Published by Saideline. We compare Sport Session Planner as fairly as we can, using its public website and membership page (details checked October 2026).
Quick answer: Sport Session Planner is the better fit if you want to design sessions yourself in an animated 3D environment and share them in many ways. Saideline is the better fit if you want the session built for you from a specific request, with teams, uneven-squad handling and a printable plan included. Saideline costs €9/month or €90/year (incl. VAT) and starts with 3 free sessions. Sport Session Planner's individual membership is US$85 per year and has no free trial.
Both tools help soccer coaches plan sessions, but they start from opposite ends: one gives you a canvas, the other gives you a finished plan.
What Sport Session Planner Offers
Sport Session Planner (SSP) describes itself as a 3D session planning tool for clubs and individual coaches. You build a session on a 3D pitch, adjust the angle and zoom, customize kits, pitch lines and textures, and combine drills into multi-progression sessions. You can clone and adapt existing sessions, sort them by subject and difficulty, and keep them private, share them within your club or share them publicly. Sessions can be sent as PDFs, shared by web link, QR code, email or WhatsApp, and shown in a full-screen presentation mode. Its homepage says it is used by over 600 organizations and offers thousands of sessions from expert coaches.
The individual membership costs US$85 per year and includes access to drills from coaches worldwide. Club and association pricing isn't listed and comes with a dedicated account manager. There's no free trial, but SSP offers a refund if you cancel within seven days. SSP was acquired by The Coaches' Voice in 2022, and an announcement at the time mentioned a Match Day tool for teamsheets and set pieces and a player evaluation system. We couldn't confirm what is currently included, so check its site. We didn't find AI session generation described on its pages.
What Saideline Does Differently
Saideline doesn't start from a blank pitch. You describe what you want to train as a phase of play, a principle, a player count and a space, and it matches game forms precisely to that request. Each game form carries a Perfect Match, Close Match or Modified badge, so you see how well it fits without opening it. You can write your prompt in any language, and the app is available in German and English.
Then it carries on past the plan. With the squad feature, you rank your players once, and the AI assigns whoever is present to the game forms and builds the teams. If the headcount is uneven, parallel groups split the squad into two appropriately sized game forms. You can reorder game forms by drag and drop and export a printable two-page plan. Sessions cover U8 to U19.
Side-by-Side
- Approach: Saideline: AI builds the session from your request. Sport Session Planner: You design the session in a 3D builder.
- Price (individual): Saideline: €9/month or €90/year (incl. VAT). Sport Session Planner: US$85/year.
- Free start: Saideline: 3 free sessions, no payment details needed, all features. Sport Session Planner: No free trial; refund if you cancel within seven days.
- Currency: Saideline: Euro. Sport Session Planner: US dollars on its membership page.
- Visual design: Saideline: Not the focus. Sport Session Planner: Animated 3D sessions, custom kits, pitch lines and textures.
- Match feedback: Saideline: Badge on every game form. Sport Session Planner: Not documented.
- Squad and team building: Saideline: Ranked squad, AI-built teams, absence handling. Sport Session Planner: Not documented in the current pages (a Match Day tool was announced in 2022).
- Uneven squads: Saideline: Automatic parallel groups. Sport Session Planner: Not documented.
- Sharing: Saideline: Two-page PDF export. Sport Session Planner: PDF, web link, QR code, email, WhatsApp, public sharing.
- Languages: Saideline: App in German and English; prompts in any language. Sport Session Planner: Not stated on the pages we reviewed.
- Clubs: Saideline: Free month for all coaches of a club, on request. Sport Session Planner: Club and association membership with an account manager, price on request.
Where Sport Session Planner Wins
If you think visually, it's hard to beat. You control every detail of the drill, you can present it in 3D to your players, and sharing is flexible, from a QR code at the pitch to a link in a group chat. It also offers club tools such as a dashboard and coach management, and access to content from The Coaches' Voice. Its yearly price is in the same range as Saideline's annual plan, though quoted in US dollars. Over 600 organizations using it is a real track record.
Where Saideline Wins
If your bottleneck is time, designing each drill takes time too. Saideline builds the session for you, tells you how well each game form fits your request, and handles the practical side that follows: who plays where, what happens when five players cancel, and a sheet to hold on the pitch. It also lets you start with 3 free sessions, pay monthly if you prefer, and pay in euros.
Which One Should You Use?
Choose Sport Session Planner if you want to design and present sessions visually. Choose Saideline if you want a session built from your tactical request, with teams included. The two aren't mutually exclusive. Some coaches design a favorite drill in 3D and use an AI planner for the weekly session. Try Saideline's 3 free sessions and judge it on your own team. For a wider overview, see our guide to the best soccer practice planning apps, and for plans in detail our pricing guide. Looking at other tools too? Read our comparisons of Saideline vs. Coachbetter and Saideline vs. CoachFrank.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good alternative to Sport Session Planner? It depends on the job. For AI-built sessions with teams and a printable plan, Saideline is an alternative. For a free option, CoachFrank is one, and for a big drill library with courses, Coachbetter.
How does Saideline's price compare to Sport Session Planner's? Saideline costs €9/month or €90/year (incl. VAT), with 3 free sessions at the start. Sport Session Planner's individual membership is US$85 per year, with no free trial but a seven-day refund option.
Does Sport Session Planner use AI? We didn't find AI session generation described on its pages. Saideline builds sessions from your prompt with AI.
Does Saideline have 3D animations? No. Saideline focuses on building the session, teams and printable plan, not on 3D visuals.
Can clubs try Saideline before committing? Yes. Clubs can test Saideline with all their coaches for up to one month, with no obligation and no payment method needed. Directors can get in touch through the contact form in our website footer or at jens@saideline.com.
