Fantasy soccer apps for US fans in 2026/27: which one fits your league with friends

Updated 2026-11-05 · Published by Gaffer

The best fantasy soccer app depends on the league your group follows and how you want to pick players. For the Premier League, the official Fantasy Premier League game is free and had more than 13 million players last season, and FPL Draft is its free draft version. The official MLS fantasy game is on the Kickbase app from the 2026 season, and UEFA Champions League Fantasy is free. Sleeper and Fantrax, which also host NFL fantasy leagues, offer Premier League draft leagues. On Gaffer you create a free league of your own for the Premier League or the Champions League, and for MLS during its regular season.

Fantasy soccer apps compared

App	Competition and format	Leagues with friends	Cost	Entry fee and payout built in
Fantasy Premier League (official)	Premier League. 15 players within £100m, 11 start, a captain who scores double, transfers between gameweeks	Private leagues joined by code; one team can play in up to 30	Free	No
FPL Draft (official)	Premier League. A snake draft: each player in one squad per league, no captain, waivers and trades	Private leagues of 2 to 16 managers	Free	No
Kickbase MLS fantasy (official)	MLS. A mobile app with real-time scoring across 100 in-game actions and weekly challenges	Create your own league or join an existing one	Free; Pro and Member subscriptions add live matchday scoring, detailed stats and official player images	None described
UEFA Champions League Fantasy (official)	Champions League. 15 players within €100m (€105m after the league phase), a captain who scores double, up to four substitutions within a matchday	Private leagues joined by code or link	Free	No
Sleeper	Premier League and LaLiga. A draft game: "draft and manage your own team"	4 to 32 players	Not stated in its catalog	Not stated for soccer; check in the app
Fantrax	Premier League. Draft-style, season-long leagues	Create, join or re-activate a league	Lists a free offering for soccer	Not stated for soccer; check in the app
Gaffer	Premier League and Champions League, plus MLS during its regular season, which in 2026 ends with Decision Day on November 7. Season League, Weekly Cup, Elimination or Groups; Draft is not open	Your own league with one invite link; each league has its own squads	Free to create	Where paid entry is available: in a paid Season League each entry, minus the 5% service fee, is paid at joining into the league's own vault and the final table pays the winners automatically. You can create a free Gaffer game

Each row is what the product says about itself on its own site on 31 October 2026. Formats and prices change between seasons, so check the app before your group signs up.

Which app fits your group

The Premier League, the classic way: the official Fantasy Premier League game. It is free, your group plays in a private league joined by code, and the deadlines are set in UK time; FPL deadlines in US time converts each one to Eastern time.
A draft, like your NFL league: FPL Draft is the official free draft game, for 2 to 16 managers. Sleeper lists Premier League and LaLiga draft games for 4 to 32 players, and Fantrax offers draft-style Premier League leagues.
MLS: the official MLS fantasy game is on the Kickbase app, free with optional Pro and Member subscriptions. Gaffer's free MLS games follow the regular season, which in 2026 ends with Decision Day on November 7. For a league that runs through the winter, pick the Premier League, which plays until late May.
The Champions League: UEFA's free Champions League Fantasy, with private leagues joined by code or link, or a free Gaffer game on the Champions League. Champions League fantasy with friends explains how a private league works across the season.
A league of your own: Gaffer. Sign in with Google or email, nothing to install, choose the competition and the format, and send one invite link. A Season League lets you set the points for each scoring event, the budget, the players allowed per club and the transfer rules; each league has its own squads, so your official FPL team is untouched.
Already in an official mini league: FPL alternatives compares the Premier League options in more depth, including OneFPL and Draft Fantasy.

Gaffer is a separate fantasy game with its own squads and standings. Classic uses the familiar 15-player, £100m format, but Gaffer Bonus uses a different formula and the Premier League lock is 15 minutes after the official FPL deadline. Check each league’s rules before joining.

New to fantasy soccer?

The official Premier League and Champions League games give you a budget instead of a draft, transfers instead of waivers and a captain who scores double, over a season of rounds. How fantasy soccer works explains the game for anyone who plays NFL fantasy, side by side with the rules you already know.

