Compare
Game Mode vs Baseline
Baseline is all-in-one software for a sports facility: a booking page for lessons and rentals, memberships that renew on their own, a point of sale, a template website and payment plans a team can run on its own bank account. Its $0 tier includes most of that, and its compare pages rank eleven platforms against it. It is built around the building; tryouts are an event category.
Plans and fees
What each one publishes
Baseline’s figures are quoted as its pricing page wrote them on November 1, 2026. Their pricing page.
Game Mode
- Base
- $99/month
- Tryouts, recruiting, registrations, payments, teams, messaging, parent portal, app and AI.
- Growth
- $199/month
- Adds facility booking, memberships, the training library and your branding.
- Pro
- $399/month
- Adds your own branded app in the stores.
- Card processing
- 3.5% + $0.90
- Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 plus Game Mode’s 0.6% + $0.60; pass it to families or absorb it.
- Bank (ACH)
- 1.5% + $0.90
- Who holds the money
- You do
- Direct charges to your own Stripe account; your name on the statement.
- Setup fee
- None
- Contract
- None
- Month to month, 30-day free trial, no per-athlete fee.
Baseline
- Base
- “$0/mo”
- “$250” setup fee; “No commitment required.”
- Plus
- “$99/mo”
- Everything in Base plus one package (Train, Grow, Operate or Back Office); “12-month commitment.”
- Pro
- “$199/mo”
- All four packages; “12-month commitment.”
- Custom branded app
- “$149/mo”
- “Plus and Pro only”.
- POS terminal
- “$380+”
- One-time, with the Operate package.
- Card processing
- “3.9% + $2.79”
- The same on every tier.
- Bank (ACH)
- “1.8% + $2.49”
- Who pays
- The club’s choice
- “Pass fees through to customers or absorb them — your choice.”
- Processor
- Baseline’s own payment facilitator
- “WHY WE DON'T USE STRIPE”; Baseline may hold or withhold payouts under its terms.
- Refunds
- Up to 5% may be deducted
- Terms of Service, section 13(c).
What a year costs
The arithmetic, from published figures only
Baseline publishes both a price and a card rate, so a yearly total can be worked out. Software plus card processing at a $150 average payment, the club paying every fee:
| Yearly cost | $75,000 processed | $150,000 processed | $300,000 processed | $600,000 processed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode Base$1,188 software, 3.5% + $0.90 a payment | $4,263.00 | $7,338.00 | $13,488.00 | $25,788.00 |
| Game Mode Growth$2,388 software, 3.5% + $0.90 a payment | $5,463.00 | $8,538.00 | $14,688.00 | $26,988.00 |
| Baseline Base, first year$250 software, 3.9% + $2.79 a payment | $4,570.00 | $8,890.00 | $17,530.00 | $34,810.00 |
| Baseline Base, second year on$0 software, 3.9% + $2.79 a payment | $4,320.00 | $8,640.00 | $17,280.00 | $34,560.00 |
How we calculated this
- A $150 average payment, so 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000 payments a year at the four volumes. The club pays every fee; each vendor here also lets the club pass it to families, in which case only the software line is paid.
- Game Mode Base: 3.5% + $0.90 on $150 = $6.15 a payment. 500 × $6.15 + $1,188 = $4,263.00; 1,000 × $6.15 + $1,188 = $7,338.00; 2,000 × $6.15 + $1,188 = $13,488.00; 4,000 × $6.15 + $1,188 = $25,788.00. Source
- Game Mode Growth: 3.5% + $0.90 on $150 = $6.15 a payment. 500 × $6.15 + $2,388 = $5,463.00; 1,000 × $6.15 + $2,388 = $8,538.00; 2,000 × $6.15 + $2,388 = $14,688.00; 4,000 × $6.15 + $2,388 = $26,988.00. Source
- Baseline Base, first year: 3.9% + $2.79 on $150 = $8.64 a payment. 500 × $8.64 + $250 = $4,570.00; 1,000 × $8.64 + $250 = $8,890.00; 2,000 × $8.64 + $250 = $17,530.00; 4,000 × $8.64 + $250 = $34,810.00. Source
- Baseline Base, second year on: 3.9% + $2.79 on $150 = $8.64 a payment. 500 × $8.64 + $0 = $4,320.00; 1,000 × $8.64 + $0 = $8,640.00; 2,000 × $8.64 + $0 = $17,280.00; 4,000 × $8.64 + $0 = $34,560.00. Source
Baseline Plus ($99/mo, one package) and Pro ($199/mo, all four) carry the same processing rate and a 12-month commitment; the branded app is $149/mo on top. Either vendor lets the club pass the fee to families, in which case only the software line is paid.
Try your own numbers on the calculator.
Feature by feature
Sixteen things a club buys
Each Baseline answer links to the page it was read from on November 1, 2026. “Not verified” means no page on their site states it.
