Best Sorare 26 Beginner’s Guide & Tutorial [How to Play]

If you’ve been wondering how to play Sorare in 2025, I believe my Sorare beginner’s guide is the best place to start. As an experienced manager with over a 3-year experience playing the game every week, I consider myself to be in a good position to help you avoid costly mistakes and become competitive right away!

The truth is that the Sorare game has evolved massively since its creation back in 2019. What we have today is vastly different from what the game was 6 years ago – or even a year ago!

But worry not – after reading this Sorare tutorial, you’ll be up to date with the current format which will put you in a good position for both short and long-term success on the platform.

What is Sorare & how does Sorare work?

Before we move on to discussing the gameplay and strategies, it’s important to answer the question: what is Sorare? Sorare was founded in 2019 by two French football-mad engineers, Nicolas Julia and Adrien Montfort.

At a glance, Sorare looks like a fantasy football game mixed with trading cards. But once take a closer look, you realize it’s much more. It’s part strategy game, part football manager, part collectible economy. And it rewards skill, planning, and smart player scouting.

As someone who’s been in the game for over 3 years, I’ve seen Sorare grow from a niche experiment into a full-blown global fantasy ecosystem.

Because of the unique concept, fully licensed digital cards and attractive prizes, the game has been consistently growing its popularity all around the globe and continues to lure high-profile investors such as the arguable world’s best football player, Kylian Mbappe, or one of the best-ever female tennis players, Serena Williams.

Each Sorare card is a digital asset. You can buy, sell, and trade them, just like real-world football stickers or baseball cards. But here’s the twist: they’re usable. Every card you own can be entered into weekly fantasy contests. If your lineup does well, you win rewards — from tradeable cards to real money to exclusive prizes.

Your cards aren’t just pretty pictures. They’re strategic weapons, investment pieces, and your ticket to the top of the leaderboards. You buy licensed digital cards that represent real footballers (or NBA, or MLB players) and use them to compete in tournaments where player performance in real life dictates your score.

The game starts you out with a set of free Common cards so you can practice 100% risk-free, but if you want to compete in more advanced tournaments, you’ll need to get your hands on the rarer versions.

The aim of the game is to score more points than your opponents by fielding the best possible selection of players out of your collection of player cards. The better the players are, and the better they perform in real life, the more points you’ll score and the bigger your chance of claiming money or card rewards.

How to start Sorare?

Before you can jump into the Sorare card-trading marketplace and start building your dream squad to compete for awesome rewards, you need to create an account. The registration process is pretty straightforward and quick.

You can register at Sorare by creating an account with your email address, Gmail account or your Apple ID. As a new user, you’re guaranteed an exclusive welcome bonus of $150 in credits to spend on the platform when you register with my partner link. You can do so instantly by clicking here – or read more about the Sorare sign-up offer.

A screen similar to the one you see above should appear after clicking on the aforementioned link. Here you should enter your desired manager name. This is what others will see when coming across your team on the leaderboards or trying to trade cards with you.

You can easily change the manager name after you register, so don’t stress out too much about it!

If your selected name is available, you’ll be directed to the next step (as seen in the image above) where you’ll need to:

• confirm you’re 16 years old or older (yes, there’s a minimum age requirement to play Sorare)
• agree to Sorare’s Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
• choose whether you want to register with an email, Google account, or Apple

💡 PRO TIP: if you already created an account without using my welcome offer, it’s not too late! You can simply create a new account with a different email address and be granted the $150 credit bonus offered exclusively to SorareCEO readers. It really gives you a big advantage when starting to build your gallery and also supports my content.

Make sure your password is strong enough, as you will be using it to log in to your account & access the Sorare marketplace.

Once you’re registered, you’ll be able to set up your profile (uploading an avatar and background image), as well as verify your email address and phone number. The verification process is important as it allows you to fully use the Sorare marketplace to buy, sell, or trade cards with other players.

