Fantasy basketball tools for ESPN, compared
Checked against each tool's own pages on
If your league is on ESPN and plays head-to-head categories, Fantasy IQ is the best of these tools. It goes a level deeper on this week: a win plan ranked by your chance to win, a day-by-day streaming plan, trades found with every team in your league, and free agents ranked by what your categories need, all inside ESPN. For Yahoo, points, roto or snake drafts, try Basketball Monster or Hashtag Basketball.
Where Fantasy IQ goes a level deeper
Going by their own pages, the others mostly give you rankings, projections and schedule grids. Fantasy IQ works out the plan for your own matchup. Facts about the other tools come from their own pages.
A win plan for this week, ranked by your chance to win it
It works out your chance in every category against this week's opponent, then ranks whole plans (hold a lead, flip a category, punt one) by your chance to win the week. SportsWzrd's page says its chance to win the week is for Yahoo categories leagues. Basketball Monster and FantasyHoops AI help you plan or forecast a matchup; neither says it ranks plans by your chance to win.
A streaming plan, day by day
It plans your pickups for each day from the games every free agent has left, your open roster spots and your league's pickup limit. SportsWzrd shows games left and can schedule a pickup you choose. None of the other tools' pages we checked mention a streaming plan.
Trades found inside your league
It searches every team in your league for trades that help you, scores each from both sides in matchups won, and offers fair counteroffers. Hashtag Basketball's Trade Machine and Basketball Monster's Trade Monster show what a trade does to projected power rankings or standings, not matchups won, and none of the other tools' pages says it searches your league for trades.
Free agents ranked by what your categories need
Free agents are scored by what your team needs and scored again when you punt a category. FantasyHoops AI ranks free agents by impact on your team too, but in a phone app you import your league into. Fantasy IQ does it on the ESPN page you're already on.
All of it inside ESPN
A side panel inside fantasy.espn.com reads your league as you browse. Hashtag Basketball and FantasyHoops AI make you import your league into their own site or app.
Fantasy IQ at a glance
- Price
- Free tier. Pro is $4.99 a month or $19.99 for the season, with a 14-day Pro trial and no card needed.
- Where it runs
- Chrome extension: a side panel inside fantasy.espn.com
- Reads your ESPN league
- Yes, as you browse your league on ESPN
- Help with this week
- A win plan for this week's matchup, win chances for every category, free agents ranked by what your categories need, and a day-by-day streaming plan
- Trades
- Finds trades with every team in your league, or grades one you name, from both sides in matchup wins, with fair counteroffers
- Drafts
- A live board for ESPN auction drafts: a max bid for the player up and which categories he helps
- Platforms
- ESPN
- League formats
- Head-to-head categories (Each Category)
What it doesn't do
- ESPN only. No Yahoo, Sleeper, Fantrax or CBS.
- Head-to-head categories leagues only. No points or roto leagues, and Most Categories scoring isn't modeled.
- Auction drafts only. No snake drafts.
- Free-agent scores don't count games left this week; the streaming plan does.
- It runs in Chrome on a computer. There's no phone app.
- It recommends moves; you make them in ESPN.
Which one fits your league
- Your league is ESPN head-to-head categories: Fantasy IQ, for the win plan, the streaming plan and trades found inside your league, all on the ESPN page.
- Your league is on Yahoo, Sleeper or Fantrax: Basketball Monster or Hashtag Basketball.
- Your league scores points or roto: Basketball Monster, Hashtag Basketball or FantasyHoops AI.
- You're about to draft snake: Basketball Monster or FantasyHoops AI.
- You want it on your phone: FantasyHoops AI.
The other tools, one by one
Where a tool's own page doesn't say, we write "Not stated" rather than guess. Each one has a line on where it beats Fantasy IQ.
Basketball Monster
- Price
- $69.95 a season, prorated
- Where it runs
- Its own web site, plus a Chrome extension for ESPN
- Reads your ESPN league
- Yes, through its league integration
- Help with this week
- Matchup Monster and SmartTool to plan your head-to-head matchup, a schedule grid and a week summary. Streaming isn't named.
- Trades
- Trade Monster shows projected standings and suggests adds and drops
- Drafts
- Draft Monster for live ESPN snake and auction drafts
- Platforms
- ESPN, Yahoo, Fantrax, CBS, Sleeper, FleaFlicker, Ottoneu
- League formats
- Head-to-head, roto, dynasty
Where it beats Fantasy IQ
- More platforms and formats: Yahoo, Sleeper, Fantrax and three others, roto and dynasty leagues, and snake drafts.
