Two ways to put software on your courts
Pickleball court technology tends to arrive in one of two shapes. A hardware-bundled system, the model PodPlay is built around, starts with equipment installed at your courts and puts software on top of it. An app-first system starts with software on the phones your players and staff already carry, and treats any screen in the building as optional.
Neither model is wrong. They make different bets about where your money goes and when. A bundled system asks for commitment up front in exchange for a vendor-designed setup. An app-first system lets you run your first session tonight and decide later whether screens are worth adding at all. If what you're really searching for is pickleball court management without hardware, the second model is the one to look at.
What actually drives the cost
We don't publish other companies' prices, and you shouldn't trust a comparison page that does: quotes vary by facility, court count and contract, and only the vendor can give you a real number. What you can do is make sure every quote is itemized the same way. Whatever system you're pricing, ask the vendor to separate:
- Equipment you must buy before the first game, and whether it is priced per court.
- Installation, including any site survey, mounting, wiring or network work.
- Software fees, and whether they rise as you add courts or locations.
- Replacement and service when a screen, camera or device fails mid-season.
- Exit cost: what you keep, and what stops working, if you cancel.
With PaddleStack the first two lines are zero: there is nothing to buy from us and nothing to install. Tablets and TVs are optional, and you buy them anywhere. For software pricing, talk to us about your facility.
Install-first vs app-first, side by side
| Hardware-bundled systems | PaddleStack (app-first) | |
|---|---|---|
| Day-one cost | Proprietary hardware at the courts before you run a game | Nothing to buy. Download the app and host tonight |
| Getting started | Site survey and install, then go live | Create a session in a few minutes |
| Adding a court | Order and install another kit | Add it in the app |
| A screen breaks | Service call or replacement part | Swap in any TV or tablet and open the same URL |
| Your existing gear | Often replaced by the vendor's | Becomes your system |
| Scaling down | The hardware is a sunk cost | Unplug anything. The app keeps running |
The rows above describe the install-first model in general, not any one vendor's contract. Check the specifics of any system you're quoting against the list in the previous section.
Choose how much hardware, including none
PaddleStack runs the same app at every level of setup. Each step adds to the one before it, and you can stop anywhere:
- Just a phone. A host runs the session from the app. Players join on their own phones, or scan a QR code at the door and check in from a browser with no download.
- Add a front-desk tablet. Any iPad or Android tablet becomes a PIN-protected kiosk where walk-ups check in and join the queue themselves.
- Add a TV on the wall. Open one URL on any smart TV, streaming stick, mini PC or laptop and it becomes a live big board: every court, who is on, who is next, with court callouts read aloud.
- Add screens at every court. Old tablets or inexpensive TVs show each court's players, photos and match timer, and staff can end a match courtside. Add any camera and stream with a live scorebug overlay for OBS.
Because every display is a web page, a dead screen is a same-day fix: plug in any replacement and open the same address. There is no PaddleStack box on your wall to service. The full walkthrough is on the for facilities page.
What you can run on it
- Open play with a live queue and fair court rotation, parties that play together, skill and category filters, and King of the Court.
- Tournaments: round robin, single or double elimination, pools into brackets, rotate-partners and MLP, with live scoring and DUPR submission for finished matches.
- Leagues with standings that carry from week to week.
- Clinics and events with RSVPs, caps, self-promoting waitlists and paid entry collected in the app.
Players are told their court is ready by push notification, sound and vibration on their phones, and on the big board if you run one. The how it works guide covers each format in detail.
How PaddleStack does it
Your equipment, our software
Start with a phone and run open play, a tournament or a league night today. Add a kiosk tablet when the front desk gets busy, a big board when the crowd grows, and court screens if you want them. Nothing is installed, nothing is bought from us, and a session started on a phone shows up on a big board the moment you turn one on, with no re-setup.
When a bundled system may still fit
Some operators want a single vendor to design, install and own the equipment at their courts, and are happy to pay for that up front. If that is your priority, a hardware-bundled system is built for it, and you should compare quotes on the itemized basis above. If your priority is getting courts filled without a capital outlay, or testing demand before you commit, starting app-first costs you nothing in hardware and keeps every later option open.
Frequently asked questions
Look for an app-first platform. PaddleStack runs open play, tournaments and leagues from a phone, and its displays are web pages that run on any TV or tablet you already own, so there is no hardware to buy from us.
Only PodPlay can quote that, and pricing for any court system depends on your facility and contract. Ask every vendor to itemize equipment, installation, software, service and exit costs so the quotes compare fairly.
Yes. With PaddleStack a host can run a whole session from a phone. Players check in on their own phones or by scanning a QR code in a browser, and screens are optional upgrades.
Anything with a modern web browser: a smart TV, a streaming stick, a mini PC, an old laptop, an iPad or an Android tablet. The display pages are designed to run unattended.
No. Players can check in by scanning a QR code in their phone browser, or staff can add them as guests from the front desk. The free app adds features like court-ready alerts.