans total roughly $1,580–2,060 a year once the card cost is counted, against about $1,260 on mysports.io. Our cost guide shows the working, and the lowest-cost ranking runs the same numbers at three club sizes.

When free really is cheaper

A flat $99.99 a year pays for itself after about 96 registrations at Spond's rate, or 34 checkouts at a $3 fee. Below that, the free plan is the better deal, and you should take it, knowing whose pocket the fee comes from.

If you run one small team, you may not need any of this. Paper forms and checks cost nothing. Jotform's free plan allows 100 submissions a month, but only 10 of them with a payment, which suits a single team and not a sign-up week.

What to ask before you choose a free system

1. Who pays the fee by default? Decide it out loud, and if families pay, tell them on the first page. We cover this in who pays the processing fee.
2. What's the rate, in writing? Get the percentage and the per-transaction amount. "Competitive" isn't a number.
3. Is there a fee on cash and checks? Schools take plenty of both. Sports Connect's $3 comes out of the league's payout on paper registrations.
4. Whose account does the money land in? It decides who controls refunds and payouts. See running on your own Stripe account.
5. Will families see ads? Ask where they appear: the app, the website, the checkout.
6. Can you get your data out? Ask for a full export before you need one, not after.

What a school needs that a form can't do

A form collects answers. A registration system also knows the rules: which grades a season is open to, which children belong to which family, and who still owes. mysports.io checks grade eligibility when a parent registers, keeps one account per family across sports, records cash and checks next to card payments, and exports the roster.

How mysports.io handles it

We're not free, and we don't pretend to be. Setting up costs nothing. Publishing costs $1, which covers your first three months, and then it's $99.99 a year. Card payments go through your school's own Stripe account at Stripe's rate and we add nothing, so parents pay the fee you set and no more. The card cost comes off what the school receives, so build it into your registration fee if you want it covered.

We do registration and payments. If you need schedules or team chat, this isn't that product.