Best NFL pick'em apps to play with friends (2026)
BeTeam makes this page, so here is our verdict up front: if you want a pool with your friends, family or office, open it on BeTeam. It's free, there's no money in it, everyone predicts the real score of each game, and the app scores and ranks the whole season for you — playoffs included. If what you want is a survivor pool or a shot at prizes, other apps do that better, and we say which below.
- Our pick for a private pool: BeTeam — free, no money, real score predictions
- Anything we could not verify for 2026 is marked “not confirmed”
- Every other option is listed by what it does best, linked to its own site
- Exact5
- Within 73
- Winner1
Our pick
Why open your NFL pool on BeTeam
Free, with no money in it
No entry fees, no odds, no payouts. Nobody chases a buy-in, and HR never has to ask.
Predict the score, not just the winner
5 points for the exact score, 3 for landing within 7 on each side, 1 for the right winner. Knowing football beats a coin flip.
Zero admin for the commissioner
Games load automatically, picks lock at kickoff, and results and the leaderboard update on their own.
Join any week, nobody eliminated
Start in week 8 — scoring begins from your first slate, and a bad Sunday costs table position, not your season.
The trash talk lives in the app
Every pool has its own group chat right next to the leaderboard.
One app for the whole year
The same group can add college football, the NBA or soccer — 11,800+ competitions across 7 sports, in 19 languages.
Proof it scales: during the 2026 World Cup, BeTeam ran 470,000+ predictions across 3,500+ private leagues (case study). Want a survivor pool or a prize contest instead? The honest comparison is right below.
How we compared
Methodology: five questions for every app
We looked at each product's own public pages and help articles in October 2026 and asked the same five questions: Is it free? Can you play in a private group with friends or coworkers? What do you actually pick — winners, winners against the spread, confidence points, or the score? Does it cover the playoffs? Is real money involved?
Where a product's pages only described an earlier season, we say so; where they did not answer a question at all, we wrote “not confirmed” instead of guessing. BeTeam publishes this page, and it is our pick for a private pool with people you know — so it comes first, and every fact about it can be checked in the tables. Every other option is listed by what it does best.
Table 1
NFL pick'em apps at a glance
| App | Best for | Free | Private group | Pick formats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BeTeam | A private friend group, all season, no money | Yes | Yes — private leagues by invite link | The final score of each game |
| ESPN Pigskin Pick'em | A free classic with prizes on the side | Yes | Yes — groups for friends and family | Straight-up, spread, confidence |
| Yahoo | Groups already on Yahoo Fantasy | Not confirmed for 2026 | Yes — private groups | Pick'em with confidence points; a new Pro Football Challenge |
| CBS Sports | A configurable office pool | Yes, per CBS's own listing | Yes — you run the pool | Straight-up, against the spread, confidence |
| RunYourPool | Every pool type, including survivor | Free through week 1; paid after | Yes | Pick'em, confidence, survivor, margin, squares & more |
| Sleeper | Friends who already play fantasy there | Not confirmed | Yes — private pools | Straight-up or against the spread |
| FOX Super 6 | A free solo shot at a cash prize | Yes | No — a solo contest | Winners and margins of six games |
| Printable sheet | A one-off office tradition | Yes | Yes — whoever you hand it to | Whatever you write on it |
The options
The best NFL pick'em apps, by what they are best for
Our pick for a private pool with friends: BeTeam
BeTeam is a free iOS and Android app for private prediction leagues. Instead of picking winners, everyone predicts the final score of each game: 5 points for the exact score, 3 for landing within 7 points on each side with the right winner, and 1 for the right winner further off (full rules). Predictions lock at kickoff, each league has its own group chat, and the leaderboard runs through the playoffs, where points can grow round by round up to the Super Bowl. You can start in any week. There is no money involved anywhere — no entry fees, odds or payouts — and the app has ads. The same league can also run the NBA, college football or soccer.
Best for a free classic with prizes on the side: ESPN Pigskin Pick'em
ESPN Fantasy runs Pigskin Pick'em, its free weekly NFL picks game. You can create a group and invite friends, family or coworkers, and ESPN's game page lists standard (straight-up), spread and confidence modes, plus a newer Pick 5 mode. ESPN also offers prizes across those modes — around $100,000 worth, according to its game pages. It is the default choice for a big, casual group that wants a familiar brand.
Best for groups already on Yahoo Fantasy: Yahoo
Yahoo Fantasy has long run Pro Football Pick'em with private groups, and its help pages document confidence points (in a 15-game week, values run from 15 down to 1). In August 2026 Yahoo also launched a Pro Football Challenge: 10 picks a week, five game winners and five player-stat questions, played in private groups or on an overall leaderboard. Whether the new game replaces Pick'em, and its price, are not confirmed.
Best for a configurable office pool: CBS Sports
CBS Sports describes its office pool manager as free: you start a pool, invite friends, family or colleagues, and choose straight-up, against-the-spread or confidence-point picks. CBS also runs a separate free Football Pick'em contest with prizes; in 2024 that meant $1,000 every week and a $100,000 jackpot. 2026 prizes are not confirmed.
