Looking for a Leaderboarded alternative?
An honest comparison · September 2026
Leaderboarded shows up first for “leaderboard maker” and “custom leaderboard online” for a good reason — it's a genuinely solid tool. It's just built for a different job than the one most people searching that phrase actually have.
Who Leaderboarded is for: a sales manager tracking quota, a teacher running a classroom point system, a gym posting a challenge board on a TV, a fundraiser with a thermometer. One organizer owns the board and updates everyone's numbers. Participants are rows on a screen — on the free and Plus tiers, they can't even self-report a score without the organizer typing it in.
Who we're for: a group of actual people — friends, a fantasy league, a gym crew, a family group chat — who join with a link, log their own scores or vote on something, and get roasted by an AI announcer when they're losing. Members, not rows.
| App | Built for | Free tier | The gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaderboarded | An organizer displaying scores for teams, classrooms, fundraisers | 2 boards, 25 participants/board, organizer enters scores | Participants are data, not members. No personality, no self-serve accounts on the cheap tiers |
| If You Ain't First | A friend group competing with each other, all season | 3 active boards, unlimited players, self-report, Ricky included | No CSV export, no API, no branded TV widget. Not our job |
Leaderboarded: still the right call for an org-run board
If you're a manager, teacher, or organizer who needs to control every number on a board yourself — a sales leaderboard synced from a CRM, a classroom point system, a fundraising thermometer with a branded widget on your org's website — Leaderboarded is built exactly for that. Google Sheets integration, CSV/Excel export, a website widget, and an API are things we don't have and aren't trying to build.
Where it stops: the pricing and the design both say “organization,” not “friend group.” Plus runs $19/month billed annually for 20 boards and 100 participants; Pro runs $39/month billed annually before self-serve “Quick Join” signup even unlocks. For a eight-person fantasy league or a gym crew of twelve, that's an office subscription for a friend-group leaderboard, and nobody's getting roasted for finishing last ( Leaderboarded's tone is strictly business — no commentary, no personality, by design).
If You Ain't First: built for the people on the board, not the person watching it
Members join with a link or QR code in about ten seconds and log their own scores — no organizer manually re-typing everyone's numbers every week. Ricky, our AI announcer, reacts to lead changes and roasts whoever's losing, with a 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.
Go Pro for unlimited boards and the premium Ricky on all of them, $6/month or $48/year — a fraction of Leaderboarded's cheapest paid tier. A one-time $9 Board Pass upgrades a single board for everyone on it instead, the way a friend group splits a season's cost rather than paying a per-seat invoice.
Where we lose, honestly: no CSV export, no Google Sheets sync, no API, no white-labeled TV widget, no thousand-participant tier. If you're running a real organization's board and need those, Leaderboarded earned its ranking — go use it.
Watch one running live
This is a real public board, not a screenshot — the standings and Ricky's commentary update as votes land:
See the board, or try the Roast Generator for a taste of Ricky before you build anything.
FAQ
Is Leaderboarded free? There's a free tier (2 boards, 25 participants per board, organizer enters scores). Self-serve participant signup (“Quick Join”) requires the Pro tier.
What's the actual difference between Leaderboarded and If You Ain't First? Leaderboarded is an organizer's display tool — you control the board, participants are entries on it. We're a members' competition — everyone joins, logs their own stuff or votes, and gets commentary from an AI announcer. Different product for a different relationship to the board.
Is Leaderboarded the same company as Keepthescore? Yes — see our Keepthescore alternativebreakdown for the sibling-product angle if that's the search that brought you here.
Does If You Ain't First work for a fantasy football league instead of a sales team? That's the most common board on the site — see the fantasy football page for the template.
Start a board
Pre-filled to settle something with a group vote — the fastest way to see members (not rows) and Ricky in action. Change anything before you invite anyone.
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