Cricbuzz is still the most downloaded cricket app on Google Play, with more than 230 million installs and almost 3 million ratings. It is also the app where the free tier increasingly feels like an ad surface with a scorecard attached. Trustpilot and Reddit reviews keep returning to the same theme: too many full-screen ads, slow opens on weak networks, and a Cricbuzz Plus subscription that several users say is hard to cancel cleanly through Google or Apple billing.
This guide compares 7 of the best Cricbuzz alternatives for live cricket scores, ball-by-ball commentary, and IPL coverage in 2026. We cover speed, stat depth, ad load, and which app fits which kind of cricket fan, from casual IPL watchers to club players who score their own matches. Whether you want a cleaner overall replacement, a journalism-first archive, or a cricket app that doubles as a live streaming service, the right pick depends on how you actually use Cricbuzz today.
Why people leave Cricbuzz
- Ads on the free tier are heavy. Trustpilot reviewers call out frequent full-screen advertisements on the home screen and inside match pages, with the app sometimes loading the ad faster than the score on weak connections. The free experience has tilted further towards monetisation in recent updates.
- Cricbuzz Plus billing has a long complaint trail. PissedConsumer aggregates a 2.2 star average across 122 cricket-app reviews, with recurring themes around double billing, subscriptions that did not activate, and refund delays. Users who subscribed via Apple or Google in-app purchase report being bounced between Cricbuzz support and the store for cancellations.
- Stat depth is shallower than purpose-built alternatives. Power users on Quora and Reddit consistently note that ESPNcricinfo carries longer historical archives and that CREX shows clearer graphs and number-based insights. Cricbuzz commentary is fast and entertaining, but the tools for analysing a match in depth sit elsewhere.
- The Cricbuzz11 fantasy product has its own issues. The fantasy app shares branding with the score app but operates separately, and PissedConsumer carries a wave of complaints about KYC verification failures and withdrawal delays. Users sometimes confuse it with the main app, then leave both.
- Live streaming is gated through Willow and only covers select tournaments. Cricbuzz partnered with Willow to bring TATA IPL, ICC events, and Big Bash streaming inside the app, but the streaming tier is regionally limited and adds another paid layer on top of Cricbuzz Plus.
Which app should you choose?
-
CREX - Just Cricket if you want a clean Cricbuzz replacement with the same fast scores and clearer match graphs. It is the easiest direct switch for most fans.
-
ESPNcricinfo if you read long-form cricket journalism alongside scores. The archive and writer roster have no real equivalent on any other app.
-
Cricket Line Guru if you want the fastest live line on the screen. It is built around speed and deep stats rather than editorial content.
-
JioHotstar if you mainly use Cricbuzz to watch matches. JioHotstar holds the IPL digital streaming rights in India and adds scores and stats around the live feed.
-
IPL by BCCI if the IPL and the Indian team are the only matches you care about. The official BCCI app covers fixtures, squads, and points tables without the third-party cricket noise.
-
FanCode if you want streaming plus scores in one app. It carries a wider sports menu including football and motorsports, with cricket pass options for many tours.
-
CricHeroes if you play cricket yourself. It is a free scoring app for club, school, and weekend teams with international-grade scorecards.
Stay on Cricbuzz if you have a Cricbuzz Plus subscription you actively use, you rely on the Cricbuzz Originals video shows, or your team uses Cricbuzz commentary as the working source of truth at home. The free app remains usable, especially with an ad blocker on Wi-Fi, and the commentary team is one of the strongest in the category.
