App for a Youth Football Academy: What Exists, What It Costs, What Fits
There are four kinds of "academy app" and they cost differently. Free-tier platforms — Clupik Free (up to 3 teams or 50 athletes) or SportMember's free Basic tier (ads included) — genuinely work for a volunteer-run academy under roughly 50 athletes; the trade-offs are caps, ads and a cut on payments (Clupik Pay runs 3% + €0.25 per transaction on the free tier). Per-member team apps like SportEasy charge about €0.45 per member/month (€0.33 on annual billing) with fair billing that adjusts when players leave. Size-based club platforms like Clupik Pro cost €39/month (€35 on annual) up to 20 teams or 300 athletes — and the branded app is a €49/month add-on, not included. Fixed-fee club CRMs like FutbolCRM run €49/month flat with per-family payment reconciliation, player files and documents included. A 150-player academy pays roughly €324-594 a year depending on the route: €324 on SportMember PRO (150 × €0.18), €420 on Clupik Pro annual, €594 on SportEasy Club annual, or €588 on FutbolCRM's fixed plan — the difference is what the fee includes, not the size.
The four kinds of "academy app"
Search "app para escuela de fútbol" and you get four different products wearing the same word. They solve different problems and price differently:
- Free-tier club platforms — a full management suite (web, app, registrations, payments) whose entry tier costs €0 with limits
- Per-member team apps — the polished app parents and coaches install, priced per registered player
- Size-based club platforms — the club pays a monthly tier that grows with teams or athletes
- Fixed-fee club CRMs — one flat subscription that includes fee collection and reconciliation, player files and communication
The right question is not "which app is best" but "how many athletes do we manage, who chases the money, and what does each tier actually restrict."
Option 1 — The free tiers: legitimately good under ~50 athletes
We verified the official pricing pages in September 2026. If your academy is a volunteer operation with one or two teams, the free tiers are often the correct answer — no irony:
| Platform | Free tier (official, Sept 2026) | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Clupik Free | €0 — 1 sport, 3 teams or 50 athletes, 1 admin, 5 web pages, 0.5 GB | Clupik Pay 3% + €0.25 + VAT per payment; ads; custom-branded app not available; 7-day trial of paid plans |
| SportMember Basic | €0 per member/month | Ads; restricted features; the PRO tier (€0.18/member/month) carries a €22/month minimum |
| TeamLinkt core | $0 forever (registrations, payments, scheduling, team app) | Monetized through a cut on payment processing; add-ons run $425-795/year |
Where the free route breaks is not the price — it is the cap and the money. Clupik Free stops at 50 athletes or 3 teams, so a 12-team academy with 150 players is out of scope from day one. And the payment cut means the "free" platform earns a slice of every fee it collects: the arithmetic to compare is the effective rate on your collections, not zero.
Option 2 — Per-member team apps: SportEasy's fair billing
SportEasy Club charges per registered member: €0.45 per member/month (€5.40 per member/year), or €0.33 (€3.96) on annual billing, with fair billing — if five players leave in October, November's invoice adjusts. The Basic team app is free for teams up to 30 players; the Premium app is €9.99/month or €69/year for the club. Parents download a consumer-grade app they often already know, which reduces the "install the club app" friction.
A 150-player academy on annual billing pays about €49.50/month (~€594/year). What it does not include: football-specific player files, document management (licences, medical certificates), or anyone chasing grants and sponsors for you.
Option 3 — Size-based platforms: Clupik Pro and Élite
Clupik prices by academy size: Pro at €39/month (€35 on annual) covers 2 sports, 20 teams or 300 athletes with 2 admins; Élite at €99 (€89 annual) covers 5 sports, 35 teams or 800 athletes with unlimited admins. This is where the branded app lives — the app with your academy's crest and name on iOS and Android is a €49/month add-on, at every tier including Élite.
A 150-player academy on Clupik Pro annual pays €35/month = €420/year, plus Clupik Pay (2.3% + €0.25 + VAT) on whatever it collects — and €49/month more if the branded app matters to the board.
Option 4 — Fixed-fee club CRM: what €49/month includes
FutbolCRM prices flat — €49/month or €149/month regardless of roster size — and includes what the per-member and free routes charge extra for or skip: one player file per child (family contacts, documents, fee status), automatic monthly collection with reconciliation per family (the report the treasurer actually needs, not a payment-gateway export), and AI agents that draft grant and sponsorship applications — new money no free tier goes looking for.
