ClubElo vs beyondELO: Two Football Elo Ratings Compared
ClubElo rates clubs in every division; beyondELO rates European clubs and their players, with uncertainty shown. What each does best and when to use which.
If you searched for ClubElo, you probably want one thing: a number that says how strong a football club is right now. ClubElo and beyondELO both give you that number, and both use Elo. They differ in what they rate, what they show next to the number, and what you can do with it.
Short answer: use ClubElo for the widest club coverage, including second and third divisions. Use beyondELO when you care about European competition: club ratings that blend UEFA and top-flight form, player ratings, rating uncertainty you can see, and a simulator that runs any match or competition on those ratings.
At a glance
| ClubElo | beyondELO | |
|---|---|---|
| Clubs rated | Every division of many European leagues | More than 1,200 clubs from all 55 UEFA countries |
| Matches counted | Domestic league and cup, plus European cups | UEFA club competitions plus 28 domestic top flights |
| Player ratings | No | Yes, more than 8,000 ranked players |
| Uncertainty shown | Yes, as a ± range on each rating change | Yes, a rating deviation on every club and player at match level |
| Match odds | Win, draw and loss for upcoming fixtures | Any match, including clubs from different seasons |
| Season simulation | Title, European places and relegation odds per league | Replay or project a season or a whole competition, 10,000 runs |
| Languages | English | English, Spanish, French, German, Turkish, Chinese |
| Data download | A free CSV API has been offered; on 4 October 2026 it returned errors and the fixtures feed read "Fixtures API deactivated" | No public download yet |
Coverage: wide or deep
ClubElo's strength is breadth. It rates clubs below the top flight, so you can look up Norwich or Coventry next to Manchester City. If your question is about a Championship or 2. Bundesliga side, ClubElo is the better tool.
beyondELO only rates clubs that have played European football, from the 55 UEFA countries. In exchange, every one of them has a full profile: rating history, peak and low, head-to-head records, its European runs season by season, and its rated squad. See the club rankings for the full table.
How the two ratings move
Both are Elo systems at heart. A win against a stronger side earns more than a win against a weaker one, home advantage is priced in, and the margin of victory matters.
ClubElo prints its working for every match: prior rating, home advantage, expected result and the change, each with a ± range.
beyondELO adds a few layers, all documented on the methodology page:
- Match importance. A Champions League knockout moves a rating more than a group game.
- Uncertainty. Each club carries a rating deviation. A club that rarely plays in Europe has a wider one, so its rating moves faster when new results arrive.
- Domestic and European form together. Top-flight results keep a club's rating current between European nights, weighted by the strength of the league.
Players, not just clubs
This is the clearest difference. ClubElo rates clubs. beyondELO also rates footballers, from the same match results. You can rank players by position, follow a player's rating across transfers, and compare two players head to head. Start at the player rankings.
Predictions and simulation
ClubElo gives win, draw and loss probabilities for upcoming fixtures and simulates each domestic season's title and relegation race.
The beyondELO simulator runs on the live ratings and goes further on European competition. Simulate one match, a league season or a whole Champions League, Europa League or Conference League campaign up to 10,000 times. You can also replay a past season or pit clubs from different eras against each other.
Which one should you use?
| You want to... | Use |
|---|---|
| Rate a lower-division club | ClubElo |
| Follow a club's European strength over time | beyondELO |
| See player ratings | beyondELO |
| Get title and relegation odds for a domestic league | ClubElo |
| Simulate a Champions League campaign | beyondELO |
| Read ratings in a language other than English | beyondELO |
Many people use both. ClubElo is the long-standing reference for broad club coverage. beyondELO is built for European football: clubs and players, with the uncertainty visible and a simulator you can run yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Is beyondELO the same as ClubElo?
No. They are separate projects. Both use Elo-style ratings, but they rate different sets of clubs, count different matches and show different things.
Why do the two sites rank clubs differently?
They count different matches and weight them differently. ClubElo includes every domestic game in every covered division. beyondELO weights European matches by their importance and blends in top-flight results. Both orders are defensible; they answer slightly different questions.
Does beyondELO rate clubs outside Europe?
No. beyondELO covers the 55 UEFA countries only.
How often do the ratings update?
beyondELO ratings update after each match day, and the rankings board refreshes every hour.