We make one of these. We built the full tournament and league stack. RankedIn, Padel Fast, and Playtomic are the specialists next to it. Here is what each one is actually for, and what it costs.
Same sport. Four different jobs.
TLDR: Depending on your use case, see which is the best fit for you
You can use more than one of these, depending on your use case.
1) If you want proper tournament infrastructure — group stage + knockout, player availability, match chat, leagues, and payments:
- Padel Playground — registration, court-aware schedules, Stripe or mark-as-paid, leagues, and a web link anyone can open. Flat monthly pricing, no per-event fee.
- RankedIn — when your federation requires it for official ranking points and licences. Many players already have accounts, even though the UX feels dated.
2) If you want simple socials — Americano nights, Mexicano, King of the Court:
- Individual or informal organiser: Padel Fast or Padel Playground. Both get a social done quickly and cheaply. Padel Fast if format variety is the point (Mexicano, Beat the Box, custom builder). Padel Playground if you also want payments, a shareable web link, and a path into proper tournaments later.
- Club already on Playtomic: stay there for light socials while players are already in the app. Add another tool only when the event is the product, not a side button next to court rental.
3) If club operations come first — bookings, discovery, filling courts:
- Playtomic or your booking app — when the area has strong adoption and filling courts matters most. Built-in tournaments and leagues are “good enough” until they are not — then add Padel Playground, RankedIn, or Padel Fast for serious events.
1. Padel Playground — tournament management
Best for: organisers, socials, clubs that want one platform for tournaments, leagues, and memberships.
Not for: Filling courts via a marketplace, player exposure from the platform, or federation tournaments.
Automated draws, Smart schedule generator, one-click web view for the draw and table, live brackets. In the app: availability, chat per division and per match, in-app or external payments. Leagues with live standings and CSV. Club mode (Squads) is live, so a club competes as a squad. You can add other managers to one league or one tournament, and players can share a result as an image. Box leagues are still on the way. Bookings optional on club plans.
- Starter $7/mo — 3 tournaments
- Standard $14/mo — 10 tournaments
- Professional $25/mo — 30 tournaments, 3 leagues
- Club from $29.99/mo — memberships, bookings, event stack. 0% platform commission
Monthly. Not per draw. Players are not a second product.
Strong: the full path from registration to final, plus leagues and memberships. Availability, match chat, pay-in or pay-outside, a link anyone can open.
Thin: no Mexicano or King of the Court. Not a marketplace.
2. RankedIn — Federations platform
Best for: sanctioned ranking events, licences, official points.
Not for: a weekly club tournament or a league that does not need ranking classes.
Used by 20+ padel federations. Draws, classes, ranking points, memberships, live score, SportCam, PayPal or Stripe.
Strong: official results, licences, classes; players often already have an account.
Thin: association-shaped admin, expensive pricing per tournament and tournament size, poor user experience, players face a lot of ads.
Cost (2026, directional):
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free tournament | €0 — no live score, exports, emails, or ad-free admin |
| Premium ≤24 / ≤48 / unlimited | ~€12–15 / €24–30 / €48–60 per event |
| Player Pro | ~€12 / year (ads off) |
| Payments | Stripe + ~1% to RankedIn |
Two premium 48-player events a month ≈ €50–60 in software, before Stripe, the 1%, and Player Pro. Twelve unlimited weekends ≈ €600–720 / year. Federations sometimes cover Premium on ranking events.
3. Padel Fast — Social formats
Best for: Mexicano, ladders, Beat the Box, and social draws
Americano, Mexicano, Mixicano, King of the Court, Beat the Box, Winner’s Lane, World Cup, knockout. Live boards, ratings, chat. Ladders, a custom builder, and leagues exist — they are not on Pro.
Scale (their site, 2026): 57k+ players, 2,300+ clubs.
Price: Pro Plus $12/mo. Pro Manager $20/mo. The in-app Pro we reviewed: 3-day trial, then €99.99 / year.
On Pro: live scores, TV narrowcasting, optimal pairings, 10+ formats, payment management, player performance tracking, player directory.
Not on Pro: ladder tournaments, the custom tournament builder, league management. Those sit behind the higher membership manager plan.
Strong: format depth for social draws and simple americanos.
Thin: lacks advanced traditional multi-stage tournament setups like group-stage into knockout. Not a full tournament management solution, with the bells and whistles like availability, exports etc..
4. Playtomic — the marketplace
Best for: clubs that already need bookings and discovery, and “good enough” social tournaments in the app players have.
Marketplace first. Tournaments (Americano, Mexicano, King of the Court) and leagues were added so clubs could stop exporting. Players are already there.
Price (Manager, 2026): roughly €24 to €200+ / month. Tournaments on Professional (€70); leagues on Champion (€100+) and above. VAT extra. Confirm — they like a sales call.
Strong: bookings, open play, and a social event in one app.
Thin: not a reason to adopt Playtomic only to run a serious group + knockout. Independent organisers without a club contract are in the wrong shop.
Comparison
| Padel Playground | RankedIn | Padel Fast | Playtomic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Tournament & league infrastructure | Official rankings + licences | Format + ratings | Club marketplace |
| Schedule | Yes (Automated/Custom) | Federation-grade, heavy | Yes | Social rounds |
| Player availability | Yes | No | No | Court calendar only |
| Chat | Per division and per match | Messenger; ads have sat on it | Tournament + private | One public chat |
| Payments | Stripe or mark as paid. No extra cut | PayPal / Stripe + ~1% | In-app wallet | In-app join |
| Draws | KO, qual+KO, group+KO, RR, Americano | Broad, ranking / class | 10+ on Pro; builder locked | Americano, Mexicano, KOTC |
| Player access | Web link to view. App for chat, availability, pay | Web + PWA. Pro to drop ads | Scoreboard / TV; they push the app | App required |
| Leagues | Standings + CSV. Club mode (Squads). Box leagues soon | Club / team, federation-shaped | Locked on Pro | Higher club tiers |
| Cost | $7/mo; club from $29.99 | Per event ~€15 / €30 / €60 + Pro + 1% | Pro Plus $12/mo; Pro Manager $20/mo | €24–€200+ / mo |
If it’s a right fit, try Padel Playground
Create the event, take payments, publish the table, run the league. No per-player software tax. Organiser plans from $7/month — or download the app and run your first social tonight.