Compare / DIY stack
Rek vs spreadsheets, Venmo & GroupMe
For a lot of adult programs, the “competition” isn’t another SaaS logo—it’s the tools you already have that don’t talk to each other.
| What you need | DIY stack | Rek |
|---|---|---|
| Rosters | Tabs that go stale the first week someone drops | Live teams, free agents, and invites in the app |
| Schedule | A sheet nobody opens on game day | Generate the season, publish weeks, postpone rainouts, weekly RSVPs |
| Communication | Group texts with no roster or RSVP context | Announcements + team/league chat + player cards with season history |
| Payments | Venmo chase-downs and “did you pay?” threads | Registration fees in-app with payouts to your bank |
| Invites | Forwarded screenshots and “what’s the code again?” | Code, link, or QR for managers, players, and free agents |
| Standings & playoffs | Manual updates (or they never get updated) | Live standings + single/double-elim brackets, PDF export |
| Season rollover | Copy last year’s sheet and hope the tabs match | Start next season from the last one and re-invite teams |
| Your web presence | Facebook posts and word of mouth only | Public org hub for all your leagues + directory |
Spreadsheets, Venmo, and a group chat feel free until the first rainout week. Then you’re merging tabs, chasing “did you pay?”, and answering the same address question in three threads. None of those tools know your roster, your week, or your standings.
Rek replaces the stack with one workflow: live teams and free agents, invites that survive a screenshot, a schedule managers actually open, RSVPs tied to the week, scores that feed standings and playoffs, and registration fees that pay out to your bank instead of living in memo fields.
You don’t need enterprise complexity to leave DIY. Players and managers use Rek free; organizers start with a free first league. If you’re comparing software logos next, see how Rek stacks against LeagueApps and TeamSnap—but for most adult programs, the real switch is off the spreadsheet.