Need more detail? Each section below covers what the app does well, where it falls short, pricing, and direct download links.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free tier | Standout feature | Streaming inside the app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CREX - Just Cricket | Clean overall replacement | Free with ads | Number-based commentary insights | Select India matches via FanCode partnership |
| ESPNcricinfo | Cricket journalism and archives | Free with ads | Statsguru and writer archive | No |
| Cricket Line Guru | Fastest live line and stats | Free with ads | Pin score widget and graphs | No |
| JioHotstar | Streaming-first viewers | Free signup, paid for IPL | Multi-camera IPL feed, AI insights | Yes, full IPL and ICC events |
| IPL by BCCI | Official IPL and India team | Free | Official squads, fixtures, points table | No |
| FanCode | Streaming plus scores combo | Free with paid passes | Per-tour pass model | Yes, many cricket tours |
| CricHeroes | Amateur cricket scoring | Free | International-grade local scorecards | Self-streaming via OBS |
1. CREX - Just Cricket: best clean Cricbuzz replacement
CREX is the most straightforward switch for Cricbuzz users who want the same speed without the same ad weight. The app holds a 4.6 rating across more than 550,000 reviews on Google Play, with the most-cited praise being commentary that “explains everything simply and clearly” and stat insights that surface on the same screen as the score. The interface mirrors Cricbuzz’s tab layout (Home, Matches, Series, News, More), which makes the migration almost invisible.
Coverage is at parity with Cricbuzz across IPL, T20 World Cup, ICC tournaments, the Ashes, and major domestic leagues like BBL, PSL, and SA20. Where CREX pulls ahead is the visual layer: win probability, partnerships, and run-rate graphs are easier to read than Cricbuzz’s text-heavy match pages. The app supports English, Hindi, and Bengali, and a Discussions feature added in early 2026 lets fans react inside the match thread.
CREX vs Cricbuzz on day-to-day use comes down to ad density and graph quality. CREX shows ads on the free tier, but they are smaller and less intrusive than Cricbuzz’s full-screen interstitials. CREX Premium removes ads entirely for a modest monthly fee.
Advantages:
- Number-based commentary insights presented inline with the score
- Cleaner match pages with readable graphs and partnership tables
- Three-language support: English, Hindi, Bengali
- Discussions feature for live match conversation
- Premium tier removes ads at a modest price
Disadvantages:
- Some users report notifications going silent without warning
- Live streaming is limited to select India matches via FanCode
- News and editorial coverage is lighter than Cricbuzz or ESPNcricinfo
- Smaller writer roster than the established cricket sites
Pricing: Free with ads. CREX Premium adds an ad-free experience for a modest monthly subscription.
2. ESPNcricinfo: best for journalism and archives
ESPNcricinfo is the cricket fan’s reference desk. The site has been the journalism backbone of the sport for decades, and the app keeps the same Statsguru engine that lets you query career stats by venue, opposition, format, or era. For deep cricket research, no other app comes close.
Live coverage is excellent across men’s and women’s Tests, ODIs, T20Is, first-class, and List A cricket. Match pages include scorecards, ball-by-ball commentary, partnership trackers, and writer-led match reports that Cricbuzz does not match for length or perspective. The trade-off is that commentary updates lag Cricbuzz by a small margin, with users on Quora estimating roughly two balls of difference during heavy traffic.
ESPNcricinfo vs Cricbuzz is a real choice between speed and depth. Cricbuzz updates faster ball-by-ball; ESPNcricinfo wins on archives, long-form, and the kind of stats fantasy analysts actually use to build squads.
Advantages:
- Deepest cricket archive of any app, going back decades
- Statsguru engine for custom career and match queries
- Long-form writer coverage with no real equivalent elsewhere
- Detailed scorecards, partnerships, and bowling spell breakdowns
- Backed by Disney/ESPN with stable rights and infrastructure
Disadvantages:
- Live ball-by-ball updates run a small margin behind Cricbuzz
- Interface design feels less polished than CREX or Cricbuzz
- Ads on the free tier are present, though less interruptive than Cricbuzz
- Notifications are less granular for live match milestones
Pricing: Free with ads. No premium tier required to access stats or commentary.
3. Cricket Line Guru: best fast live line and stats
Cricket Line Guru, recently rebranded to Cricket Guru in some markets, is built around speed. Score updates land on the screen with very little lag, and the app pins live scores as a notification or floating widget so you can keep watching cricket while doing something else on the phone. The app has more than 326,000 ratings on Google Play with a 4.5 average.
