It’s a rivalry as old as Jacob and Esau, Scipio and Hannibal, Brady and Manning — the contest of DraftKings vs. FanDuel is the defining battle of the sports gaming industry. Whether it’s their DFS products or their sportsbooks, DraftKings and FanDuel are rarely mentioned in a sentence without the other immediately following it. And that begs the question: When it comes to sports betting, which provides the better user experience? Here we will review DraftKings vs. FanDuel across several categories to help you determine which sportsbook better suits your betting needs.
What Is the Difference Between DraftKings and FanDuel?
Choosing the right sportsbook for you largely depends on your preferences, including the markets you enjoy, your risk tolerance, and the overall user experience of the mobile app. What one bettor values highly might be unimportant to another. Instead of declaring whether FanDuel is better than DraftKings or the other way around, let’s explore the factors that differentiate them so you can make an informed decision.
DraftKings vs. FanDuel: Market
Markets for FanDuel and DraftKings are virtually identical. There may be some nuance in the super-niche offerings and the bets available within each market, but for the most part, you are going to be able to find what you are looking for at both sportsbooks. Any discrepancy between the two is negligible.
What matters more is what value you get from the odds on any particular bet, which is where shopping price across the two books becomes important — and where OddsShopper is going to be your best resource. Luckily, we have a market-based EV results evaluator that helps us determine which book performs better for any given type of bet.
As an example, here is the actual ROI for users who bet points props based on odds two hours to game start on both DraftKings and FanDuel for the full 2023-24 NBA season:
What this tells us is that, per our OddsShopper model, users who bet these points props on DraftKings earned an above-average return on investment when they bet on DraftKings, whereas FanDuel returns were below average. Now, this can obviously vary between markets (game lines vs. props, etc.), but in general, DraftKings lines are slightly more user-friendly. That gives them the slightest edge in market value despite the two sportsbooks having nearly identical offerings.
DraftKings vs. FanDuel: App & Site Functionality
The apps for these sportsbooks are well-regarded and user-friendly. For detailed reviews, you can check out the FanDuel and DraftKings apps.
FanDuel prioritizes simplicity and user experience, making it less prone to glitches and crashes compared to DraftKings, which is more complex and feature-rich. If you prefer more features and can handle occasional clunkiness, DraftKings might be better for you. However, for a polished, straightforward experience, FanDuel is likely the better choice.
That said, when it comes down to it, both apps do what they do exceptionally well and are, by all accounts, the two best sports betting apps on the market. Responsiveness is high for both, glitches are kept at a minimum and everything is laid out in an intuitive and user-friendly manner.
In general, neither sportsbook objectively stands out from the other; it’s more a matter of personal preference.
DraftKings vs. FanDuel: Promos and Rewards
FanDuel and DraftKings both have ongoing promotions:
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $200 PLUS 1 Month of NFL+ Premium
- FanDuel: Bet $5 Get $200 in Bonus Bets + 3 Weeks of NFL Sunday Ticket
Basically, these two sportsbooks are working with the same offer: Bet and get for $200 and a free subscription to a separate NFL package. Since DraftKings gives you only one more week of NFL+ Premium than FanDuel provides of NFL Sunday Ticket, it comes mostly down to which subscription service you want more. Personal preference is you guide here.
DraftKings vs. FanDuel: Legal States
The final factor is the availability of FanDuel and/or DraftKings for betting in your location. While both sportsbooks are accessible online in most states with legalized sports betting, here is a list of states that host either FanDuel, DraftKings or both:
| State | FanDuel? | DraftKings? |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Yes | Yes |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes |
| Connecticut | Yes | Yes |
| Illinois | Yes | Yes |
| Indiana | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa | Yes | Yes |
| Kansas | Yes | Yes |
| Kentucky | Yes | Yes |
| Louisiana | Yes | Yes |
| Maine | No | Yes |
| Maryland | Yes | Yes |
| Massachusetts | Yes | Yes |
| Michigan | Yes | Yes |
| New Hampshire | No | Yes |
| New Jersey | Yes | Yes |
| New York | Yes | Yes |
| North Carolina | Yes | Yes |
| Ohio | Yes | Yes |
| Oregon | No | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes |
| Tennessee | Yes | Yes |
| Vermont | Yes | Yes |
| Virginia | Yes | Yes |
| West Virginia | Yes | Yes |
| Wyoming | Yes | Yes |
| Washington D.C. | Yes | No |
It’s not a major discrepancy, but DraftKings does have three more legal states than FanDuel has. Are they major markets? Not necessarily, but residents of Maine, New Hampshire and Oregon account for 7 million Americans, and they are pleased to have a sportsbook available in DraftKings. That said, FanDuel can take some solace in the fact that they are the sole sportsbook provider in Washington D.C. — that’s 670,000 citizens, dropping DraftKings’ lead to around 6.3 million. DraftKings still wins here.
Conclusion
While from a product quality standpoint these two sportsbooks are pretty much neck and neck — both apps are the tops of the industry and provide as good a user experience as possible — what we are looking at here is how advantageous each book is for our customers. In that case, DraftKings gets the edge due to the slightly more extensive list of legal states and, most of all, more advantageous odds. FanDuel is undoubtedly a great sportsbook and deserving of its status as No. 1 in the United States. But if you want to build your bankroll and maximize your ROI with a sportsbook, DraftKings is the place to do that.