Source: basketballmonster.com
Hashtag Basketball
- Price
- Many free tools; premium is $2.50 a month on Patreon
- Where it runs
- Its own web site. ESPN leagues import by league ID after a one-time browser add-on sign-in.
- Reads your ESPN league
- Yes, by import
- Help with this week
- H2H Matchup Planner (for ESPN you pick your team by hand), schedule grids, waiver wire rankings, and a Waiver Machine that shows what one move does to your team
- Trades
- Trade Machine shows what a trade does to every team's projected power rankings; a free trade analyzer
- Drafts
- Auction values and mock drafts. Its Draft Tracker isn't available for ESPN.
- Platforms
- ESPN, Yahoo, Sleeper, Fantrax
- League formats
- Categories, points, dynasty, keeper (its format list couldn't be read in full)
Where it beats Fantasy IQ
- Cheaper, with a lot free, and it covers Yahoo, Sleeper, Fantrax, points, dynasty and keeper leagues.
SportsWzrd
- Price
- Free tier. The NBA extension is $4.99 a month or $14.99 a year.
- Where it runs
- Browser extension on ESPN and Yahoo (Chrome and Firefox), plus a web site
- Reads your ESPN league
- Yes, it connects to your Yahoo or ESPN league
- Help with this week
- Games left this week for every player, a lineup optimizer, matchup projections, and, on Pro, a preview of what an add would change. Its chance to win the week (Pro) is for Yahoo categories leagues only. The web site can schedule a pickup for 3:00 AM; which platforms that works on isn't stated.
- Trades
- Not stated
- Drafts
- Not stated
- Platforms
- ESPN, Yahoo
- League formats
- Not stated for ESPN basketball
Where it beats Fantasy IQ
- Yahoo as well as ESPN, $14.99 a year, and its web site can make a scheduled pickup for you.
Source: sportswzrd.com, chromewebstore.google.com
FantasyHoops AI
- Price
- Free, or Pro at $3.99 a month or $19.99 a year
- Where it runs
- iPhone and iPad app
- Reads your ESPN league
- Yes, by import
- Help with this week
- Free agents ranked by their impact on your team, head-to-head forecasts and a schedule grid. Streaming isn't named. (From its App Store listing; no web site found.)
- Trades
- A trade analyzer
- Drafts
- Draft Wizard for ESPN and Yahoo snake and auction drafts
- Platforms
- ESPN, Yahoo
- League formats
- Roto, points, head-to-head Each Category and Most Categories
Where it beats Fantasy IQ
- A phone app that covers Yahoo, roto, points, Most Categories and snake drafts.
Source: apps.apple.com
Common questions
- What's the best fantasy basketball tool for ESPN categories leagues?
- Fantasy IQ. It's a Chrome extension that works inside fantasy.espn.com and goes a level deeper than the others on this week's matchup: a win plan ranked by your chance to win, a day-by-day streaming plan, free agents ranked by your categories' needs, and trades it finds with every team in your league. It's built only for ESPN head-to-head categories leagues, so for other platforms or formats look at Basketball Monster or Hashtag Basketball.
- Can a tool find trades with teams in my ESPN league?
- Fantasy IQ can. Its Trades tab searches every team in your league for trades that help you, scores each from both sides by the matchups each team would win, and offers fair counteroffers. None of the other tools' pages says it searches your league for trades; Hashtag Basketball and Basketball Monster show what a trade does to projected rankings or standings.
- Which fantasy basketball tool works inside ESPN?
- Fantasy IQ is a Chrome extension that adds a side panel inside fantasy.espn.com. SportsWzrd is an extension that works on ESPN and Yahoo pages, and Basketball Monster has a Chrome extension for its ESPN integration. Hashtag Basketball and FantasyHoops AI import your ESPN league into their own site or app.
- Does Fantasy IQ work with Yahoo, Sleeper, points or roto leagues?
- No. Fantasy IQ is for ESPN head-to-head categories leagues only. For Yahoo, Sleeper, Fantrax, points or roto, look at Basketball Monster or Hashtag Basketball.
- Does Fantasy IQ help with snake drafts?
- No. Its draft board is for ESPN auction drafts. Basketball Monster and FantasyHoops AI both cover snake drafts.
- How much do these tools cost?
- Hashtag Basketball's premium tier is $2.50 a month, and much of the site is free. The SportsWzrd NBA extension is $14.99 a year, FantasyHoops AI $19.99 a year and Basketball Monster $69.95 a season. Fantasy IQ has a free tier, and Pro is $4.99 a month or $19.99 for the season after a 14-day trial with no card.
- Does Fantasy IQ make moves for me?
- No. It recommends pickups, streams and trades; you make the moves in ESPN yourself.