The onboarding: first look inside Sorare

After opening the account and logging in for the first time, you’ll land in the “home” section of Sorare. This is the place where everything starts – LITERALLY 🙂

In the top left you’ll find quick links that allow you to:

• check all your past, current and future line-ups (“My Lineups“)
• scout for new players that you think can help you become successful (“Scout“)
• head over to the market to buy new cards (“Market“)
• browse your card gallery as it is right now (“My Cards“)

At the bottom there’s a quick summary of your bank balance, as well as a recap of your in-game items:

• Essence
• XP bonus(es)
• Gems

I’ll explain each of these later in this Sorare beginner’s guide.

The middle section is a quick peek at the most fun part of Sorare – your line-ups (please don’t judge my team visible above – it wasn’t supposed to be good anyway…).

Here you’re presented with your best-performing team (again – please don’t judge) in the GameWeek that is currently LIVE.

This section also allows you to prepare for the upcoming Gameweek by selecting from the list of available competitions below the “UPCOMING GW” header. We’ll talk more about the Sorare competitions further down the article.

Finally, on the right side of the screen you’ll find:

• your current Hot Streaks progress (more about this later)
• list of Daily and Weekly Missions (I call them side quests 🙂 )
• live scores of games involving cards from your gallery
• and the latest posts from Sorare’s official blog

By now you should be more or less familiar with what awaits you in your first minutes on the platform.

But how to actually start playing? It’s time to dive into Sorare game modes.

Game modes: Free vs Pro

Sorare 26 is the most advanced version of the game to date and it distinguishes between two main game modes:

• Sorare free-to-play mode
• Sorare Pro, which has two separate modes itself: In-Season and Classic

If you’re a complete newbie, starting your journey with the free-to-play mode would be a wise move. Let’s have a look at how it works below before moving on to the “paid” versions of the game.

Sorare Free-to-Play

Whenever someone I know asks me how to play Sorare successfully and where to start, my answer is always the same: begin by learning the basics in Sorare’s Free-to-Play mode.

Why, you might ask? Because this way youcompletely eliminate any costs associated with improving your “know-how”. After few weeks you will get better and then feel way more confident about investing funds!

Luckily for new managers like you, the Free-to-Play mode is available throughout the year. It’s called the Sorare Academy and it perfectly mimics the core gameplay of Sorare Pro, which is where all the “paid customers” compete.

You can start your free game in a few steps.

STEP 1: Click on the “Market” link in the left site of your screen and then on “Common Packs” in the top menu section (see screenshot below).

STEP 2: Select your preferred competition to get a free pack of Sorare common cards from the desired region. For example, you can pick a pack of English Premier League players or a regional pack of players from the other top leagues in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, and Spain).

STEP 3: Your selected pack will open, revealing 10 players from which you will have to pick your first team in the upcoming GameWeek.

STEP 4: Compose your first free 5-card line-up consisting of a goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, forward and one extra player that can be any outfield position. When ready, click on “Confirm Lineup”.

Step 5: Depending on how well your team performs on the leaderboards, you will earn free-to-play mode items – Gems and/or Essence. With them you will be able to improve your team, selecting from a variety of available Sorare packs. Also, as a free user you will be given one free Daily Pack per day consisting of additional player.

Now that you have understanding on how to play Sorare for free, let’s move on to the core game mode – Sorare Pro.

Sorare Pro

This is where the real fun (but also investment) starts. This mode is designed for users who already understand the concept of the game and feel confident enough buying their first cards.

Sorare Pro is divided into two modes:

• In-Season (SO5)
• Classic (SO7)

S05 is the main competitive format on Sorare and it’s where most of the serious managers focus their weekly strategy. That’s because it’s the only place on the platform where you can win money (anywhere between $5 to $10,000+ every week).

SO7 is Sorare’s alternative game mode. a seven-a-side fantasy football format that offers more flexibility but doesn’t pay cash directly. Rather, it rewards the top players with new cards, Essence (in-game currency), and market credits.

Unlike S05, S07 is open to cards from any season. That makes it an excellent way to get value from older cards sitting in your gallery.

Now that you have a general understanding of the differences between Sorare In-Season and Classic, let’s now compare the two modes in detail.

