Alternatives to ESPN: Live Sports & Scores
By App Store Tracker Editorial · Updated — live App Store data verified
The short version
ESPN delivers live scores, news, highlights, and streaming across major sports. Reviewers value the coverage but complain about ads and constant TV-provider re-logins. For scores and news, theScore is the closest swap with a 4.82 rating across 834,000+ reviews, and CBS Sports adds live streaming and alerts at a 4.72. ESPN Fantasy is the pick for fantasy leagues. The list ranks by embedding similarity and live App Store ratings.
The app you searched for
Disney
People look for ESPN alternatives when ads pile up, when the app keeps asking them to re-verify a TV subscription, or when they want cleaner scores and news. Reviews praise ESPN's breadth of coverage but flag streaming login hassles and heavy advertising. The picks here mostly do the same core job: follow live scores, stats, news, and highlights across leagues, with some offering live game streaming, fantasy, or brackets. Several are ESPN's own companion apps for fantasy, cricket, brackets, or events. A couple are regional sports services. We ranked these picks by embedding similarity to ESPN's scores-and-news model, then weighed live App Store ratings and review counts so you can tell major sports apps from niche ones. Most are free for scores, but streaming live games typically needs a subscription or TV login, so check what each requires before relying on it.
Why it's similar
Both come from ESPN and Disney, sharing the same sports data and ecosystem. Each centers on engaging with sports you follow.
How it differs
ESPN Fantasy Sports is for drafting and managing fantasy teams and prediction games, not live scores and streaming. With a 4.78 rating across 1,944,251 reviews it is a companion to the main ESPN app rather than a scores-and-news replacement.
JIOSTAR INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED
Why it's similar
Both are ESPN-branded sports apps delivering fast scores and wide coverage. Each provides live match data.
How it differs
ESPNcricinfo is cricket-only, covering IPL, the Ashes, and World Cups for cricket fans, a single-sport focus unlike ESPN's multi-sport breadth. With a 4.71 rating across 35,892 reviews it serves cricket followers specifically.
Score Media and Gaming Inc.
Why it's similar
Both track sports scores and news, with theScore Bet adding live betting odds. Each keeps fans on top of the action. Reviewers note customer-service and withdrawal gripes on the betting side.
How it differs
theScore Bet is a real-money sportsbook and casino, not a free scores-and-news app, so it centers on wagering. With a 4.83 rating across 218,347 reviews it is a betting product rather than ESPN's editorial coverage.
Why it's similar
Both deliver live scores, customized team alerts, news, and live game streaming across major leagues. CBS Sports is a close scores-and-streaming rival. Reviewers praise its box scores and broad sport coverage.
How it differs
CBS Sports streams from CBS and Paramount+ rather than ESPN's networks, so the live-game lineup differs. With a 4.72 rating across 828,091 reviews it is a strong, similarly-scoped alternative with its own broadcast rights.
Why it's similar
Both offer live scores and sports streaming for fans following events. Each centers on watching and tracking sports.
How it differs
Setanta Sports serves Eurasian and European markets with live football streaming, so its coverage and availability are regional. With a 3.81 rating across only 81 reviews it is small and not US-focused like ESPN.
Why it's similar
Both carry the ESPN brand and relate to ESPN's sports operation. Each is an official ESPN app.
How it differs
ESPN Events is an event-companion app for agendas, maps, and event passes at ESPN-run events, not a scores-and-news app. It has no public ratings and cannot follow live games, a brand-string match rather than a sports-tracking alternative.
Why it's similar
Both come from ESPN and Disney and tap the same sports ecosystem, here around college basketball. Each engages fans with sports.
How it differs
ESPN Tournament Challenge is a March Madness bracket game, not a live scores-and-news app, so it is seasonal and contest-focused. With a 4.71 rating across 43,970 reviews it is a companion bracket product rather than ESPN's full coverage.
Why it's similar
Both deliver daily sports news, scores, results, and video for fans following major events. Each keeps you updated on the action.
How it differs
Eurosport focuses on European sports like cycling, tennis, and motorsports with its own broadcast content, so coverage skews overseas. With a 3.5 rating across 6,174 reviews it is regional and lower-rated than ESPN.
Why it's similar
Both deliver live sports coverage, scores, and streaming for major events. Each is a destination for following games.
How it differs
NBC Sports streams events from NBCUniversal networks like Premier League and Olympics coverage, a narrower broadcast scope than ESPN's wide reach. With a 4.56 rating across 438,048 reviews it covers NBC's specific rights rather than ESPN's full slate.
Score Media and Gaming Inc.
Why it's similar
Both deliver news, scores, stats, and video across NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, soccer, and more. theScore is the closest free scores-and-news rival here.
How it differs
theScore offers a clean, customizable scores-and-news experience without ESPN's heavier ad load and streaming login friction. With a 4.82 rating across 834,483 reviews it is a well-loved, focused alternative, though it does not stream live games like ESPN.
Every app in our database carries a dense vector embedding derived from its title, subtitle, full description, and category metadata. To find apps similar to ESPN: Live Sports & Scores, we compute cosine distance against every other app and surface the closest 60 candidates. The similarity score shown on each pick is 1 - distance/2 clamped to [0,1] — 100% means the embedding spaces are identical, 0% means orthogonal.
We then re-rank the candidate set using current App Store rating and review-count signals so a 4.8-star app with 100,000 reviews ranks above a 4.5-star app with 200 reviews even when their embedding distance is similar. Apps that haven't shipped an update in 12 months are filtered out before re-ranking.
The similarity cache is recomputed weekly. Live App Store data (rating, review count) is verified every 6 hours.
No paid placements. No affiliate links. No sponsored picks. Read our full methodology.
More popular iPhone apps with curated alternative lists, each ranked by embedding similarity, rating, and category fit.
