The short answer: if you run several teams and rely on league fixtures feeding onto your site, Pitchero is built for that and you should probably stay. If what you mainly need is a good-looking public website for your club, without third-party adverts and without a monthly bill that jumps from £0 to £38, there are simpler options. Which one fits depends on whether you need fixtures, payments, an app, or just a website.
This guide compares the realistic alternatives for a UK club, says plainly when Pitchero (or another tool) is the better choice, and finishes with a switching checklist. All prices were checked against each company's own pages on 30 October 2026; they change, so the links at the end matter more than our table.
First, what is Pitchero actually for?
Pitchero is a club-management platform with a website attached: team pages, membership, a mobile app, competitions, ticketing, lotteries and online payments. For football, rugby, cricket and hockey clubs it is common to see it wired into league data, so fixtures and tables appear without anyone typing them in.
That is a different job from "a website for the public to find us". Many clubs only discover the difference when they want to change how the site looks, or when they notice the adverts.
Why clubs leave
The reasons that come up in public reviews are consistent:
- Adverts. Pitchero's own pricing page lists third-party ads as "Yes" on the Free plan, "Limited" on Standard and "No" on Pro.
- The price step. Free is £0 and covers one team. Standard is £38 a month (up to 20 teams, 10 email accounts, one custom domain) and Pro is £99 a month (unlimited teams, 50 email accounts). There is nothing in between for a small club that just wants the adverts gone.
- Payment fees. Payment processing is not available on the Free plan; Pitchero lists it from 2.42% + 17p on Standard and from 1.67% + 15p on Pro.
- Flexibility. A template-based club platform gives you less freedom over layout and wording than a website builder.
Be fair to Pitchero on the other side: the paid plans include a 30-day free trial with no payment details required, you can cancel at any time, and extra teams on Standard are £2.50 a month each. Third-party directories quote different prices (some show "from £12", others £45 to £100 or more), which is a good reason to read Pitchero's own page rather than trust any comparison site, including ours.
Who should stay on Pitchero
Stay if:
- You run many teams and want fixtures, results and tables to flow in automatically.
- You sell tickets, lottery entries or memberships through the same system and the 30-day trial convinced you it works.
- Your committee already knows it and nobody has the appetite to change.
For these clubs, moving to a general website builder means losing things you use daily. Natterio, for example, does not have fixtures feeds, court or pitch booking, or online membership payments, so it is the wrong swap for a club that depends on those.
The alternatives, side by side
| Option | Best for | Free option? | Website cost | Honest catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natterio | A public website for any UK club or group | Yes, permanent: 3 pages, no card, no ads | Paid plans from £7/month add a custom domain and email | No fixtures feeds, booking or online membership payments |
| Spond | Squad scheduling, RSVPs, chat | App is free (Spond describes the core app as free) | Club Website add-on £19 + VAT/month after a free trial (see our Spond guide) | The website is an add-on; the real strength is the app |
| Teamo | Small clubs wanting one system | £0 plan for up to 50 members; website not included on free | Website included from Silver, £21.99/month (100-199 members) | Free tier has no club website |
| SportMember | Clubs wanting management and a site | Basic is £0 | CMS/Premium Website add-on £25/month, excl. VAT | Ads on Basic are not stated clearly; "Remove system ads" is a PRO feature |
| HugoFox | Clubs wanting an inexpensive hosted site, and parish councils | 30-day trial, no card | Club plans £3.99, £6.49 and £8.99/month + VAT | Extras such as secure emails and setup cost more |
| Wix / Squarespace | A volunteer who wants full design control | Wix has a free plan; Squarespace has a 14-day trial | Squarespace Basic from £12/month (annual) | You assemble and maintain everything yourself |
Notes on the table: Teamo's free tier and SportMember's pricing come from their own pricing pages as fetched on 30 October 2026. Wix displays prices in US dollars on the page we could read, so we have not quoted a sterling figure; check the checkout for your own price.