Sorare Pro: In-Season vs Classic

	In-Season (S05)	Classic (S07)
Lineup Size	5 players	7 players (5 in Arena)
Cash Prizes	✅	❌
Card Eligibility	Mainly in-season cards	All seasons
Reward Types	Cash, Essence, XP	Cards, Essence, XP
Best Use Case	Cash-focused users with more to spend	Users with big galleries or smaller budgets

As you can see in the above overview, the differences between the two modes are quite notable. But there are additional contrasts between them, eg. the types of competitions covered in each game mode.

Find the in-depth comparison below.

In-Season mode (SO5)

If you’re aiming to win cash prizes on Sorare, S05 is the mode you need to master. In-Season means that the vast majority of cards in your lineups need to be from the current season. To be precise, you need a minimum of 4 in-season cards in your 5-player lineup, with a maximum of one Classic card (Old Season) allowed.

As an example, to compete in the In-Season English Premier League competition for the 25/26 season, you need 4 Manchester City players from the 25/26 card collection and 1 Liverpool player from any of the previous seasons.

Your In-Season lineup consists of:

• 1 Goalkeeper
• 1 Defender
• 1 Midfielder
• 1 Forward
• 1 Additional outfielder (any non-GK position)

Each card scores based on their real-world match performance. This includes both decisive actions (like goals or assists) and all-around contributions (passes, duels, defensive work).

Sorare’s matrix is built on Opta stats, giving it depth that rewards more than just flashy attackers. I’ll explain the Matrix in the latter part of this Sorare beginner’s guide.

Depending on where your lineup finishes on the leaderboard, with In-Season competitions you can win:

• Cash rewards
• Essence (in-game currency)
• XP bonuses to boost your card levels

SO5 Hot Streaks

On top of leaderboard prizes, S05 includes a built-in progression system called Hot Streaks. These are bonus rewards for hitting score thresholds in back-to-back gameweeks.

The longer your streak continues, the bigger the payout. During certain promos (especially early in the season), Hot Streaks offer enormous multipliers (sometimes up to 5x your reward value). If consistency is your strength, Hot Streaks are your playground.

SO5 Competitions

SO5 competitions are a mix of league-specific tournaments (eg. German Bundesliga) and regional competitions consisting of the so-called lesser leagues.

For the 2025/2026 season (Sorare 26), In-Season competitions are the following:

• English Premier League
• German Bundesliga
• French Ligue 1
• Spanish La Liga
• Eredivisie
• Jupiler Pro League
• Major League Soccer
• Challenger (Scottish Premiership, Austrian Bundesliga, Turkish Super League, Liga Portugal, Danish Superligaen)
• Contender (Korean K League 1, Japanese J League, Norwegian league, Croatian league, Argenitnian league, 2. German Bundesliga, French Ligue 2

Classic mode (SO7)

S07 is a seven-a-side fantasy football format that offers more flexibility but doesn’t pay cash directly.

Classic lineup structure includes:

• 1 Goalkeeper
• 2 Defenders
• 2 Midfielders
• 1 Forward
• 1 Extra outfield player (any position)

Unlike S05, S07 is open to cards from any season. That makes it an excellent way to get value from older cards sitting in your gallery.

This mode rewards:

• New In-Season cards
• Essence (in-game currency)
• XP boosts
• Market credits

Classic competitions

Unlike the In-Season game that offers a long list of competitions, the Classic mode is limited to three core tournaments:

• All-Star – Any player from any team globally
• Champion Europe – cards from top 5 leagues only (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1)
• U23 – Only players who were 23 or younger as of July 1st of the current season. It’s my favorite, because it’s packed with wonderkids and a perfect playground for scouts who follow youth development closely 🙂

🏟️ Classic Competition update: From the 2025/2026 season, Sorare is introducing a brand new competition for our Classic cards – the Arena.

Unlike the other Classic competitions discussed above in which you are up against thousands of other lineups, the Arena offers a way more compact competition. It’s just you vs 9 other managers. You submit one lineup, pay a small Essence fee, and battle it out. If your squad outscores the others, you win rewards. Simple as that.

