How much does Playoff Pick'Ems cost?

Free to start. Only the commissioner pays, and anyone they invite plays for free. You can host 1 March Madness pool with up to 10 people for free, then upgrade to Pro (from $19/tournament) when you need more members or pools.

What about the First Four?

The First Four games are not part of the bracket. Placeholder teams are used for those spots so your group can start filling out brackets right away. Once the First Four games are decided, the actual teams are swapped in.

How does scoring work across all 63 games?

The pool commissioner sets custom point values per round. For example: 1 point in the First Round, 2 in the Second Round, 4 in the Sweet 16, and so on. Scores and standings update automatically after each game.

Can I see other people's brackets?

Yes, once picks lock, usually when the first game of the round tips off. Before lock, everyone's brackets stay hidden so nobody can copy or peek.

Do all pool members need an account?

Yes, each person signs in to save their bracket. Pro commissioners can also create manual entries for people who prefer not to sign up.

How is this different from ESPN or Yahoo?

Those platforms are built around massive public bracket contests with millions of entries. This app is purpose-built for running a private March Madness bracket pool with your friends, with custom scoring per round included.

March Madness 2026

Your March Madness Bracket Pool, on Autopilot

64 teams, 63 games, zero spreadsheets. Set up your pool in minutes and let the app handle the rest.

Tournament Ended

Start Your Pool

Trusted by 30,500+ players across 5,800+ pools

2026

March Madness Bracket

East First Round

East Second Round

East Sweet 16

East Elite Eight

West First Round

West Second Round

West Sweet 16

West Elite Eight

South First Round

South Second Round

South Sweet 16

South Elite Eight

Midwest First Round

Midwest Second Round

Midwest Sweet 16

Midwest Elite Eight

Final Four

Championship

Final Four

Championship

First Round

East

West

South

Midwest

Sound Familiar?

Printing blank brackets, collecting picks through email, and scoring 63 games by hand

You're collecting brackets from 20 people through texts and emails, reformatting them, and praying nobody sends a duplicate. The tournament starts and two people still haven't submitted.

63 games across 6 rounds, each with different point values. One wrong cell in your spreadsheet and the entire leaderboard is off.

Everyone wants to know who's winning, but you're still manually updating scores from yesterday's games. By the time you post standings, another round has started.

Start Your Pool

How It Works

Up and Running in Minutes

Create Your Pool

Pool Name

Create Your Pool

Name your pool, assign point values per round, and share an invite link. Everyone joins and fills out their bracket online.

Fill Out Your Bracket

East First Round

10 pts / Pick

Duke

Siena

Fill Out Your Bracket

Pick winners for all 63 games from the First Round to the Championship. The bracket is interactive — click a team to advance them.

Watch the Madness

#EntryPicksScore

1Alex

2Jordan

3Sam

Watch the Madness

Scores and standings update automatically after every game. No manual work required.

Loved by Pool Commissioners

Real feedback from real users on Reddit.

“Cool, our group is going to give your app a try this year. Logged into RunYourPool for the first time in a while and can't understand what they've become lol. Tough to navigate now.”

u/Puzzled-Traffic1157r/FFCommish

My family and I are very grateful for this app! It's so user-friendly. Thank you for making this!!

u/graves1987r/fantasyfootball

I appreciate all the work you've put into this so far. It's shockingly hard to find a good playoff pick'em…

u/Stap1emanr/fantasyfootball

Just wanted to say my group has really enjoyed the site thus far. Will keep thinking of improvements. Another obvious use would be March Madness.

u/Free_Food_3674r/FFCommish

I recommend it for a straightforward and easy to use March madness style bracket challenge! Great job!

u/mattwheer/fantasyfootball

Thank you for doing this! Doing a fun money challenge with the boys! Gotta get that fantasy money back somehow hahaha

u/Specialist-Camel7047r/FFCommish

Thanks for sharing! Was just looking for something to setup a playoff bracket with friends.

u/lil_pig_boyr/fantasyfootball

Start Your Pool

Guide

How March Madness Bracket Pools Work

The March Madness Tournament Format

March Madness is a 64-team single-elimination tournament with 63 games across six rounds: First Round, Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, and Championship. Every game is win-or-go-home — which is what makes upsets so common and brackets so hard to predict.

What Is a March Madness Bracket Pool?

Everyone fills out the full 64-team bracket before tip-off, predicting winners for all 63 games through the Championship. Points are awarded for each correct pick, and whoever scores the most wins.

Why Scoring Gets Complex

With 63 games across 6 rounds, manually scoring a bracket pool is genuinely tedious for the commissioner — especially if each round has different point values. Automated scoring means standings update instantly after every game — no spreadsheet errors, no waiting.

Upset Potential and Strategy

Every year, several double-digit seeds knock off top teams — picking all favorites means you'll have the same bracket as everyone else. The best strategy balances safe picks with a few educated upsets where you see real value.

Full Bracket vs. Round-by-Round

In full bracket mode, everyone fills out all 63 games up front, and the teams you advance fill your own later-round matchups. In round-by-round mode, each round opens off the real matchups as teams actually advance, so a busted early pick does not carry forward and you pick fresh each round.

Features

Your Pool, on Autopilot

Full 64-Team Bracket

All four regions, all six rounds, from the First Round to the Championship. Everyone fills out their bracket in one place.

Custom Scoring Per Round

Weight later rounds more to reward bold picks, or keep every round equal. You set the rules for your pool.

Live Standings

Scores update after every game. No waiting for the commissioner to post results — everyone can check the leaderboard anytime.

Full Bracket or Round by Round

Let everyone fill out the entire bracket upfront, or open each round as the matchups are set. Your pool, your rules.

Built by a Commissioner, for Commissioners

I run a playoff pool with my family. Everyone used to email me their picks and I'd enter them into a spreadsheet. Every year it was the same story: chasing people for their picks, updating scores after every game, and manually fixing brackets when things went wrong.

So I built Playoff Pick'Ems to be the tool I wished existed. Just a simple way to run a bracket pool with the people you care about.

Simple, Transparent Pricing

Start free, upgrade when you need more. No hidden fees.

Free

$0forever

Perfect for small groups.

1 pool
Up to 10 members
1 entry per player
Custom scoring

Start for Free

Tournament Pass

$19/tournament

Run pools of any size for one tournament.

Unlimited members
Multiple entries per player
Unlimited pools
Manual entries
Custom scoring

One-time payment. Covers one tournament for one season.

Buy Tournament Pass

Lifetime All-Access

$79one-time

Every tournament. Every future release.

Everything in Tournament Pass
Access to all current tournaments
Future tournaments included
Pay once, use forever

Best value for commissioners running multiple tournaments.

Buy Lifetime

Lock in today's price.

Tournament Pass covers one tournament. Lifetime All-Access includes every current and future tournament.

Running a pool for your company or a large community (100+ players)?

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions?

Your March Madness Pool, simplified.

Running a pool is fun, but managing it can be a headache. Skip the tedious stuff and just enjoy the playoffs with your friends.

Get Started for Free