The deeper attraction is the stats layer. Cricket Line Guru ships extensive batting and bowling breakdowns, partnership graphs, and head-to-head comparisons across players, teams, leagues, and tournaments. Coverage stretches across IPL, ICC events, BBL, PSL, BPL, ILT20, The Hundred, women’s cricket, and domestic series. A premium tier removes ads and adds a Pin Score feature for ongoing matches.
Cricket Line Guru vs Cricbuzz is the trade between editorial polish and raw speed. Cricbuzz reads like a magazine; Cricket Line Guru reads like a stats terminal.
Advantages:
- Score updates land with very low lag, ahead of most rivals
- Pin Score widget keeps live scores visible while you use other apps
- Deep batting, bowling, partnership, and head-to-head stats
- Wide tournament coverage including domestic and women’s series
- Premium tier removes ads and unlocks the Pin Score feature
Disadvantages:
- News and editorial coverage is thinner than Cricbuzz
- Free tier ads are present, especially around match start
- Interface design is functional rather than polished
- Some users report battery drain when Pin Score is left on for hours
Pricing: Free with ads. Cricket Guru Premium adds an ad-free experience and Pin Score for a modest monthly subscription.
4. JioHotstar: best for live cricket streaming
JioHotstar is the merged form of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, launched in February 2025 and now the only platform with IPL digital streaming rights in India. If your main use of Cricbuzz is checking the score during an IPL match, the simpler answer in 2026 is to watch the match itself on JioHotstar with score widgets and AI insights overlaid.
The 2026 IPL season runs from 28 March to 31 May with 74 matches across ten teams. JioHotstar carries every game in Full HD, with 4K Ultra HD on supported plans, plus multi-camera angles (Hero Cam, Stump Cam, Field View) and live stats overlays. The platform also holds rights to ICC events, BBL, SA20, Women’s Premier League, Premier League football, and other premium sports. Many Jio, Airtel, Vi, and BSNL prepaid plans bundle JioHotstar at no extra cost.
JioHotstar vs Cricbuzz is not a like-for-like comparison: one is a streaming platform, the other a score and commentary app. The point is that for IPL viewers, JioHotstar replaces Cricbuzz’s role as the second screen entirely.
Advantages:
- Exclusive IPL digital streaming rights in India
- Multi-camera feeds, AI insights, and live stats overlays
- Bundled into many Jio, Airtel, Vi, and BSNL prepaid plans
- Covers ICC events, BBL, SA20, WPL, and Premier League football
- Watchable on phone, tablet, smart TV, and casting devices
Disadvantages:
- Free IPL streaming ended before IPL 2025; matches are paid only
- Ad-supported tiers run frequent breaks during innings changes
- Sign-in and bundle activation can be confusing across telcos
- Not a substitute for ball-by-ball commentary if you cannot stream video
- Streaming quality and feature set vary by plan
Pricing: Free signup. Paid plans tier across Mobile, Super, and Premium options at monthly, quarterly, and annual cycles, with telco bundles offering several months free.
5. IPL by BCCI: best for official IPL and Indian team coverage
The IPL app, published by Pulse Innovations under the BCCI’s licence, is the official source for IPL fixtures, squads, points tables, and team news. For 2026 the app received a refreshed design with cleaner typography, reorganised menus, and improved navigation aimed at the start of the new season. It carries 10 million-plus downloads on Aptoide.
Coverage focuses tightly on the IPL and the Indian cricket team, which is the strength and the limit. You get sanctioned squad lists, official venue notes, the orange cap and purple cap leaderboards, and editorial content cleared by the BCCI. There is no live streaming inside the app (that sits on JioHotstar) and very little international coverage outside India tours. For fans whose attention is the IPL season and India’s home and away series, this is enough.
