DraftKings vs Fanduel Fantasy Football
With all the commercials blasting on the television, I am guessing you found this page because you want to know whether to play NFL football daily fantasy leagues on Draftkings or Fanduel.
Both sites provide different features and benefits so here’s a quick comparison chart to help you quickly compare the two websites.
| DraftKings | Fanduel | |
| Year Founded | 2012 | 2009 |
| Deposit Bonus | 100% | 100% |
| Minimum Deposit | $5 | $10 |
| Position Availability | 9 Players (QB,RB,RB,WR,WR,WR, TE,Flex,Def) | 9 Players (QB,RB,RB,WR,WR,WR, TE,K,Def) |
| Salary Cap | $50,000 | $60,000 |
| Rake | 10% | 10% |
| Late Swap | Yes | No |
| Scoring System | DraftKings NFL scoring | Fanduel NFL scoring |
Deposits
Draftkings wins hands down on deposits by offering a lower barrier ($5) to entry along with the ability to save your credit card information for 1 click deposits. Draftkings accepts paypal and credit card deposits. No cashier’s check, money order, personal check or bank wires are accepted.
Fanduel requires twice the investment ($10) plus you have to manually enter your credit card information for every deposit. Fanduel accepts paypal and credit card deposits. No cashier’s check, money order, personal check or bank wires are accepted.
I prefer playing on DraftKings for NFL season unless I throw a few entries into the Fanduel Millionair maker. Easier deposits is one of the many reasons I like playing on Draftkings.
Winner: Draftkings
Lineup Construction
While I love Draftkings, I must admit lineup construction is much easier on Fanduel. Why? Because Fanduel roster’s have a kicker (K) spot instead of the flex position. There is a lot of debate as to whether you should play a WR or RB in the flex spot. Also, DraftKings salaries make it harder to put together a really high scoring lineup with upside. There are so many possibilities and potential combination. You really have to study the scoring system, which I will talk about later in this article.
Fanduel, on the other hand, is much more straight forward because choosing a K is simple plus you don’t receive bonus points for 100+ rushing/receiving yards or 300+ passing yards. The key to Fanduel is to place some good value running backs and really have your WR’s go off. A fixed roster makes it easier to plug in the best players without worrying about yardage bonuses. Touchdowns are king on Fanduel.
Winner: Fanduel
Rake
Both sites have a modest 10% rake on cash games. Rake is simply the percentage of the prize pool that DraftKings and Fanduel subtract from the overall winnings as an administrative fee for hosting the contests.
Winner: Tie
Scoring System
I’m going to break down this section into several topics because you must understand this fully to have success in NFL.
PPR (Point per reception scoring)
Probably the most controversial difference between DraftKings and Fanduel is their scoring system. DraftKings is a full PPR (point per reception) that rewards a full point for every catch made by a RB, TE or WR.
Fanduel rewards half a point per reception. This is a huge difference in the scoring system so beware that certain players are great value plays on DraftKings but aren’t worth the salary on Fanduel.
Yardage Bonuses
DraftKings rewards an extra 3 pts for 100+ rushing and receiving games while Fanduel has no yardage bonuses. If all 6 of your skill positions on DraftKings have 100+ yard days, then you gain an extra 18 points over your competition. This feature alone makes DraftKings more exciting because you really need your skill players to go nuts. It adds an extra element of excitement to daily fantasy sports.
Fanduel rewards nothing for big yardage days. While it may frustrate some players, I think Fanduel wants to keep their scoring system very simple to attract a larger user base.
Quarterbacks
On DraftKings, you should lean towards Quarterbacks that run the ball often (Russell Wilson, Cam Netwon). On Fanduel, you want to lean towards heavy volume passing quarterbacks (Brady, Big Ben).
Winner: DraftKings
League Types
Both sites offer the standard variety of league types:
- Head to Head games
- GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool)
- Multipiers (Double ups)
- Fixed Leagues (3, 5, 10, 20 and 100 man leagues)
- Satellites & Qualifiers
The main difference is DraftKings offers more exciting Satellites like entries into the World Series of Poker tournaments, real life experiences, etc. Fanduel is more focused on pure cash winnings so it’s still a great place to increase your NFL bankroll.
Winner: DraftKings
Withdrawals
Both sites offer fast withdrawals via Paypal and check by mail. Most of my volume is over at Draftkings and they process Paypal withdrawals very fast (usually within 2 days max). Fanduel is also very fast and I recommend check by mail for larger payouts. I never use Paypal for more than $100 or so. Paypal is risky and I’ve been scammed before so be careful (make sure to pin protect your Paypal account to prevent hackers from stealing your money).
Winner: Fanduel
Quality of Competition
Fanduel is by far a much easier site to win NFL games on. I believe most casual DFS players play on Fanduel while DraftKings attracts a more educated, research focused player. Why? Because Fanduel caters to the average football fan while DraftKings offers massive prize pools that only a more serious player would even consider. It costs $1,000 to qualify for the DraftKings live Final. That means you are dealing with better competition that knows what they are doing.
Winner: Fanduel
Final Verdict
For complete beginners, I recommend playing on Fanduel because the learning curve is much smaller and you won’t have to worry about lineup construction because it’s a fixed roster.
When you have some success, take some time to study the DraftKings scoring system because it is a lot different. Build a few lineups by entering the weekly Free contests over at DraftKings. Once you have a good week, go ahead and move some of your volume over to DraftKings too.
It’s important to focus your money where you are getting results. If you hit big on Fanduel, then continue your hot streak until you cool off. It’s a long season so always stay focused, relaxed and enjoy the ride!
Play Daily Fantasy Football on Fanduel – Get 100% Deposit Bonus
Play Daily Fantasy Football on DraftKings – Get 100% Deposit Bonus