Here’s how it goes:

1. Pick an Arena competition — different ones run based on card scarcity (Limited, Rare, etc.), points cap, and region
2. Submit a team of 5 cards: GK, DEF, MID, FWD, and one Extra (just like S05)
3. Pay the small entry fee in Essence (100 or 250 Essence)
4. You’re matched with 9 other managers in your bracket
5. If you finish in the top 1–3, you earn more Essence

You can join multiple Arenas per week… it’s a repeatable grind loop. For newer or casual players, it’s one of the most accessible ways to earn.

Arena doesn’t offer cash payouts or new card rewards like leaderboard competitions. Instead, it’s focused on Essence.

• 1st place: highest Essence payout
• 2nd–3rd place: smaller Essence rewards
• 4-5th – XP bonuses
• Everyone else: No reward, but no penalty beyond entry fee

Arena might not get as much hype as the big-paying tournaments, but it’s quietly one of the most efficient ways to grow your Sorare gallery… especially for managers without deep pockets.

Sorare Scoring Matrix Explained

As I’ve already mentioned, the scoring of cards you collect and use in prize-filled tournaments is based on the real-life performances of footballers during specific matches. This is known under the fancy name of Sorare Scoring Matrix.

Sorare’s scoring system is designed to accurately reflect a player’s in-game contribution and is regularly updated to make sure it stays as close to reality as possible.

I would be lying if I said that it’s super straightforward and easy to grasp – it’s not.

But that’s what makes it even more exciting. And the better you understand the mechanism of the Matrix, the more equipped you will be to find the right players for your system, and the bigger the chance you will have of succeeding in the weekly tournaments.

I’ve already written an ultra-detailed guide to Sorare Scoring Matrix but the information you find below should give you a decent grasp of how it works. Enough to get you started anyway.

So, how is the Sorare score calculated?

A player can score between 0 and 100 points, with 0 being the absolute horror show of performance and 100 a true match-winning display. A player will also get 0 points if his contribution to the game has been marked as DNP (Did Not Play).

The 0-100 point scale is made up of two components:

• Decisive Score
• All-Around Score

The final score of the player is Decisive Score (DS) + All-Around Score (AAS) [or + zero if AAS is below 0 (negative)].

Let’s now look into how both of them work for you (or against you!).

Decisive Score

As the name suggests, this score is based on important, decisive contributions to the game. All players start at Level 0 Decisive Score.

DECISIVE SCORE
POSITIVE	NEGATIVE
Goal	Red card
Assist	Own goal
Penalty won	Penalty conceded
Clearance off the line	Error leading to goal
Clean sheet (only keepers)
Penalty saved (only keepers)
Last man tackle

Level 0 equals 35 points for a player that plays in the game (either a starter or as a substitute later in the game).

From the moment the player starts taking part in the game, his Decisive Score can either be improved with decisive, positive contributions or decreased with decisive, negative contributions. Each positive impact levels up the score and each negative impact levels it down.

The maximum positive Level a player can reach is 5 while the maximum negative Level is -3.

• Level -3 = 0 points
• Level -2 = 5 points
• Level -1 = 15 points
• Level 0 = 35 points
• Level 1 = 60 points
• Level 2 = 70 points
• Level 3 = 80 points
• Level 4 = 90 points
• Level 5 = 100 points

What’s crucial in this scoring system, if a player finishes the game on Level 1 (for example, he had 0 negative contributions and assisted a goal), he will have a minimum player score of 60 regardless of whether his All-Around Score metrics are negative.

If his All-Around Score is bigger than 0, it will just add to his overall Player Score but if he manages -5 in the All-Around Score, his final Player Score can’t drop below 60.

Naturally, the same rule applies to all the other levels above 0.

All-Around Score

While the Decisive Score is easier to track and is based on just 11 decisive contributions to the game, the All-Around Score consists of, well, everything else.

It includes 40 different match events (passes, tackles, blocks, etc.) that are being monitored by Opta (the leading provider of live sports data) and Sorare’s team of analysts.

The level of importance of each event is different and each event has also a different weighting according to the player’s position. For example, a won tackle for a defender or midfielder will get him extra 3 points but since it’s not the job of a forward, the reward is 0.

Lineup composition tips

The process of lineup creation is something you can go through up to two times a week, depending on your gallery size. Gameweeks run during the weekend (Friday to Tuesday) and midweek (Tuesday to Friday). Submit your teams before the deadline and you’re in. Miss the deadline, and you have to sit out.