IPL vs Cricbuzz is a focus question. Cricbuzz casts a wider net across leagues and journalism; the IPL app stays inside the franchise.
Advantages:
- Official BCCI source for fixtures, squads, and points tables
- Refreshed 2026 design with cleaner navigation
- Authoritative team news and player communications
- Light app size (around 30 MB) with low memory footprint
- Free with no subscription tier
Disadvantages:
- Coverage is limited to IPL and Indian cricket; no global tours
- No live streaming inside the app
- News content is editorially conservative compared to independent apps
- Live commentary is thinner than Cricbuzz, CREX, or ESPNcricinfo
Pricing: Free.
6. FanCode: best for streaming and scores in one app
FanCode is the live sports app from Sporta Technologies, a Dream Sports company (the same group behind Dream11). It carries more than 160 million registered users and 50 million-plus downloads. The app combines live streaming with ball-by-ball scores, ranking it as a one-stop alternative for fans who use Cricbuzz for both updates and matches.
Cricket coverage on FanCode varies by tour, sold either through subscription or per-tour passes. Recent and ongoing seasons include Indian T20 League, World Test Championship, SA20, ILT20, Lanka Premier League, plus England and India home tours. Beyond cricket, the app streams LaLiga and Carabao Cup football, Formula 1, MotoGP, ATP tennis, Pro Kabaddi, and more. The fantasy and stats layer is solid for Dream Sports users.
FanCode vs Cricbuzz works for fans who want fewer apps. The trade-off is the per-tour pass model: rather than one Cricbuzz Plus subscription, FanCode access depends on which tournament you want to watch.
Advantages:
- Live streaming plus ball-by-ball scores in a single app
- Wide sports menu beyond cricket (football, F1, MotoGP, tennis, kabaddi)
- Per-tour passes let you pay only for the cricket you actually watch
- High-definition streaming with low-latency feeds on stable networks
- TV pairing and casting support for big-screen viewing
Disadvantages:
- Pass model can add up if you follow many tournaments
- Customer support and OTP login complaints recur on Google Play reviews
- Cricket rights vary by tour; some major tournaments are not available
- Ads appear inside non-paid sections of the app
Pricing: Free signup. Per-tour and subscription passes are priced per tournament; bundles for cricket plus other sports are available.
7. CricHeroes: best for amateur and club cricket
CricHeroes is built for the cricket Cricbuzz does not cover. The app lets you score local league, club, school, and weekend matches with international-grade scorecards: Wagon Wheel, Manhattan, Worm, Run Rate, MVP, and partnership graphs included. With 40 million-plus users and 10 million-plus matches scored, it is the largest grassroots cricket platform anywhere.
For organisers, the app handles tournament management end to end: an auto-schedule generator, points tables, leaderboards, NRR calculator, boundary trackers, and a dedicated tournament page. Players get a public cricket profile with batting and bowling stats, badges, and city, state, and national leaderboards. CricHeroes also follows official competitions of more than 50 ICC associations and 23-plus BCCI state associations, so the line between amateur and pathway cricket sits inside the same app.
CricHeroes vs Cricbuzz is not really a comparison. Cricbuzz covers the cricket you watch; CricHeroes covers the cricket you play.
Advantages:
- International-grade scorecards for amateur and club matches
- Wagon Wheel, Manhattan, Worm, and run-rate analytics
- Free tournament management with auto-schedule and NRR calculator
- Player profile with batting, bowling, and city/state leaderboards
- Self-streaming via OBS or VMix for local match broadcasts
Disadvantages:
- Not built for professional match tracking; international fixtures are an afterthought
- App size is around 100 MB, larger than score-only apps
- Some advanced analytics live behind a PRO Club tier
- Onboarding has a learning curve for new scorers
Pricing: Free for scoring, tournaments, and most analytics. PRO Club tier adds extra features for paying users.
How to choose between these Cricbuzz alternatives
Pick CREX if you want the cleanest direct switch from Cricbuzz. The score speed is comparable, the interface is more readable, and the ad load is noticeably lighter even on the free tier.
