Drafting is one of the most entertaining aspects of fantasy football, but it can also be one of the most stressful. There is a lot to keep track of, the stakes are high, and most championship-quality owners are already using software-based draft assistance to help them make informed draft picks.
- Best Fantasy Football Draft Software
- Best Fantasy Football Draft Software Ipad Compatible
- Best Fantasy Football Draft Software Reviews 2018
If you’ve considered using fantasy football software for your draft but don’t know where to start, I’ve got you covered.
Draft a championship team with Auction Master fantasy football auction software by FF Mastermind. Fantasy football auction values are integrated into the draft software. The best fantasy football draft software is developing at a frantic pace. New versions of the software should be released several times a quarter and even several times a month. Update for best fantasy football draft software. There are several reasons for this dynamic. Draft Force Fantasy Football Drafting app is full of great features to help make your fantasy draft nights a breeze. With a full array of tools at your fingertips Draft Boards are streamlined, intuitive, and gorgeous displayed up on your big screen. Right from the palm of your hand with our 'handy' iPhone and iPad apps.
In this article, I break down the important factors to consider before you invest in a fantasy draft assistant for the 2021 season. Then I get specific and review some of the best fantasy football draft software on the market.
Comparing the Best Fantasy Football Draft Software
This is a comparison of the best fantasy football draft software of 2021. You can see that auction support, price, and device support are the primary differentiating factors. Although, as you’ll see below, software features also play a huge role in determining the best programs.
The Best Fantasy Football Draft Software for 2021
Every season I see new drafting programs enter the market while others go by the wayside. I’ve noticed that the best fantasy football software packages on the market tend to have staying power.
That’s why all of the draft apps I review below are industry staples, proven software that you can count on to work on draft day.
You next live draft is closer than you think. The earlier you start making your drafting software decisions, the better positioned you’ll be to leverage that software effectively.
FantasyPros’ Draft Assistant: Like having your own fantasy GM
FantasyPros has a fantasy football tool for every phase of the game, and drafting is no exception. In addition to having excellent draft tools, I think they’re one of the top fantasy football advice sites on the web.
Their Fantasy Football Draft Assistant follows the draft along with you, offering
The Draft Assistant software comes as part of FantasyPros’ Draft Wizard suite. The demo below illustrates the power of this software.
Access to the live Draft Assistant requires a subscription to Fantasy Pros. If you’d opt for the Assistant with league synchronization capability, you’ll need the MVP plan that runs $4.99 per month. If you enter picks manually, it’s only $2.99 per month.
If it turns out that you only need this software one month out of the year (when you’re drafting), it’s an incredible deal. With an MVP plan, you can also sync up to ten leagues and get support for auction leagues!
My feeling is that this is the best fantasy football draft assistant currently only on the market. And for their 6 and 12-month plans, they give you a 30-day money back guarantee if you don’t enjoy the product.
This fantasy Draft Assistant also has full support in their DraftWizard fantasy draft app.
Pros
- Winners of the FSTA Best Fantasy Sports Service/Tool Award 2014, 2015, & 2016
- The FantasyPros fantasy draft tracker software syncs with almost all major league hosting platforms
- Offers dynamic in-draft suggestions based on your opponents’ teams, available players, and more
Cons
- Cheapest subscription plan does not support league synchronization
Draft Analyzer Review: Tailored Draft Advice for E very League Configuration
Draft Analyzer is a web-only application that can also sync with your league (though you do have to pay for this upgrade). This fantasy football draft aid supports serpentine drafts out of the box, and they have an auction draft add-on feature.
We devoted an entire article to grade my fantasy football team tools. Once your draft is over, you can use these tools to gauge your strengths and weaknesses as you kick off the season.
Unsurprisingly, Draft Analyzer’s costs are highly variable as they charge separately for their snake draft app and auction draft app. Hosting site and projection source add-ons will also increase the price. This software package can get expensive fast, with a minimum of $31.00 for just a one-host draft analyzer.
