Fanduel Vs. DraftKings

Playing in one-day fantasy sports leagues is fun, but figuring out which site is best for you can be a bit overwhelming. You want to enjoy the action and excitement of drafting your teams and watching the games and not worry about logistics, so we’ve done the research for you. All of the sites out there market themselves to look perfect, but that doesn’t mean that they are. Different sites will benefit different people, so knowing what to look for will help you out when making your decision. Also, you will find that one site is great for one person, but that doesn’t make it right for you.

Septemeber 2020 Update – Are you looking for a Draftkings vs. Fanduel Sportsbook review? You can get all the updated information if you would rather bet on sports than play DFS.
Pick Your Site

Play with DraftKings or FanDuel?

The two biggest one day league sites out there right now are DraftKings and FanDuel. These two are a great place to start your search, but on the surface, these sites can look very similar. Here’s a quick breakdown on how to differentiate between the two and hopefully it will help you make a more informed decision when looking at leagues. At the very least, it will provoke some thought and help you to figure out what’s important when choosing a site to play at.

Their Promotions

The first thing you often notice in sites like these are the bonuses and promotions being offered. They shouldn’t be the first thing, but for most people they are because they start thinking “free money.” In order to get that free money, though, there are some hoops to jump through.

FanDuel – 100% Signup Bonus up to $200. Grab the Bonus Now

DraftKings – Free Contests Entries and other Great Promotions.

Get a Full FanDuel Review Here Get a Full DraftKings Review Here

Make Your Bonus Currently, you can get a bonus of 100% your first deposit at FanDuel of up to $200. Your bonus is unlocked from the pending bonus account into your main account at a rate of 4% per contest fee. If you pay $100 to play in a league, $4 goes into your account where you can then use it to win more money. The deposit bonus never expires, and you can unlock it as quickly or as slowly as you’d like. You cannot withdraw your bonus, but you can withdraw the extra money that you earn with it once it’s unlocked. If you ever are awarded a reload bonus, there will probably be an expiration date on unlocking it, so be aware of this if you are to take this route. The site is able to remove bonuses after 45 days if they are unearned at that point.

DraftKings also has welcome promotions, such as free entries to contests. You can earn points for playing which can get you into even more contests. A $2 entry league rewards 8 FPPs, so in order to unlock $1 of cash, you would have to spend $25 in your own cash. It ends up being the same 4% rate as FanDuel, just explained in a more complicated manner.

In the end, both sites have the same unlock rate, with pretty identical promotions and ongoing reload bonuses. The only difference is that DraftKings allows you for bigger entries if you act quickly, giving them the advantage if this is something that you are pursuing.

League Options

The quality of the leagues you play in should always be your first concern, though. This is what will keep you at a site long term. The sports offered by each site are basically the same, but the leagues offered are slightly different. Both sites offer MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL. DraftKings goes beyond FanDuel through, and offers PGA, NASCAR, MMA and Soccer leagues. Both have free leagues, and the quality of these is essentially the same. The main differences would be drafts and league structure within their matching sports.

DraftKings offers a lower rake at the higher stakes games. They also offer more high stakes contests and options than FanDuel. They can also handle a bigger volume of players when it comes down to it. You can definitely find more options if you are coming in looking to play big contests. You also need to Consider the VIP program at DK. Users with high volume get access to special customer service as well as special opportunities to take part in private contests as well as some really cool live experiences.

NFL Leagues

FanDuel offers a salary cap format for their football leagues, which is probably their biggest draw. They are called weeklong leagues, even though most action takes place on Sundays, just to take into account the Thursday and Monday games since it gives a more complete look at the NFL.
Leagues can be as few as two people for head-to-head action, to over 100,000 people for the larger tourneys. Player costs are determined by the popularity and past performance. In a recent example, Aaron Rodgers was the most expensive player at 17% of your given payroll. Andrew Luck was right behind him at 16.8%.

Site Differences When it Comes to Fantasy Football

The image on the left is a line up for the NFL on Fanduel. The second image is the Draft Kings lineup. The two are very similar. The two major differences however, are the salary caps and the added position. On Fan Duel you have a salary cap of $50,000 and on Draft Kings you can go up to $60,000. You also get a flex player on Draft Kings. As for scoring, they are pretty much the same with some slight modifications. Receptions and fumble lost are the two big things that stand out. Draftkings is pretty heavy on points as well. They provide extra points for 300 yards passing and 100+ yards receiving.

For NFL action, DraftKings also has a salary cap format. DK Player pricing is based on proprietary algorithms. This takes into account (but is not exclusive to) past performance, matchup, weather/location of contest, player popularity, value relative to other players in the same position, etc. For the same weekend as above, Andrew Luck comprised 18.6% of your payroll while Rodgers was at 18.4%. It’s impossible to tell which evaluation format is better because each site uses different factors that may be more or less beneficial from week to week. One relies more heavily on popularity while the other relies on past talent. It’s tough to tell which will be helpful in a certain week.

FanDuel

The differences between the two sites are important. FanDuel and DK both have a high prize pool for their free tournaments. Picking either site will give you access to some free play. People look to play for free at first which makes it easier to win a few bucks, but not by much. It depends on how many people you enjoy playing against.

SO, Which Site is Better?

It really depends on what your needs are. DraftKings gives you Free Games. FanDuel tends to reward their players just as well as DK. This will only appeal to people with more money to spend on the games over time. For those looking for a long term type of play, both sites do a very good job. Where you fall in this mix needs to be something you evaluate on your own.

You will also want to ask yourself if you will be concentrating on more than one sport. If so, this will influence your decision since DraftKings offers a few more sports than FanDuel. Those with a varied set of interests will find DraftKings has more to offer in this respect.

A few people will find that having an account at both sites is beneficial to them. If you truly fall into this camp, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just make sure that the money you deposit at each is getting you the most benefit. That means to max out any bonus you are eligible for and ensure that it’s not cash you will need back at your disposal quickly. When you find the right site, your profit rate will go up slightly just because of the minor nuances between the single-day fantasy sports sites out there.