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Squono and Spond

Both are free apps for running a team. Here's how they differ, using only what Spond publishes about itself – checked 29 September 2026, with a link to every source.

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How they compare

Squono and Spond compared, checked 29 September 2026
Topic	Spond (as published, checked 29 September 2026)	Squono
Price for running a team	SpondFree. Spond says Spond Club is “free to use”, including most of its core features. (source: Spond blog: 5 reasons why you need Spond Club (30 Dec 2024))	SquonoSquono Free is £0, with no limits on teams, members or admins. Squono Pro, for match video, is optional and chosen per team.
Adverts	SpondSpond introduced “brand partnerships” (adverts) in February 2025 to keep the app free. Its help centre says users can't opt out of seeing them. Its privacy policy says adults may see personalised adverts unless they switch to contextual ones, and under-18s don't get personalised adverts. (source: Spond blog: brand partnerships (13 Feb 2025); Spond help: about Spond brand partnerships; Spond privacy policy (last updated 3 Sep 2026))	SquonoNo adverts, ever – on Free or Pro. No marketing notifications, and we don't sell data.
Payment fees (UK)	Spond2.5% + 20p per product in a payment request, including card processing. A request with several products pays the 20p several times. By default the club or group pays the fee; it can be passed on to members. (source: Spond help: payment costs in the Spond app; Spond help: transaction fee in Spond Club)	SquonoBank transfer and cash are free: families pay the club directly and the club marks it as paid. Instant online payments (card or Pay by Bank), through the club's own Stripe account, are optional and carry a Squono fee of 0.5%, capped at £1 per payment, plus Stripe's own processing fee. The fee is the club's cost, not added on top for families.
Paying without the app	SpondPayment requests can be paid in the app or by email link for people who don't use it. (source: Spond: payments)	SquonoParents can pay – and reply to availability – from a link, without installing the app.
Answering availability	SpondGuardians answer invitations for themselves and each child; the last answer given counts. Responses are accept or decline. (source: Spond help: parents and children in Spond; Spond help: using the app as a parent or guardian)	SquonoYes, No or Maybe, with an optional reason. Parents can answer for all their children at once, and for a whole week or the rest of the month in one go.
Automatic reminders	SpondReminders to people who haven't answered, either 48 hours after the invitation went out or 48 hours before the event. (source: Spond: invites and reminders)	SquonoReminders only to people who haven't answered, at timings the coach sets once per team, escalating as the event gets closer. Coaches see “3 haven't replied” and can nudge them in one tap.
Squad selection	SpondAfter an availability request, admins use “Select people and create event”, with players grouped as Available, Unanswered, Declined or Other. Admins can message players who weren't selected. (source: Spond help: availability requests)	SquonoSelected, Reserve or Not selected. Every family sees their own child's status and is told once, when the squad is confirmed.
Season set-up	SpondEvents can repeat weekly, every other week or monthly. The season planner for creating events in bulk (including .ics import) is on the web only. (source: Spond help: features in events; Spond help: season planner)	SquonoRecurring training for the season with skip dates (half-term, Christmas), fixtures in bulk, and import from a calendar link (.ics) or CSV.
Leaving a group	SpondTo leave a subgroup, a member contacts an admin. If a group is linked to Spond Club, members can't leave it themselves. (source: Spond help: how to leave a group and subgroup)	SquonoParents can leave a group themselves.
Chat	SpondOne-to-one and group chats, up to 100 members per group chat. Admins can set a messaging age limit (13–18), and guardians can see their children's conversations. (source: Spond help: messages; Spond help: group settings for group admins)	SquonoTeam chat for adults, with replies in threads, search and mute, and “message everyone going to this event”. No private messages between adults and children.
Calendar	SpondEvents sync to the phone's calendar. On iPhone, full calendar access is needed to remove declined or cancelled events. (source: Spond help: calendar synchronisation)	SquonoSubscribe to a calendar feed, or add single events – no calendar permission needed.
Members in and out	SpondMember lists can be imported from and exported to Excel. (source: Spond help: member overview, import and export)	SquonoImport members from Spond's Excel or CSV member export.

Squono also offers Squono Pro, a paid add-on for match video (recordings, highlights, clips, TV mode and sharing with the opposition), chosen per team.

Fair's fair

What Spond does well

Spond is an established app that many clubs rely on. From Spond's own pages and store listings:

It's free to use, and Spond Club adds club-level admin at no charge for most core features. (source: Spond blog: 5 reasons why you need Spond Club (30 Dec 2024))
It's widely used and well rated: 4.8 stars from about 8,600 UK App Store ratings and 4.6 stars from about 13,900 Google Play reviews. (source: Spond on the App Store (UK); Spond on Google Play (UK))
Availability requests lead straight into squad selection. (source: Spond help: availability requests)
The Matchday Planner has drag-and-drop line-ups, formations and roles such as captain. (source: Spond blog: Matchday Planner (28 Feb 2025))
A default “participating” response means members only need to reply if they can't come. (source: Spond help: features in events)
The web version can do most of the same tasks as the app. (source: Spond help: the web version of the Spond app)
Spond Club supports subscription and instalment payments. (source: Spond Club help: subscription payments and registration forms)
Attendance history can be exported to Excel. (source: Spond help: register attendance and download attendance history)

Switching

Moving a team across

You can move a team in an evening. Families can reply and pay from a link, so nobody has to install anything on day one.

Export your member list from Spond as an Excel or CSV file
Import it into Squono
Add fixtures from a calendar link (.ics) or CSV, and set up recurring training
Send families their invitations
Create new payment requests in Squono – payments set up in another app don't move across

About this comparison

We checked Spond's own website, help pages and app store listings on 29 September 2026. Features and prices can change at any time, so please check Spond's website for the latest details. If you spot something that's out of date or wrong, tell us at hello@squono.com and we'll correct it.

Store ratings are as shown on the listings on 29 September 2026.

Spond is a trademark of its owner. Squono isn't affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Spond. We mention Spond only to compare publicly available information.

Sources

All seen on 29 September 2026.

Also see: Squono and TeamSnap · Squono and Heja · Squono and Tournify · Squono and WhatsApp

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