But the increased cost of Draft Analyzer does afford you some unique features. For instance, you can blend your favorite projection sources to customize the player suggestion engine. You can even integrate your projections for a fully customized experience.
Pros
- Works with more fantasy league types, including keepers and dynasty leagues
- Offers the ability to blend projection sources or add your player rankings
- Winners of multiple awards including Best Fantasy Sports Web Tool (Seasonal) from the FSTA
Cons
- You have to pay extra if you play in leagues with different hosts
Comparing Draft Software vs Draft Kits
This review focuses entirely on software that helps you during your fantasy football draft. But of course that’s not the only type of fantasy football software on the market.
If you’re looking for software that emulates real (paper-based) fantasy draft boards for your entire league to track the draft, you’ll want to look elsewhere. The draft software I’m reviewing in this article is strictly for helping you make picks during your live fantasy draft.
If you’re seeking software that can help you prepare for a live draft, you’re likely looking for a fantasy football draft kit. Draft kits are tool suites designed to help you research and plan for your draft. Check out my Ultimate Draft Kit review for more info.
The 4 Factors You Must Consider Before Buying Draft Software
There is no such thing as perfect draft software, only the best draft software for your specific needs. Here are some of the factors you should consider when choosing a draft helper:
Let’s examine a few of these in detail.
1. Synchronization with your fantasy football league host
Some software allows you to import your fantasy football teamand sync with your league’s host so that players are taken off the board automatically after each draft pick. Other software requires you to keep track of every pick yourself.
Most owners would prefer that their software support league synchronization, but this is a luxury that not all draft software supports. However, some league commissioners like to track picks manually so they can back them out if necessary.
So synchronization capability isn’t a necessity for every league.
2. Support for your specific draft format
Every draft software package will accommodate snake drafts, given that serpentine is by far the most common draft format. However, for those in auction leagues, you want to be extra careful and pay attention to the supported features when evaluating a program.
While auction support may seem like it should be a standard draft app feature, fantasy football auction draft software isn’t as prevalent as you might think. So pay particular attention to auction support when you’re evaluating fantasy draft software.
No one wants to pay for a fantasy football program that doesn’t support their league draft format, especially if that software is non-refundable.
3. Software platform and mobile device support
Some fantasy football draft software only requires an internet connection. Other fantasy football programs have to be installed onto your computer and don’t need a connection to the Internet at all. Others still play well with desktop devices, while others not so much.
Make sure that you know what type of device you’ll be using during your fantasy draft and the level of connectivity you’ll require. These factors will influence the flavor of draft software that you choose.
4. Software package price or subscription requirements
There are a few low-quality, free draft programs out there, but you’ll have to pay for the best fantasy draft software. Software subscription costs can also vary wildly, so make sure that you understand the level of commitment necessary to use the software effectively.
Some software is available for a one-time flat fee while others are part of a monthly subscription service. If you opt for a subscription-based service, consider the number of months that you’ll need access to determine the total costs.
Draft Theory Strategy
Live draft assistants are great for help during a draft, but it’s also important to have a sound draft strategy. If you want to read-up on draft theory, or need a refresher before the big day, check out some of the fantasy sports books and fantasy magazines that I’ve reviewed.
Best Fantasy Football Programs
Even the most seasoned fantasy owners need a little help sometimes. Let’s face it – we all get stuck in our decision making process sometime, and when help from fantasy football experts isn’t enough, we have to consider pulling out the big guns. There’s plenty of fantasy football software you can use to help you on your path to fantasy domination. Here are some reviews of the best fantasy football programs to help you put your fellow fantasy owners to shame this year . . . and in years to come.
Best Fantasy Football Draft Software
Fantasy Football Draft Board 2009 is a fantasy football program used to enhance your league's fantasy draft experience. Draft Board features include an automated draft clock, a built in and streaming draft ticker, 2009 projected year statistics for all NFL players (! ), and real time roster updates wirelessly. Fantasy Football Draft Board 2009 is built to handle regular as well as auction style drafts. View the draft board via a digital projector or output to a television for even more James Bond cool.
