Collage about american football players in dynamic action with ball in a professional sport game. They playing from laptop. 3D model of the stadium was created by me (the author)
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If you’re reading this, the odds are that you’re looking to play fantasy football, but you’re unsure of what platform to use. With fantasy football growing drastically in popularity, there are also more and more ways to play.
When looking for a place to play fantasy football, a strong UI is extremely important for most people. Beyond that, people want a site that’s easy to understand but also has a number of different features.
However, the main thing that fantasy football players look for is these three features. A strong UI, draft room, and draft board. If a site does a good job with those three features, they’ll attract a ton of users.
Here are five sites where you can draft a fantasy football team. This list will include sites to hold your home league and give you a few places to draft a best ball team.
1. Underdog Fantasy
Before joining the platforms for your home league, let’s talk about best ball. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it’s a format where all you have to do is draft a team.
That means you don’t use the waiver wire or set your lineup each week. Instead, you draft a team with a much larger bench and your lineup automatically gets submitted each week.
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Every single draft on Underdog is for money, so it’s a very serious platform. If you’re looking to play for high stakes, this is the site for you.
2. DraftKings NFL Best Ball
DraftKings is very similar to Underdog in the sense that it is for competitive fantasy football players. There’s not much of a difference in how the two sites operate, though.
Both have prize pools ranging from small to extremely large. The one main difference is that DraftKings has a longer draft (20 players) by two rounds.
3. ESPN Fantasy Football
If you play fantasy football, there’s a high chance that your league is on ESPN. While a lot of platforms are new, ESPN has been a staple in the fantasy community for years.
ESPN is the easiest traditional platform to use, which is the reason for its success. However, the knock against ESPN has always been its UI.
With that being said, ESPN made some big upgrades this year. Not only did they upgrade how your waiver wire and app look, but the draft room has more features than ever.
Now, ESPN gives a draft board and roster view option. With these new UI updates, ESPN is pushing to keep its spot near the top of fantasy football.
4. Sleeper Fantasy Football
When people complained about ESPN, Sleeper was viewed as the solution. Sleeper was founded in 2015 and leaned into an emphasis on a sleek UI and listening to their fans.
One of the best things about Sleeper is that it’s easy to use. Sleeper has a great UI, tons of customization, but it’s also simple when it needs to be.
Many believe that Sleeper is set to take over the throne for the best fantasy football platform if they haven’t already. The main knock is that it doesn’t have a super-rich history or the same name recognition as ESPN.
BALTIMORE, MD – NOVEMBER 07: Baltimore Ravens fans celebrate after a play during the second half of the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Minnesota Vikings at M&T Bank Stadium on November 7, 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)”nNo licensing by any casino, sportsbook, and/or fantasy sports organization for any purpose. During game play, no use of images within play-by-play, statistical account or depiction of a game (e.g., limited to use of fewer than 10 images during the game)
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5. Yahoo Fantasy Football
Yahoo is very similar to ESPN without the big upgrades yet. Yahoo banks on its name recognition and rich history.
People have been using Yahoo for quite some time, and a lot of people just don’t want to switch away from it. However, there are very few people who are new to fantasy football and prefer Yahoo.
While Yahoo is a fine site with basic functions, it lacks the control or UI of either Sleeper or ESPN. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a minimalistic site to play fantasy football with your friends, Yahoo is just fine.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebradshaw/2025/08/20/5-sites-where-you-can-play-fantasy-football/