Natterio (disclosure: this is our product)
You tell Natterio your club's name and what you do and it writes a complete site in about a minute: home, about, contact, and the sections your type of club needs. The free plan is permanent, with 3 pages, no card and no ads. Paid plans start at £7 a month and add a custom domain and matching email addresses; higher plans add a members area and forum. You can upload results or league tables from a CSV or Excel file and show them on a results page, and add news posts and a contact form.
What it will not do is pull fixtures from a league, take court bookings or collect membership fees online. If that is your pain, read the next two sections.
Spond (keep the app)
Spond is the one most clubs should keep regardless. Its core app is free for scheduling, attendance and messaging, and it is far better than a website for "who is playing Saturday". Its separate Club Website add-on is described on Spond's own page as £19 + VAT a month after a free trial. Read our guide to keeping Spond and getting the website elsewhere.
Teamo and SportMember
Both are management systems rather than pure website builders. Teamo's free tier is for clubs up to 50 members but the website only comes from the Silver tier. SportMember's Basic tier is free, with a website add-on at £25 a month. They suit clubs wanting one tool for subs, comms and a site, provided you accept the pricing steps as the club grows.
HugoFox
HugoFox lists club plans from £3.99 a month + VAT with a 30-day trial and no banking details needed. It also offers free websites for local charities and, for parish councils, .gov.uk domains. If you are a charity, it is worth a look before anything else.
Wix and Squarespace
Great if one member enjoys design and has time. Wix has a free plan but connecting your own domain needs a paid plan, and a Premium plan removes Wix branding. Squarespace gives every site a 14-day trial; Basic is £12 a month billed annually, and an annual plan includes a free custom domain for the first year. Neither has fixtures, a forum or a members' area built for clubs. Our comparison of Pitchero, Wix, Squarespace and Natterio goes deeper.
A middle route: keep Pitchero and add a public site
Some clubs keep Pitchero for fixtures, payments and the app, and put a simple, fast public website on the club's own domain that links across to it. The public site is what Google and new members see. Pitchero stays where the members live. This is often the cheapest way to get rid of the adverts that visitors see without rebuilding your workflow.
Which should you choose? A quick guide by club size
- One team or a small social club, no league feeds: a free-plan website builder, plus Spond for squad admin. Natterio or HugoFox on the website side.
- Two to ten teams with fixtures: stay on Pitchero Standard, or try the middle route above.
- Large multi-sport club taking payments and tickets: Pitchero Pro or a management platform; a plain website builder will not replace it.
- Charity or community group, not a sports club: HugoFox, Voice (a free builder for UK not-for-profits) or Natterio. See what pages your site needs.
How to move off Pitchero without losing anything
- Export what you can. Download member lists and any documents. Save news posts and photos you want to keep; copy them into a spreadsheet or folder.
- Check your domain. If Pitchero registered your web address, find out who owns it and whether you can move it. Without the domain you cannot redirect old links.
- Build the new site first. Do not switch off Pitchero until the new site is live and checked on a phone.
- Tell members where to find you. Post the new address in your Spond or WhatsApp group, your Facebook page and on match-day signage.
- Redirect old pages if you can so Google and bookmarks follow you.
- Cancel last, after you have confirmed fixtures, payments and email still work. Make sure two committee members hold the logins; our guide on handing over a club website covers that.
If you want the cheapest first step, build a free Natterio site alongside Pitchero and compare them before deciding. See also the sport club pages and the free website guide for sports clubs.
Sources and last checked (30 October 2026)
- Pitchero pricing: https://www.pitchero.com/pricing (plans, ads, teams, payment fees, 30-day trial)
- Pitchero free website page: https://join.pitchero.com/free-website-for-sports-clubs
- Pitchero help, package prices: https://help.pitchero.com/knowledge/manage-package
- Teamo pricing: https://teamo.chat/tweb/pricing/
- SportMember pricing: https://www.sportmember.co.uk/en/what-does-it-cost
- HugoFox club pricing: https://www.hugofox.com/clubs
- Spond Club Website: https://www.spond.com/club-website/
- Squarespace pricing: https://www.squarespace.com/pricing
- Wix plans: https://www.wix.com/plans
- Voice: https://www.e-voice.org.uk
Prices change often. Always confirm on the vendor's page before deciding.