Comparison · recruiting platform

Lightning vs SportsRecruits. Verified stats, film, and profile-view tracking — starting at $25/yr.

The affordable SportsRecruits alternative.

SportsRecruits is respected for its recruiting workflow and email tooling. Lightning matches that workflow — a verified-stat profile, a college-coach search database, multi-sport support, and AI-drafted outreach — and the Pro tier adds profile-view tracking that shows which coaches looked at you plus an AI College Matchmaker. Starting at $25/yr (Pro $50/yr), against SportsRecruits\' $400–$1,500 per athlete.

See Lightning for Players & Parents →

What you pay SportsRecruits

$400 – $1,500 / yr

What you pay Lightning

$25 – $50 / yr

SportsRecruits includes

Profile + coach search + email tools

Lightning includes

All of that + verified stats + AI outreach + multi-sport profile

Feature by feature

What you get. What you don't.

Feature	Lightning	SportsRecruits
Recruiting profile	✓	✓
College coach search database	✓	✓
Email-management tools	✓	✓
Verified-stat workflow	✓	✗
Multi-sport profile (no upcharge)	✓	limited
AI-drafted outreach emails	✓	✗
Parent-controlled visibility	✓	limited
Per-athlete annual cost	$25 entry / $50 Pro	$400+ entry

Where Lightning wins

Why coaches switch.

Cost — Lightning is 8–30× cheaper at entry pricing.
Verified stats — Lightning supports Coach Verified and Tournament Verified stat flows; SportsRecruits does not have a comparable workflow.
Multi-sport — Lightning treats multi-sport athletes as a feature; SportsRecruits is more single-sport oriented.
AI tooling — Pro-tier AI-drafted outreach is a productivity multiplier for the actual time-consuming part of recruiting.

Where SportsRecruits might fit

Honest cases for staying.

Club-program network — SportsRecruits has deeper integration with established club programs in lacrosse, soccer, and field hockey.
Coach-to-coach referral workflow — strong in their network.

Switching

From SportsRecruits to Lightning.

Export your SportsRecruits profile data (most fields can be copied manually).
Sign up for Lightning Players & Parents.
Recreate your profile and upload your highlight reel.
Cancel your SportsRecruits subscription before the next renewal.

Frequently asked

Answered. No fine print.

Do college coaches use Lightning the way they use SportsRecruits?

Lightning's college-coach search tools cover the same NCAA, NAIA, JUCO coach data. Both platforms make athletes findable to coaches who are searching.

Can I import my SportsRecruits target list?

Yes — you can export your target list from SportsRecruits and add the same schools to your Lightning target list. Most data copies cleanly.

Is the cost difference really that big?

Yes. SportsRecruits entry packages start around $400/yr; premium tiers reach $1,500+. Lightning is $25 entry, $50 Pro.

What if my club program is on SportsRecruits?

Your club program's SportsRecruits presence doesn't prevent you from also using Lightning for your personal recruiting. You can run both during a transition.

Does Lightning have real-time stat tracking?

Yes — a live game stat tracker for players and parents (hitting, pitching, event times) that stamps each stat with who entered it. SportsRecruits centers on the profile and email workflow, not live stat capture.

Can I see who looked at my profile and opened my emails?

Yes on the Pro tier. You get recent profile viewers with viewer type, search appearances, and repeat high-interest coaches — and the Outreach Tracker shows, for each email sent through Lightning, whether the coach opened it and clicked your links. That is the message-and-profile tracking recruiting families value most.

Does Lightning host highlight film?

Yes — upload your highlight reel and clips; coaches watch from one public link, no login required.

Is Lightning's interface as capable as SportsRecruits'?

Lightning covers the same core recruiting workflow — a verified-stat profile, a college-coach search database, multi-sport support, and AI-drafted outreach — in a modern dashboard, at a fraction of the price.