A 150-player academy pays €49/month = €588/year — the same range as the per-member routes at this size, with the money workflow inside the fee.
The same academy, four ways
All figures verified from official pages (September 2026); totals are simple arithmetic on those prices, for a 150-player academy collecting €150/year per player:
| Route | What the academy pays per year | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| SportMember PRO | ~€324 (+VAT; 150 × €0.18/month, above the €22/month minimum) | Management + app ad-free; reconciliation is per payment, not per family |
| Clupik Pro (annual) | €420 + Clupik Pay on collections | Web + standard app up to 300 athletes; branded app +€49/month |
| FutbolCRM fixed | €588 | Player files, per-family reconciliation, documents, grant/sponsor agents |
| SportEasy Club (annual) | ~€594 (150 × €3.96) | Parents' consumer app, fair billing; no player documents, no money-hunting |
Under ~50 athletes, Clupik Free or SportMember Basic win on price and are fine tools — start there. Past the cap, the decision stops being about the app and becomes about the money: who reconciles fees per family, and who chases funding. That is where the fixed-fee CRM earns its keep.
Decision in one table
| Your academy | Start with |
|---|---|
| 1-2 teams, under ~50 athletes, volunteer-run | Clupik Free or SportMember Basic — €0 is the right price |
| 4-8 teams, want the parents' app they already use | SportEasy Club — per-member with fair billing |
| 10+ teams, want web + app under one tier | Clupik Pro — and price the branded app (+€49/month) before promising it |
| Any size, want fee collection reconciled per family + documents + funding agents | FutbolCRM — fixed €49/month, roster size irrelevant |
Before you commit to any app
Whatever route you pick, three checks take an afternoon and prevent a season of frustration:
- Run the money math on your real roster — per-member fees look cheap at 30 players and overtake a fixed fee as you grow; the crossing point for a €49/month CRM is around 150-270 members depending on the per-member price
- Ask each vendor what happens when a family doesn't pay — reminders, reconciliation by family, and payment plans are where management software earns its fee
- Test the app with two real families — the one with three kids at the academy and the grandparent who only wants the fixture list
Bottom line
For a small volunteer academy, the free tiers are genuine products, not demos — take them. Once the academy outgrows 50 athletes or three teams, compare routes on what the fee includes: an app parents install, a platform the club brands, or a CRM that collects and reconciles the money by itself. The 150-player academy in the table pays €324-594 a year on every route — the difference is who does the chasing. If the answer should be "the software", FutbolCRM does it for €49/month fixed, and the football club CRM buyer's guide walks the whole market — including how to manage players and families once the app is in.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for a youth football academy?+
It depends on size, not brand. Under about 50 athletes, a free tier is the right answer: Clupik Free (3 teams / 50 athletes, €0) or SportMember's free Basic tier. Past that cap, a 150-player academy pays roughly €324-594 a year on any route (SportMember PRO, Clupik Pro, SportEasy Club or a fixed-fee CRM like FutbolCRM) — the comparison is what each fee includes: the parents' app, the branded club app, or fee collection reconciled per family with documents and funding agents.
How much does an app for a football academy cost?+
Verified from official pricing pages (September 2026): the entry tiers cost €0 (Clupik Free up to 50 athletes; SportMember Basic with ads; TeamLinkt's $0 core). Past the free caps: SportEasy Club €0.45/member/month (€0.33 annual), Clupik Pro €39/month or €35 annual up to 300 athletes, and fixed-fee CRMs like FutbolCRM at €49/month flat. A 150-player academy lands between ~€324 (SportMember PRO) and ~€594 (SportEasy) a year; Clupik's branded app adds €49/month at any tier.
Is Clupik really free for a football academy?+
Yes, within its caps: Clupik Free covers 1 sport, 3 teams or 50 athletes with 1 admin, a 5-page web and the standard app at no cost — paid for by ads and Clupik Pay at 3% + €0.25 + VAT per transaction. The limits that matter for a growing academy are the 50-athlete / 3-team ceiling (Pro covers 300 athletes) and the branded app: on every tier, your own crest-and-name app on iOS and Android is a €49/month add-on. There's a 7-day free trial of the paid plans.
What should an academy app include beyond the calendar?+
The three systems that decide whether it survives the season: a single player file per child (family contacts, documents like licences and medical certificates, fee status), automatic fee collection with reconciliation per family — not a raw payment-gateway export — and official communication channels per team instead of WhatsApp groups. Per-member and free routes cover the calendar and app well; the money workflow and documents are what fixed-fee club CRMs include.