Every Sorare lineup (whether you’re playing S05, S07, or Arena) follows the same core rule: your team must include cards covering five specific roles. These are:

• 🧤 Goalkeeper
• 🛡️ Defender
• 🎯 Midfielder
• ⚽ Forward
• 🔁 Extra

This structure forces you to think beyond “best available.” Unlike some fantasy games where you can stack midfielders or load up on attackers, Sorare requires balance… and that adds a serious layer of tactical thinking.

One of the biggest mistakes I see new managers make is going after tricky attackers and ignoring the important of balance when it comes to the Scoring Matrix. As you already know, Sorare’s scoring matrix values both decisive actions (goals, assists, clean sheets) and all-around play (passes, duels, recoveries).

That means a defender who completes 90% of his passes and wins aerial duels can outscore a forward who doesn’t get involved in buildup. Context and role matter.

Here are some general tips for picking your players:

• Goalkeepers: Always check recent clean sheet form and save volume. Don’t overspend unless it’s a guaranteed starter.
• Defenders: Center-backs who pass a lot or fullbacks involved in attack… both are matrix-friendly.
• Midfielders: Look for playmakers, box-to-box engines, and CDMs on high-touch teams. These players score a lot of points.
• Forwards: Prioritize minutes and involvement over name value. A consistent 60-point striker is better than a boom-or-bust star.
• Flex: This is your strategic slot. Use it to double up in your strongest position or hedge with a safe midfielder.

Picking your captain

In every lineup, you must assign a captain. That player gets a 50% bonus multiplier, so he can literally make or break your lineup.

Nailing your captain choice is often the difference between finishing 35th and in the podium. A strong captain performance with the bonus stacked on top can send your score skyrocketing.

Here are some of my top rules for picking the right captain:

• Prioritize high-floor players: midfielders with strong all-around scores are ideal in risky matchups
• Look for set-piece takers and penalty duties
• Check predicted lineups and injury reports before locking in
• Stack captain picks with good matchups – weak opposition boosts upside

Fixture research

Fixture research is often ignored by casual managers… and that’s a mistake. Always check:

• Home vs away fixtures (players usually score better at home)
• Rotation due to midweek action in the Champions League, Europa League or the Conference League
• Opponent form

Even elite players can perform poorly if they’re rotated or stuck against a tough defensive setup. Planning a week ahead gives you an edge and protects against last-minute chaos.

Card & lineup bonuses

By now you know that your player can score between 0 and 100 points in the Sorare Scoring Matrix. But how well your player scores in the Matrix is one thing and how much bonus points he can accumulate is another.

For Sorare 26, we differentiate between two main bonus types:

• Card bonuses – bonus % applied to individual cards. Includes Scarcity Bonus, In-Season Bonus, XP Bonus, Collection Bonus, Captain Bonus
• Lineup bonuses – bonus % applied to all cards in a given lineup. Includes Multi-Club and Cap bonuses

Below I’ll explain each bonus type individually.

Scarcity Bonus

Each card scarcity has its own bonus.

• Common – 0%
• Limited – 5%
• Rare – 10%
• Super Rare – 20%
• Unique – 50%

Here it’s important to note that although you can play your cards in scarcities below (eg. Rare in Limited competitions), in such cases the scarcity bonuses don’t apply. They’re only active if you play the card in the scarcity it belongs to. This ensures level playing field for everyone.

In-Season Bonus

This bonus is a guaranteed 5% to everything your player scores and it applies to all In-Season cards.

Since all cards released for the current season will have this bonus, the upside is minimum – unless you plan to play your In-Season cards in Classic competitions (but this doesn’t make much sense from a financial standpoint).

XP Bonus

This bonus ranges anywhere from 0 to 10%. All Sorare cards have Levels ranging from 0 to 10 and each level gives you additional 1% in your bonus score.