Playing with an entry fee in the US

You can create a free Gaffer game. Paid entry is for players 18 and over (or the age of majority where you live, if higher) in supported locations. It is not available in some US states and Canadian provinces or in a short list of countries, including those under comprehensive sanctions; the terms list them, and the location check runs when you create or join a paid league.

Where paid entry is available, the Season League is the format closest to the season-long leagues US groups already run for NFL fantasy: one table across the whole season. On Gaffer a league with an entry fee works like this:

The entry fee, the 5% service fee that comes off each entry and the prize split are shown before anyone pays.
Each entry is paid at the moment of joining. The pool sits in the league's own vault, not with the commissioner and not with Gaffer, and it locks when the league locks.
Leaving before the lock returns the entry minus the service fee. After the lock there are no refunds; the final table decides who is paid.
When the final table is settled, the winners are paid automatically to their Gaffer wallets, so nobody chases the commissioner for the money.

Payout is already proven: a public $50 World Cup 2026 league on Gaffer had 47 managers and paid its $2,232.50 prize pool out automatically by the final table. Prizes may be taxable where you live, and you are responsible for any taxes you owe.

Every game on this page scores a squad of players over a season or a round, which is the kind of fantasy Gaffer is built for. Prediction games (picking match results) are a different thing and are not covered here.

Questions people ask

What is the best fantasy soccer app?

It depends on the competition and the format your group wants. For the Premier League, the official Fantasy Premier League game is free and had more than 13 million players last season, while FPL Draft, Sleeper and Fantrax offer draft leagues. The official MLS game is on Kickbase, and UEFA Champions League Fantasy is free. For a league of your own, with its own squads and rules, create a free game on Gaffer.

Is there a fantasy soccer app for MLS?

Yes. The official MLS fantasy game is on the Kickbase mobile app from the 2026 season, under a multi-year licensing agreement with MLS. It is free to play, with Pro and Member subscriptions for extras such as live matchday scoring. Gaffer's free MLS games follow the regular season, which in 2026 ends with Decision Day on November 7; for a league that runs through the winter, pick the Premier League.

Which fantasy soccer apps are free?

The official Fantasy Premier League game, FPL Draft and UEFA Champions League Fantasy are free to play, and Kickbase is free with optional paid subscriptions. Fantrax lists a free offering for soccer, and Sleeper's catalog does not state a price, so check in the app. Creating a game on Gaffer is free; where paid entry is available, a league with an entry fee shows the fee, the 5% service fee and the prize split before anyone pays.

Does Sleeper have fantasy soccer?

Yes. Sleeper's game catalog lists Fantasy Soccer for the Premier League and LaLiga, a draft game where you "draft and manage your own team", for 4 to 32 players. The catalog does not say whether a soccer league can collect league dues in the app, so check before your group pays anyone.

Does Fantrax have fantasy soccer?

Yes. Fantrax lists the Premier League among its season-long fantasy games for 2026/27, and FantraxHQ, its own site, describes its Premier League leagues as draft-style. Its home page lists a free offering for soccer. Its list of season-long games does not include MLS or the Champions League.

Can a fantasy soccer league with friends have an entry fee in the US?

Yes, where paid entry is available. Groups agree an entry fee and a prize split, and someone collects and pays out, unless the league collects at joining. On Gaffer a paid Season League collects each entry at joining, and the prize pool sits in the league's own vault until the final table pays the winners automatically. Paid entry is for players 18 and over (or the age of majority where you live, if higher) and is not available in some US states and Canadian provinces or in a short list of countries, including those under comprehensive sanctions; the terms list them. You can create a free Gaffer game.

How do I start a fantasy soccer league with friends?

On Gaffer, create a free game, choose the competition, the format and the upcoming rounds, then share the invite link with your group; each manager picks a squad before the deadline. In the official Premier League and Champions League games, you create a private league and share its code.

Sources and rules

References checked 2026-10-31

Premier League or Champions League: pick the format, then send one link to your group.

Create a free game