Tryout registration
Game Mode
A public form with your own questions, terms and age cutoff. No tryout fee is collected at signup. See it
Baseline
A tryout is an ordinary event with a “Tryout” category: admins add questions and pricing, publish it and export a CSV. Source
Custom scoring forms
Game Mode
Modules, criteria and weights you define, 1 to 10 ratings, timed and velocity criteria, a starter template for your sport. See it
Baseline
Named metrics (60-yard dash, exit velocity) compared in the Roster Builder; no rubric, weighting or rating-scale form is described. Source
Coaches score on a phone
Game Mode
Coaches score in the Game Mode app and scores sync live to the Results tab. See it
Baseline
No page describes score entry on a device; stats are uploaded from spreadsheets or device exports. Source
Video clips at tryouts
Game Mode
Coaches film clips in the app; they sit on the player’s results, grouped by module. See it
Baseline
Athletes upload a clip from their phone during a workout; nothing ties video to a tryout event. Source
Offers with tracked responses
Game Mode
Offers by email or text; opens, bounces and replies are tracked on the board, and a family accepts by registering. See it
Baseline
Invite groups with their own payment plans, player limit and expiry; the dashboard shows “Unanswered offers”. Source
Automatic handling when a family does not respond
Game Mode
An offer with no answer after the days you set moves to “no response” on its own, so the column is always current. See it
Baseline
Follow-up is “Magic reminders”, pressed by staff and confirmed before anything is sent; no automatic action on expiry or no response. Source
No-show flag and follow-up
Game Mode
Players who never checked in are flagged when the session ends; one click emails them a link to reschedule or withdraw. See it
Baseline
No page mentions no-shows; the closest is automatic reminders before each lesson. Source
Team assignment from tryout results
Game Mode
Drag players from their scores onto teams, the waitlist or not selected. See it
Baseline
The Roster Builder shows tryout metrics and staff drag athletes into an invite group; no automatic placement from scores. Source
Season registration with payment plans
Game Mode
Deposit plus installments, by card or bank, charged to the saved card on each due date with retries. See it
Baseline
“$2,000 over 1, 3, 6, or 10 payments”, scheduled for auto-draft, with plans per invite link. Source
Direct Stripe payouts to the club
Game Mode
Every payment is a direct charge to your own Stripe account, with your name on the statement. See it
Baseline
“WHY WE DON'T USE STRIPE”: money moves through Baseline’s own payment facilitator, and each team can have its own bank account. Source
Facility booking: lessons and rentalsGrowth and Pro plans
Game Mode
Lessons, cage, court and field rentals, booking boards and coach availability. Growth and Pro. See it
Baseline
A booking page that takes lessons around the clock; each cage, tunnel, field or studio has its own hourly rate. Source
Memberships with recurring billingGrowth and Pro plans
Game Mode
Monthly plans billed to the card on file, with joining fees, commitments and signed agreements. Growth and Pro. See it
Baseline
“Memberships renew automatically every cycle”; included in the $0 tier. Source
Point of sale with inventory
Game Mode
Products with sizes, colors, photos and stock counts; cash, check, a card at the counter or a pay link. See it
Baseline
Point of sale is in the Operate package (Plus or Pro); a POS terminal is “$380+” one-time. Source
Team chat app for parents
Game Mode
Team chat, direct messages and polls in the Game Mode app, with block and report. See it
Baseline
Two-way messaging and group chats inside Baseline, off by default; push goes only to members on the “$149/mo” branded app (Plus and Pro). Source
Beside Baseline
What you would still need
- A scoring form with your own criteria, weights and rating scale. Baseline compares named metrics in its Roster Builder. Source
- Coaches scoring on a phone at the field. No Baseline page describes score entry on a device. Source
- Automatic handling of an offer nobody answered. Baseline’s reminders are pressed by staff. Source
- Push notifications to parents without the $149-a-month branded app. Source
- A lower card rate. Baseline’s is 3.9% + $2.79; Game Mode’s is 3.5% + $0.90, on your own Stripe account. Source
Switching
How a club moves
A club on Baseline keeps its bookings and memberships running where they are and starts with the next tryout: build the scoring form, take registrations, score in the app, and send offers from the Decisions board. Bookings and memberships move to Game Mode on the Growth plan when the season is set, and Growth includes guided setup and help moving your data across. There is no contract to end on our side and no setup fee to pay.
See it on your own tryout.
A 30-minute walkthrough with our team. Bring your rosters, your fee structure, and whatever your current setup can’t do.
Baseline, Upper Hand, SkillShark, TeamGenius, TeamSnap, LeagueApps, SportsEngine and PlayMetrics are names that belong to their owners. Game Mode is not affiliated with any of them. Every figure and every feature answer about them on this page was read from that company’s own public pages on November 1, 2026, is quoted as the page wrote it, and may have changed since. “Not verified” means their site does not state it; it is never a guess. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.