Root Soccer vs TourneyCentral
TourneyCentral is a mature soccer-tournament product. Root's case is not that it costs nothing—it is that clubs can run the event, team, roster, payment, family, and native weekend journey in one connected system with no forecasted software invoice.
Pricing without the sales spin
These are different models. Compare the entire cost—including payment processing—and decide who absorbs or presents each fee.
RootTournaments
- $0/month, $0 setup, no annual contract.
- Free events are free. Paid registrations are $6 at $150 or less, or 6% above $150.
- Card processing is included in that published rate.
- The configured policy determines whether the organizer absorbs the fee or the registrant sees it before accepting the price.
TourneyCentral
- Its published software price is $16 per participating team.
- Its FAQ describes an initial invoice equal to 33% of estimated or prior-year teams, then a final invoice when the schedule is published.
- Scheduled host, comped, discounted, and later-dropped teams count as participating under its published definition.
- TourneyCentral says it adds no payment fee; the organizer handles its own Square, Stripe, QuickBooks, or PayPal costs.
TourneyCentral facts checked September 15, 2026 from its official pricing page and official FAQ. Confirm current terms with the vendor. Root pricing is published on our pricing page.
What changes for the tournament team
“Not published” means the reviewed public TourneyCentral materials did not establish the capability either way.
| Feature | Root Soccer | TourneyCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Published software price | $6 flat / 6% per paid entry | $16 / participating team |
| Card processing in published Root fee | Organizer handles processor | |
| Forecasted initial software invoice | None | 33% of estimated / prior teams |
| Platform fee on free events | None | $16 for each scheduled team |
| Self-service organizer onboarding | Contact-first | |
| Single & double elimination, round robin, groups + knockout | Not published | |
| First-N and deadline entry discounts | Not published | |
| Existing club team + approved-roster reuse | Not published | |
| Private coach checklist + family-safe share | Mobile public event pages | |
| Native iOS and Android tournament weekend | Private pilot; store rollout separate | Mobile web experience |
| Role-scoped tournament staff | Seven admin accounts | |
| Hotel, store, sponsor, and public event modules | ||
| Referee accept / decline workflow | Pool + assignments |
Where TourneyCentral is genuinely strong
TourneyCentral focuses exclusively on soccer tournaments and publicly lists mature event-site, advertising, hotel, store, referee scheduling, map, live-support, and scoring tools. A director who values a long-standing tournament specialist and already has club, roster, payment, and native communication systems may prefer that focus.
Root is strongest when the event should reuse the club's existing teams, approved rosters, people, roles, facilities, and payment owner—and when coaches and families should keep the same account and native app after the tournament weekend. The migration walkthrough should prove those differences with the club's representative event, not with a generic feature checklist.
Bring one representative tournament
We'll map divisions, teams, rosters, fields, entry rules, and the game-day flow before asking you to move anything.