You can accumulate XP bonus in two ways:

• by playing your cards in lineups – for a 5-player lineup, the total base score (base score = without bonuses) of the lineup is divided by 5 and that’s the XP won by your card in the given Gameweek. It works analogically for a 7-player lineup – the total base score of that lineup is divided by 7 and each card gets an equal share of points.
• by applying XP boosts to your cards – pretty self-explanatory. You can level up your cards with XP boosts. As you already know, XP boosts are a form of rewards in Sorare Pro competitions and also the Daily/Weekly Missions. You can win 200, 500, or 1000 boosts and stack them together.

It’s relatively easy to get to the first few levels but the higher the level, the more time – or a bigger XP boost – it will take to level up your card.

Take a look at the table below to better understand the XP levels on Sorare.

Level	XP to next level	Accumulated XP	XP Bonus
0	0	0	0
1	200	200	1%
2	400	600	2%
3	600	1200	3%
4	1000	2200	4%
5	1500	3700	5%
6	2000	5700	6%
7	3000	8700	7%
8	5000	13700	8%
9	7500	21200	9%
10	10000	31200	10%

Collection Bonus

Sorare Collection Bonus is a system built around assembling club-specific albums.

Each licensed club on Sorare has its own collection per season and rarity. By collecting cards from a specific team and season, you earn a Collection Score. The higher your score, the bigger the Collection Bonus applied to every player from that album in your lineups.

Each eligible card in a collection contributes points based on the following:

• 10 pts – Baseline (applies to all cards)
• 30 pts – #1 Serial or Jersey Match
• 20 pts – Special Edition
• 20 pts – first owner of the card
• 20 pts – the card hasn’t been listed on the secondary market for the last 30 days

Album Total Score	Collection Bonus
0 – 34 pts	0%
35 – 99 pts	1%
100 – 249 pts	2%
250 – 499 pts	3%
500 – 749 pts	4%
750+ pts	5%

Captain Bonus

As already touched upon in the lineup composition section above, this is a 50% bonus applied to the player card you select as your captain.

Multi-Club Bonus

Also called the Multi-Team Bonus.

It’s a lineup boost that rewards variety. To activate it, your team must include players from at least three different clubs, with no more than two cards from the same club.

If you qualify for the Multi-Club bonus, all the cards in your lineup will get an additional 2% boost.

Cap Bonus

The Cap Bonus in Sorare gives your lineup a score boost if your team’s total L15 cap (average score over the last 15 games) stays under a set limit. The current cap equals 260 points for 5-player lineups and 370 for 7-player lineups.

It’s a reward for managers who build efficiently with budget-friendly players. Instead of leaning on expensive stars, this bonus encourages strategic depth and clever roster construction.

Card scarcities

Card scarcity in Sorare is what sets the platform apart from traditional fantasy football games. Instead of using a shared player pool, you actually own individual cards. And only a fixed number of each player is minted per season!

These digital cards are categorized by rarity. Each tier has its own color, supply limits, gameplay restrictions, and reward access. The rarer the card, the more exclusive the tournaments and prize pools it unlocks.

In short, each next scarcity is more expensive because it allows you to compete against smaller number of people. You basically pay more to have a bigger chance of winning.

Common (Gray)

Commons are free-to-play cards. You’ll receive a set of them when you create your account and complete the onboarding process (as discussed in the previous section).

They’re perfect for beginners. They let you learn the rules, enter starter competitions, and get familiar with the platform without spending a cent.

Commons are non-tradeable and can’t be sold or entered into paid competitions. But they’re a great way to dip your toes in before deciding how much to invest.

Limited (Yellow)

Limited cards are the official entry point to Sorare’s paid ecosystem. Each player can have a maximum of 1,000 Limited cards minted per season (though Sorare often releases far fewer).

Most new managers start here. Limited cards are affordable, liquid, and ideal for building your first real squad. With newly-released version you can win cash, cards, or market credits just by finishing high on leaderboards.

Rare (Red)

Rare cards are the next tier up. They’re the gateway to Sorare’s higher-level gameplay. Each player has up to 100 Rare cards per season, making them 10x scarcer than Limiteds.

Rare cards unlock access to higher prize pools and are often required to enter competitions that offer bigger cash payouts and better Hot Streak bonuses. Most serious managers eventually transition here once they grasp the fundamentals.

