Comparison · recruiting profile

Lightning vs FieldLevel. Coach-verified stats, film, and multi-sport — starting at $25/yr.

The affordable FieldLevel alternative.

FieldLevel is a strong recruiting profile with a real college-coach network in some sports. Lightning matches its core recruiting workflow — a public, verified-stat profile and highlight-film hosting across 16 sports — and goes further with coach- and tournament-verified stats instead of FieldLevel\'s self-reported numbers. The Pro tier adds an AI College Matchmaker and profile-view tracking that shows which coaches looked at you. Starting at $25/yr (Pro $50/yr), against FieldLevel\'s $99–$299 per athlete for a single sport.

See Lightning for Players & Parents →

FieldLevel per athlete

$99 – $299 / yr

Lightning per athlete

$25 – $50 / yr

Sports supported

16 (Lightning) vs 1 (FieldLevel)

Stat verification sources

Coach + Tournament + Trainer

Feature by feature

What you get. What you don't.

Feature	Lightning	FieldLevel
Recruiting profile (verified)	✓	✓
Multi-sport profile	✓	one sport
Coach-verified stats	✓	self-reported
Tournament-verified stats	✓	✗
NCAA D1–JUCO matchmaker	✓	✓
Highlight reel hosting	✓	✓
Parent consent controls	✓	limited
Coach can message athlete	✓	✓
Per-athlete per-year cost	$25 – $50	$99 – $299
Who viewed your profile	Pro	paid add-on

Where Lightning wins

Why coaches switch.

Cost — 4–12× cheaper per athlete.
Multi-sport — one profile covers football and basketball and lacrosse for the same price.
Verified stats — Lightning shows coaches WHO entered the stats (your coach, an FSA tournament, or yourself), with badges. FieldLevel relies mostly on self-reported numbers.

Where FieldLevel might fit

Honest cases for staying.

Coach network in specific sports — FieldLevel has deep penetration with college coaches in some sports (especially lacrosse, soccer) where their network effects matter.
Established brand in elite recruiting circles — if your coach or club already pushes you to FieldLevel, that's real social proof.

Switching

From FieldLevel to Lightning.

Build your Lightning profile (the free trial lets you build it without paying).
Import or re-upload your highlight reel videos.
If your coach has been pushing FieldLevel — show them Lightning's Coach Verified workflow. Coaches typically prefer being able to push stats to multiple profile platforms.
Keep your FieldLevel profile active during your first Lightning recruiting cycle; cancel after a year if Lightning's outreach is matching or beating it.

Frequently asked

Answered. No fine print.

Will college coaches take a Lightning profile seriously?

Yes. Profiles are public URLs with verified stat sources — a coach you email can open and trust your full profile immediately, no login required. Lightning also has a built-in coach-search database for coaches who use Lightning for Coaches; like any newer platform, that coach network is still growing, so a profile's job today is to be the credible destination you send coaches to.

Can I have both FieldLevel and Lightning?

Yes. Many families do for the first year to compare results before consolidating.

Does Lightning auto-submit my profile to colleges?

No platform actually does this in a way that works — recruiting is relationship-driven. Lightning's College Matchmaker (Pro tier) gives you a target list and direct coach contact info you can reach out to yourself.

Are parent controls actually different?

Yes — for athletes under 18, the parent account holder approves every contact request and is copied on every coach message. FieldLevel's parent layer is lighter.

Does Lightning track my game stats in real time?

Yes. Players and parents log stats live during games — hitting, pitching, event times — and the profile shows each stat with a badge for who entered it. FieldLevel profiles are mostly self-reported.

Can Lightning host my highlight film?

Yes. Upload your highlight reel and clips to your profile; a coach opens one public link and watches, no login required.

Does Lightning have a college matchmaker?

Yes — the Pro tier ($50/yr) includes an AI College Matchmaker that builds a target list from NCAA to JUCO and gives you coach contact info to reach out yourself.

Can I see which coaches viewed my profile and opened my emails?

Yes on the Pro tier. Your dashboard shows recent profile viewers (coach or scout), how often you appear in searches, and which coaches keep coming back; the Outreach Tracker shows, for each email you send through Lightning, whether the coach opened it and clicked your links.