Pick ESPNcricinfo if you read about cricket as much as you watch it. The archive and writer roster are unmatched, and Statsguru is a tool no other app replicates.
Pick Cricket Line Guru if you want the score on the screen as fast as possible, with deep stats one tap away. The Pin Score widget is the best in the category for following matches while you do other things.
Pick JioHotstar if your main reason to open Cricbuzz is the IPL or ICC events. Watching the actual match makes the score app redundant for those tournaments.
Pick IPL by BCCI if your cricket attention is the IPL season and the Indian team. The app is light, official, and free, and it does not pretend to be anything else.
Pick FanCode if you want one app for cricket plus other sports. The pass model takes some setup, but it consolidates streaming and scores in a way Cricbuzz cannot.
Pick CricHeroes if you actually play cricket. Use it alongside one of the other apps; it is the only one of the seven built for the local match you scored on Saturday morning.
Stay on Cricbuzz if Cricbuzz Originals, the existing Plus subscription, and the commentary team form the core of how you consume cricket. The free tier ads are heavy, but the editorial layer is still one of the strongest in the category.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a better app than Cricbuzz? For most users in 2026, CREX is a better daily app than Cricbuzz on the free tier because the ads are lighter and the match graphs are clearer. ESPNcricinfo is a better app for journalism and archives, and JioHotstar is a better app if your main use is watching the IPL. The honest answer depends on whether you want speed, depth, or live video.
Which is the fastest cricket score app? Cricbuzz, CREX, and Cricket Line Guru are the three apps users consistently rank as fastest for ball-by-ball updates. ESPNcricinfo runs roughly two balls behind during heavy traffic, while official apps like IPL by BCCI focus on news rather than live commentary speed.
Where to watch IPL 2026 from these alternatives? JioHotstar is the only platform with IPL digital streaming rights in India for 2026. FanCode carries select cricket tours but not the IPL itself. Cricbuzz offers IPL streaming through its Willow partnership in some regions, but only for paid subscribers.
Is Cricbuzz Plus worth it? Cricbuzz Plus removes intrusive ads (except inside live broadcasts) and unlocks Cricbuzz Originals, exclusive editorial articles, and the Fantasy Handbook. It is worth it for heavy daily users of the app, but the cancellation flow and billing complaints on PissedConsumer and Trustpilot are a real risk to weigh.
What is the best free Cricbuzz alternative? ESPNcricinfo is the strongest free pick because the entire archive, Statsguru, and live commentary work without a paid tier. CREX is a close second, with a free experience that is lighter on ads than Cricbuzz’s free tier.
Which Cricbuzz alternative is best for fantasy cricket? CREX includes free fantasy tips by experts including Aakash Chopra, and ESPNcricinfo’s stats are widely used by fantasy analysts. For the actual fantasy contests, Dream11 sits inside the Dream Sports group alongside FanCode and is the largest fantasy cricket app in India.
Which app lets you score your own local cricket match? CricHeroes is the only app on this list built for that. It produces international-grade scorecards for amateur matches, supports tournament management, and lets you live-stream local games using OBS or a phone camera.
Sources
- Cricbuzz - Live Cricket Scores on Google Play
- Cricbuzz reviews on PissedConsumer
- Cricbuzz reviews on Trustpilot
- How to cancel Cricbuzz subscription (Postclic)
- CREX - Just Cricket on Google Play
- Best apps like Cricbuzz (BR Softech)
- Best live cricket scoring apps like Cricbuzz (Fantasy App Solutions)
- Is Cricbuzz the best app for cricket scores (Quora)
- JioHotstar IPL 2026 streaming guide (WPLeague)
- JioHotstar plans and IPL 2026 (Entertainstar)
- How to watch IPL 2026 live on TV (Croma Unboxed)
- IPL official app on Aptoide
- CricHeroes on Google Play
- FanCode on Google Play