Super Rare (Blue)

Super Rares are limited to just 10 copies per player per season. They’re high-cost, high-reward assets aimed at managers looking to dominate premium competitions.

They’re entered into merged competitions with Unique cards.

Unique (Black)

Unique cards are the rarest items on Sorare. Only one Unique is minted per player each season. That’s it. These cards are often collector’s pieces, high-level strategy tools, or trophies in themselves.

These cards are usually held by elite managers or deep-pocketed collectors.

Which scarcity to choose?

The scarcity that will be the best for you will depend on your budget, goals, and how you want to approach the game.

When it comes to my experience, over the years I’ve found the sweet spot lies in a blend of Limited and Rare cards. Here’s why:

• Affordability: You can build competitive teams without breaking the bank
• Flexibility: Rares allow entry into top-tier tournaments, while Limiteds fill roster gaps
• Liquidity: Both card types have healthy activity on the secondary market

Whether you’re flipping cards, chasing Hot Streaks, or building long-term collections, these tiers give you the most control and room to grow. I still use Rares weekly… and they remain the backbone of my strategy.

Sorare Essence, the in-game currency

Essence is a reward system that complements the platform’s card-based economy. Essence isn’t tied solely to leaderboard ranking. Instead, it’s earned gradually across a wide range of game modes.

Once you’ve collected enough, you can use Essence to craft Sorare cards. These crafted cards are just like any other: fully playable, tradeable, and sellable on the secondary market.

You can also use Essence to enter the Arena tournaments in which you compete against a smaller number of managers (usually 9).

Each card scarcity has its own Essence, meaning you will collect different colors of Essence depending on which cards you play with.

How to earn Essence

Sorare allows you to accumulate Essence in nearly every part of the game:

• Daily/Weekly Missions: Complete objectives like scoring a decisive action
• Arena Mode: Compete against 9 other players using Pro cards — win or finish in the top 3 to earn more Essence
• SO5 Tournaments: On top of cash rewards, the In-Season tournaments also pay good number of Essence
• S07 Tournaments: While they don’t pay cash, they reward consistent players with cards, Essence and XP
• Vaulting: Sealing unused cards into your vault gives you permanent multipliers on all Essence earnings

Because you earn it even when you don’t win the top leaderboard prizes, Essence is ideal for building your gallery steadily (especially if you’re still learning the game or building gallery depth).

How crafting works

Crafting is the process of turning your saved-up Essence into a real card. Once you hit the required Essence threshold (1000 Essence), you can enter the crafting menu and draw a new card for you gallery.

After hitting the “Craft” button, 10 cards will appear on your screen – face-down. Here you can immediately pick one of the cards to reveal it, or spend more Essence on additional clues, eg. the nationality of the player, or the club/league he plays in.

Essence and crafting give you another path to success. If you’re entering lineups consistently but falling just short of prizes, crafting is an alternative way to improve your card gallery. Over time, you can accumulate enough Essence to craft multiple cards per month. That is especially if you’re playing both S05 and S07 formats, running Arena lineups, and completing daily or weekly missions.

Card Vaulting

Vaulting is Sorare’s version of a burn-and-reward system. You take cards you’re no longer using and lock them away permanently. In return, you earn something even better: vault points.

These points accumulate and unlock passive reward multipliers on:

• Cash payouts from competitions
• Market credits earned through rewards
• Essence

The Vault Levels range between 1 and 20. Level 1 gives you 1% boost on all your rewards, while Level 20 improves your winnings by 20%.

In simple terms: the more you vault, the more rewards you earn going forward across the entire platform.

How to vault cards?

Inside your Sorare gallery, there’s a dedicated vaulting interface. Here’s the process:

1. Select a card you no longer use – maybe a benched backup, retired player, or out-of-season piece
2. Choose to seal it
3. That card is now gone. No selling. No using. You can unseal just 1 card per 14 days.
4. In return, you receive vault points based on the card’s value. The more valuable the card, the higher the vault points

Who should vault cards?

At first glance, vaulting looks like something only big-time managers do… the ones with hundreds of cards and disposable depth. But the truth is, anyone with a growing gallery can benefit.

