CoachRoost vs Heja
The best Heja alternative for U.S. youth sports
Free like Heja — but with no ads at all, true no-account RSVP, medical-info rosters, and quiet hours that protect dinner.
Heja is a free, well-loved team app with a big global following. But its free plan shows ads — including to parents and players — and every family has to install the app and create an account. CoachRoost is ad-free, built for U.S. youth sports, and lets parents RSVP with no account at all.
Choose CoachRoost if…
you want a genuinely ad-free experience, one-tap RSVP with no account, youth-specific rosters with medical notes and per-role visibility, and quiet hours — built for U.S. youth sports.
Choose Heja if…
you want a free, mature app with polished native iOS/Android apps, built-in fee collection and per-member fundraising, and a large international user base — and ads on the free plan don't bother you.
Side by side
CoachRoost vs Heja, feature by feature
Every row reflects publicly available information as of July 2026, including the ones where Heja comes out ahead. Sources are listed at the bottom of the page.
| Feature | Free for coachesCoachRoost | Heja |
|---|---|---|
| Price & model | ||
| Free for teams | YesFree forever for coaches | YesFree, ad-supported |
| Ad-free experience | YesNo ads, ever | NoAds shown to free users; removed only on Pro Max / Plus |
| Full features without a paid upgrade | YesDesktop, calendar sync on free/Coach+ | LimitedDesktop access & stats are Pro features |
| RSVP & scheduling | ||
| Recurring + one-off scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| RSVP with no app or account | YesOne-tap magic link | NoEvery family installs the app & signs up |
| Quiet hours + batch digests | YesPer team, per channel | LimitedReminders, but no quiet-hours control found |
| Calendar sync (Apple / Google / Outlook) | YesCoach+ | LimitedA Team Pro feature |
| Family & roster | ||
| Medical notes + custom fields + per-role visibility | YesFree | LimitedContact directory with visibility toggles |
| One athlete across every team | YesSingle household profile | LimitedSeparate child profile per team |
| Built for U.S. youth sports | Yes | LimitedNordic origin; global user base |
| Where Heja goes further | ||
| Built-in fee collection | No | YesTeam Pro, Stripe payouts |
| Built-in fundraising | No | YesPer-member fundraising webshops |
| Native iOS & Android apps | LimitedWeb app; no native app yet | Yes |
| Unlimited co-guardians per child | Yes | YesApproval-based, incl. grandparents |
Why coaches switch
What you get with CoachRoost
Truly ad-free
Heja's free plan shows ads — and by default those ads reach parents and players, not just admins; removing them for everyone means upgrading to Pro Max or buying Heja Plus. CoachRoost shows no ads to anyone, on any plan. Your families never see an advertisement.
True no-account RSVP
Heja asks every player, parent, and coach to install the app and create a profile before they can respond. CoachRoost sends a magic link — one tap from any email, no app, no account, no password. That difference is why more parents actually reply.
Youth rosters and quiet hours
Heja's roster is a contact directory with visibility toggles; CoachRoost adds medical notes, emergency contacts, and custom fields you define, with per-role visibility. And per-team quiet hours plus batch digests stop the evening notification pile-up Heja users know well.
RSVP
One tap, no account to create
Parents get an email and reply with a single tap — no Heja-style profile to set up, no app to install, no password. It's the lowest-friction way to find out who's actually coming on Saturday.
- Magic-link RSVP on any phone
- No account, no app install
- Free on every plan
- Real-time count of who's in
Roster
Every athlete, fully accounted for
Medical notes, emergency contacts, and custom fields you define per team — allergies, jersey size, position, whatever you track. Locked down with per-role visibility, so coaches see what they need and parents control what's shared. Heja centers on general contact info; CoachRoost is built for the youth-team record.
- Medical notes and emergency contacts
- Custom fields: text, number, checkbox, textarea
- Per-role visibility: coach-only vs. team-wide
- Free on every plan
Pricing
What each one costs
CoachRoost
Free forever for volunteer coaches — one team, up to 25 athletes, with full scheduling, RSVPs, and messaging, no credit card and no ads. Coach+ is $12/mo for multiple teams and extras like CSV import and calendar sync; Organization is $39/mo for clubs and leagues. Parents and players never pay.
See CoachRoost pricing →Heja
Heja is free to use for a whole team and funds itself with ads plus optional upgrades: Team Pro / Pro Max (desktop access, payments, attendance stats, and — on Pro Max — ad removal for everyone) and a consumer Heja Plus subscription that removes ads for a family. Multi-team clubs are custom-quoted. See Heja's pricing page for current rates.
See Heja’s pricing →Pricing accurate as of July 2026. Check Heja’s own pricing page for the latest.
Where Heja is the better fit
Heja is genuinely good, free, and popular for real reasons. Choose it when:
- You want to collect fees or run fundraising inside the app. Heja has built-in fee collection and per-member fundraising webshops (Stripe payouts); CoachRoost has neither — no payment collection and no fundraising tool.
- You want polished native iOS and Android apps. Heja has mature, highly-rated apps; CoachRoost is a web app with no store download yet.
- You value a large, established international community — Heja is used in 50+ countries with hundreds of thousands of teams.
- You rely on unlimited co-guardians with an approval flow (including grandparents). CoachRoost supports co-guardians too, but Heja's guardian-approval model is a mature, well-worn path.
Switching is easy
Move from Heja in an afternoon
- 1
Export your members
Pull your team's member and contact list out of Heja. Names and parent emails are enough for CoachRoost to get going.
- 2
Import to CoachRoost
Create your team and bulk-import the CSV (Coach+). Then add the youth-specific fields — medical notes, allergies, jersey sizes — that Heja's contact directory doesn't focus on.
- 3
Invite parents
Send invites or just start sending RSVPs. Parents tap a magic link — none of the app install and profile setup Heja requires.
FAQ
Heja vs CoachRoost: FAQ
Is CoachRoost free like Heja?
If Heja is already free, what's actually different?
Does CoachRoost show ads like Heja's free plan?
Do parents need the app and an account like they do with Heja?
Can CoachRoost collect fees and run fundraising like Heja?
Is CoachRoost available outside the U.S.?
Comparison last verified July 2026.
Heja details are drawn from publicly available sources and can change — always confirm on Heja’s own site. CoachRoost claims reflect shipped functionality. Found something out of date? Let us know.
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