Free tier

What is actually free in wrestling tournament software

By Smart Wrestler · Updated 2026-09-14

Free accounts for everyone in the gym. Free hosting when there is no entry fee. One published fee when there is. No trial that expires on tournament morning.

Quick answer

Smart Wrestler is free wrestling tournament software for coaches, parents, and wrestlers: accounts, brackets, bout boards, live scores, results, records, and standard notifications cost nothing. Hosting is free when the tournament has no entry fee, at any size. A tournament that charges an entry fee pays one hosting fee from $100 based on reserved capacity, and a $2.50 to $3 registration fee is added to each parent's checkout. Premium mat call alerts and analytics are optional, from $4 per event.

What is free for coaches, parents, and wrestlers?

  • An account, with no card required.
  • Registering for tournaments and paying the host's entry fee.
  • Live brackets, the bout board for every mat, live scores, and results.
  • Wrestler profiles with record and tournament history from every event on the platform.
  • Notifications: weigh in complete, bracketed, bracket started, mat assigned, results posted, tournament status changes, payment received, and host broadcasts.
  • Coach dashboard with up to five associated wrestlers, and unlimited roster wrestlers during team and dual events.

What is free for hosts?

Everything, when the tournament has no entry fee. A free entry club scramble, an in house round robin, a practice room ladder run as a tournament: no hosting fee at any size. You still get registration, weigh ins, bracket generation in every format, mat queues, live scoring with an audit trail, scoreboards on any screen, bout boards, notifications, and awards.

What does a paid tournament cost to host?

  • One hosting fee based on the capacity you reserve: up to 150 wrestlers $100; 151 to 300 $150; 301 to 500 $225; 501 to 800 $325; larger by quote.
  • Team events by team count: up to 4 teams $50; 8 teams $90; 16 teams $140; 32 teams $200.
  • A registration fee of $2.50 to $3 per wrestler ($50 per team for team events) added to the parent's or coach's checkout total, not taken from your entry fee.
  • Card processing at Stripe's standard rate, also shown to the parent before they pay.

What does premium add, and what does it cost?

  • In the hole, on deck, and up to wrestle mat call alerts targeted to your wrestlers.
  • Score audit trails: every scored action in every match.
  • Wrestler Tendencies: takedown efficiency, escape rate, near fall rate, reversal rate.
  • Single tournament passes: wrestler $4, parent $6, coach $20. Annual: wrestler $30, parent $40, coach $150. Ultimate tiers with analytics on every profile: $50, $65, $220.

Why not make everything free?

Because a tournament platform has real costs on tournament morning: the servers that push every score to every phone, the payment infrastructure, and support when a host cannot publish at 10 pm on Friday. Charging hosts one predictable fee on paid events and keeping every family account free is how we keep the software the families use from being sold to them. The pricing page has every number.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free trial for hosting?

Better than a trial: host a free entry tournament and pay nothing, with every feature. Paid events pay the published fee when you publish.

Is the bracket generator free?

Yes for free entry events, and included in the hosting fee for paid events.

Do parents ever have to pay Smart Wrestler to see the bracket?

No. Brackets, bout boards, scores, and results are free. Only mat call alerts and analytics are premium.

Is USA Bracketing free?

USA Bracketing is USA Wrestling's system for its sanctioned events and does not publish a general fee schedule; check with USA Wrestling for the events you attend.

Keep exploring

Start free, stay free as a family

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