The 2009 Version features improved graphics, support for auction drafts, 2009 projected statistics and 2009 NFL Bye Weeks. Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP.
You can use PEDS, as it is known among its fans, to track everything from who’s the best wide receiver remaining in your draft to an analysis of the NFL’s bye weeks on your roster – you can tell ahead of time if you have picked wisely and will have enough starting running backs for a specific week of fantasy play. PEDS is one of the easiest pieces of fantasy football software to setup and is very easy to use.
PEDS is also highly adaptable – it works great for any kind of draft you can throw at it. A fan of Face-to-face drafts? No problem. Prefer On-line, Phone, or even Mail drafts? PEDS has got you covered. You can use PEDS during the draft on a desktop or laptop computer, or choose to build custom reports to bring with you to your draft.
PEDS is a life-saver for those of us fantasy owners who always wait until the last minute and are, let’s face it, totally unprepared for draft day.
The reason PEDS is my favorite piece of fantasy football software is that it contains so many features but stays user friendly. Blame that on the fact that it was designed and programmed by a guy named James Serra, who is not only a professional programmer but is considered one of the foremost fantasy football experts working in computer programming. This matters – it means that Serra will change or add nothing to his PEDS program without imagining the impact of that change on fantasy football owners that depend on his work.
PEDS supports multiple leagues, defensive players, and auction drafts.
Now in version 3.7, Fantasy Football Expert is one of the better free pieces of software that are designed to increase your chances of winning your fantasy football league. The software helps you improve your decision-making ability (by offering all kinds of player analysis) and aims to help you earn every potential point possible from your fantasy team. Most free pieces of fantasy software are, at best, a minor waste of time. This is the only free software I still use, and version 3.7, though not updated very much, will find a home in many fantasy owner’s draft fakebook.
FF Expert works on many versions of Windows, from 95 through Vista. You can run a free trial before committing to the $30 price point.
Now that so many fantasy junkies are also iPhone fanatics, I thought it appropriate to include a couple of fantasy football related iPhone apps. Think of these programs as “strategy on the go”.
Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet ‘09
Put together by FanStar, CheatSheet 09 gives you the choice of viewing player rankings or setting the rankings preferences to your liking. You can access a list of 479 players (which are endlessly drag and drop-able )in order to build your own cheat sheet.
One downside: the Set Rankings screen doesn't allow you to filter by position – this is a huge oversight. For instance, if you've got a lower-ranked sleeper pick you hope to move higher up the list, you've got some serious downward scrolling to do to get there.
Once you jump over to view the rankings in Cheatsheet: Fantasy Football ’09, you'll see a mostly common set of data that is available from most if not all fantasy football apps. This includes the player's name, his NFL team, position, and his team's bye week.
Sure, from this screen you can sort by position, but this woulda been nice from the Set Rankings screen.
You also have the option of putting a player on your “wish list”, or you can mark that you've already drafted him (or that another owner has drafted him ) -- you can also sort the player rankings in these views or choose to view the remaining available players.
Cheatsheet places an X next to players you've drafted and an O next to the ones who've landed on other teams. While this is a nice visual cue, other similar apps use different colors, and let’s face it – different colors stand out better than Xs and Os.
Best Fantasy Football Draft Software Ipad Compatible
The Cheatsheet app offers injury reports – a good measure against THIS dumb fantasy owner drafting a player who blew out an important muscle group during preseason. Unfortunately, it is unclear how often Cheatsheet updates this injury info. Today’s injury list looks about two weeks behind.
Studs and Duds gives you nothing much beyond the basic information you need to prepare for a draft. Studs and Duds is basically a fancy sortable wish list.
I will, however, go on and on about their excellent search feature. Most fantasy football software shows not much more than a search field where you type in a name and see results as you type. Studs & Duds goes beyond this, featuring also a scrollable list of players and an easy to use search bar running down the length of the Search screen.