IF YOU AIN'T FIRST
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Looking for a Keepthescore alternative?

An honest comparison · July 2026

Here's the part most searches miss: Keepthescore isn't really a leaderboard app anymore. In 2026 it narrowed to sports scoreboards, timers, and stream overlays, and moved everything leaderboard-shaped — point trackers, ongoing tallies — to a sister site called Leaderboarded. Same company, two domains, and if you're here because you got bounced between them looking for somewhere to just run a leaderboard, you're not imagining it.

The short version: need a scoreboard for tonight's game or stream, stay on Keepthescore. Need a leaderboard for a sales floor or a classroom, Leaderboarded's the one, at org prices. Need a leaderboard for your friends, one that remembers who won last month and has an opinion about it, that's a different product entirely. That's the one we built.

AppBuilt forFree tierThe gap
KeepthescoreOne-off sports scoreboards, timers, OBS overlays2 scoreboards, 3 saved teamsNo members, no season, resets after the event
LeaderboardedOrg leaderboards: sales teams, classrooms, fundraisers2 boards, 25 participantsParticipants are rows an admin enters, not people who show up. Paid tier starts at $19/mo, billed annually
If You Ain't FirstOngoing competitions inside a friend group3 active boards, unlimited players, Ricky includedNo brackets. That's Challonge's job, not ours

Keepthescore: still the fastest way to a scoreboard

For what it does, Keepthescore is genuinely good. Point it at a pub quiz, a PE class, a stream overlay, and you've got a clean, presentable scoreboard in under a minute, no account required to view. If your competition ends when the whistle blows, it's hard to beat.

Where it stops: the board doesn't remember last week. There's no member list, no running story, and — as of 2026 — no leaderboard feature at all. That job got exported to a second domain.

Leaderboarded: the same company, aimed at your boss

Leaderboarded is where Keepthescore's leaderboard users actually landed, and it shows: sales quarters, semester rankings, fundraising thermometers, a “Simple Business Leaderboards for Teams” tagline. It's well built for that job. It is not built for yours if your job is a group chat, not a department.

Where it stops: participants don't sign in or vote; an admin types their scores in. There's no personality, no trash talk, and the paid tier starts around 3–6x what we charge, because it's priced for a company's budget, not a friend group's.

If You Ain't First: built for the group that argues about it

We're the leaderboard for the competition that already exists in your group chat — fantasy football punishments, gym streaks, golf trips, “who's the worst driver in Mario Kart,” the argument about the greatest sports movie ever made. Members join with a link or QR code in about ten seconds, standings update live, and Ricky — our AI announcer — reacts to every lead change with commentary you can dial from office-safe up to a setting we don't describe on this page.

Free covers three active boards, unlimited players, voting, and Ricky on the free model. Premium is $6 a month (or $48 a year), and a one-time $9 Board Pass upgrades a single board for everyone on it — a friend group splitting a season's cost the way they split a fantasy pot, not a per-seat invoice.

Where we lose, honestly: no brackets, no tournament seeding — that's Challonge's job. No stream overlays or TV mode, which is Keepthescore's actual strength. If you need either of those, we'll say so and mean it.

Watch one running live

This is a real public board, not a screenshot — the standings and Ricky's commentary update as votes land:

Live standings of the Greatest Sports Movie of All Time vote board, with Ricky's commentary

See the board, or try the Roast Generator for a taste of Ricky before you build anything.

FAQ

Is Keepthescore free? Yes, a free tier exists (2 scoreboards, 3 saved teams), with paid plans at $14/mo and $26/mo for more scoreboards and a custom overlay.

What is Leaderboarded, and is it the same company as Keepthescore? Yes. Keepthescore narrowed to sports scoreboards and moved leaderboard/point-tracker features to Leaderboarded, a separate site under the same company, priced for organizations rather than friend groups.

What's a free Keepthescore alternative for a leaderboard with friends? If You Ain't First's free tier covers three active boards with unlimited players and the AI announcer included — built for an ongoing group competition, not an org dashboard.

Does it work for fantasy football punishments? That's one of the most common boards on the site — see the fantasy football page for the template.

Start a board

Pre-filled for a running group competition: self-report scores, weekly cadence, Ricky on. Change anything before you invite anyone.

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