Best for every pool type, including survivor: RunYourPool
RunYourPool — now one brand with Splash Sports and OfficeFootballPool — offers more NFL pool types than anyone else here: pick'em, confidence, survivor, margin, squares and playoff formats. Its site says you can run a pool free through the first week of the season. Pools can be played for fun or for cash prizes, in which case Splash collects entry fees and pays winners. It is web-based. If survivor is what your group wants, we compared the options in NFL survivor pool alternatives.
Best for friends who already play fantasy there: Sleeper
Sleeper added NFL pick'em pools in 2024: you create a private pool with friends, family or coworkers, or join a public one, and pick each week's winners straight-up or against the spread. Confidence scoring is not mentioned on Sleeper's pages, and the price of pick'em pools is not confirmed. If your group already has a Sleeper fantasy league, the pool lives in the same app.
Best for a free solo shot at a cash prize: FOX Super 6
FOX Super 6 is a free weekly contest in its own app: you pick the winners and the margins of victory of six NFL games, and FOX pays cash prizes. It is a contest against everyone who enters, not a pool for your group, so it is a fun side game rather than a league.
Best for a one-off office tradition: a printable sheet
A paper or spreadsheet pick sheet costs nothing and everyone understands it. The catch is the admin: someone collects the sheets before kickoff, enters every result and keeps the standings — every week, for 18 weeks. It works for a Thanksgiving pool; across a season it usually dies with the person who runs it.
Table 2
What you actually pick in each NFL pick'em app
| App | What you pick | Playoffs | Real money |
|---|---|---|---|
| BeTeam | The final score of each game; points for exact, within 7 and the winner | Yes — through the Super Bowl | None — no entry fees, odds or payouts |
| ESPN Pigskin Pick'em | Winners straight-up or against the spread, or with confidence points | Not confirmed for 2026 | Free to play; ESPN offers prizes |
| Yahoo | Winners with confidence points; the new Challenge adds player-stat questions | Yes — confidence in the playoffs for groups that opt in | Not confirmed |
| CBS Sports | Winners straight-up, against the spread, or with confidence points | Not confirmed | The separate contest has cash prizes |
| RunYourPool | Depends on the pool type: winners, confidence, survivor, margin | Yes — playoff formats | Optional — cash pools run through Splash |
| Sleeper | Winners straight-up or against the spread | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| FOX Super 6 | Winners and margins of six games | Not confirmed | Free to enter; cash prizes |
| Printable sheet | Whatever the organizer writes on it | If someone keeps going | Often, informally |
Table 3
Which NFL pick'em app fits your group?
| Your group | Good fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wants to follow every game together, no money | BeTeam | Predict real scores, group chat, playoffs to the Super Bowl, join any week |
| Wants the familiar free game, maybe a prize | ESPN Pigskin Pick'em | Free groups, three classic modes, prizes on the side |
| Wants confidence points or a survivor pool | RunYourPool, CBS Sports or Yahoo | Dedicated confidence pools, survivor and playoff formats |
| Already plays fantasy together | Sleeper or Yahoo | The pool lives next to your fantasy league |
| Plays alone for a prize | FOX Super 6 | A free solo contest with cash prizes |
| Only does one big week a year | A printable sheet | No accounts, no app — just someone willing to tally |
Running this at work? A no-money pool is the one HR never asks about. Our NFL pick'em pool guide has a setup that takes five minutes.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the best NFL pick'em app to play with friends?
For a pool with your friends, family or office, BeTeam: it's free, there's no money in it, everyone predicts the real score of each game, and the app runs the leaderboard all season, playoffs included, with a group chat next to it. If your group specifically wants a survivor pool, RunYourPool has one; for a free game with prizes on the side, ESPN Pigskin Pick'em.
Is there a free NFL pick'em app?
Yes. ESPN Pigskin Pick'em and its groups are free to play, CBS Sports describes its office pool manager as free, and BeTeam is free on iOS and Android. RunYourPool lets you run a pool free through the first week of the season. FOX Super 6 is free to enter, but it is a solo contest with cash prizes, not a pool for your group.
Which NFL pick'em apps have confidence points?
ESPN Pigskin Pick'em has a confidence mode, Yahoo's Pro Football Pick'em documents confidence points in its help pages, CBS Sports lists confidence-point picks for its pools, and RunYourPool runs dedicated confidence pools. Sleeper's pick'em pools are straight-up or against the spread; confidence scoring is not mentioned on its pages. BeTeam does not use confidence points: you predict the score instead.
Can we join an NFL pick'em pool in the middle of the season?
In most apps you can create a pool any week; season totals simply start from the week you join. On BeTeam the next slate loads automatically whatever week you start, nobody is eliminated, and a late start costs table position rather than the season.
How were these apps chosen and ordered?
We compared each option on five questions: is it free, can you play in a private group, what do you actually pick, does it cover the playoffs, and is real money involved. BeTeam is our pick for a private pool, so it comes first; every other app is listed by what it does best. Where a product's own pages did not answer a question for the 2026 season, we wrote “not confirmed”. BeTeam publishes this page.
Want a private NFL pool for your group? It takes five minutes.
Download BeTeam, create a league, pick the NFL and share one link with your friends or coworkers. Free, no money — and you can start this week.
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