If you’ve played for more than a few months, you probably have:

• Old cards whose teams got relegated
• Players who lost their starting role
• Cards you regret buying that never broke out

Instead of letting them rot in your gallery, seal them and get compounding value in return. You’re not just cleaning house… you’re boosting your future earning power.

Sorare guide to buying, selling & trading

Playing in tournaments is one way of utilizing Sorare but card trading is equally important (well, at least judging by my own experience).

It’s important to know where and when to buy/sell cards.

How to buy cards on Sorare

Just like I mentioned before, to start competing in top-tier tournaments filled with cash and card prizes, you will have to start assembling a team of scarce cards (Limited, Rare, Super Rare or Unique). The easiest tournaments to get in that also require the smallest investment (recommended for new Sorare players) are the Limited Card tournaments.

So, how to get cards in Sorare?

There are four ways you can acquire Limited cards on Sorare (or any other scarcity for that matter).

• New Card Auctions
• Instant Buys
• Manager Sales
• Direct Offers

Let’s go through all options below.

New Card Auctions & Instant Buys

The New Card Auction market is the place where you will find all the freshly-minted cards from the most recent season. This means that you will be the first owner of any card you get from this market.

The price of these player cards starts at roughly $2 but can quickly skyrocket depending on how popular the player is, how good the card looks, and whether it’s eligible for upcoming games. The auctions last for anywhere between a couple of hours to even a few days.

New Auction Market can be a source of great bargains. Most of the time, it’s possible to buy cards cheaper than on the Instant Buy market which is a convenient one-click purchase option.

Since all the cards in the Auction & Instant Buy market are from the current season, they all come with a guaranteed multiplier bonus of between 5%.

Manager Sales

Manager Sales are part of the Secondary Market where you can buy cards from the current and previous seasons. These are pre-owned cards that are put up for sale by their current owners.

Here the prices depend on various factors such as a card’s scarcity, season, and accumulated XP. Usually, cards from previous seasons are cheaper than the current season’s cards because they don’t have the same multiplier bonus and they’re not eligible for In-Season competitions (well, you can have only 1 Classic card out of 5 cards in your lineup).

The good thing about Manager Sales is that you can buy any card you want without having to wait for an auction to end. Secondary market cards are also likely to be cheaper since they offer less Collection points.

Direct Offers

If the particular player you’re looking for isn’t currently available on the New Card Auction market or via Manager Sales, you can always make a Direct Offer to any owner and see if he’s willing to part ways with the card.

All you have to do is type the player’s name in the search bar and then on the player’s page select “Card Supply”. After clicking on any card, you will see a “Trade” button and that’s where you can send a direct offer to the owner.

How to sell Sorare cards

Alternatively, you can also put your card(s) up for sale in the Secondary Market. This is a great way to get some of the funds back and also get rid of cards that you don’t want to use anymore.

Or maybe, just maybe, your player has found brilliant form and you want to make a massive profit on the back of his great performance.

So, how to sell a card on Sorare?

To do this, you will have to go to “My Cards”.

Now all you have to do is click on the player’s card you wish to sell and then click “List My Card”.

Finally, you set the price and confirm the listing.

All the cards you put on sale are listed for 7 days by default (you can shorten that to anywhere between 1 and 6 days).

If nobody fancies paying the price you’re asking for, the card will return to your roster and you can list it again (maybe for a smaller price this time).

What’s also important to note, should you change your mind during the duration of the listing, you can always cancel the sale at any time. As of now, canceling listings before planned expiration doesn’t come with any fee or penalty.

Keep in mind that it’s important to list your card at a competitive price since there are many other sellers in the market as well.

💡 Important to know: If your card sells, there’s a 5% transaction price which goes into Sorare’s pockets.

Trading tips

Apart from competing for weekly cards and cash prizes, trading is another way many use Sorare for generating profits. Below you can get familiar with some of the basic trading strategies practiced regularly by thousands of Sorare managers.

Like with any type of trading the golden rule is to buy low and sell high. However, that is easier said than done especially when it comes to Sorare.

So how can we maximize our chances of scoring a bargain and then selling it for a huge profit?

Well, first you need to understand that the price of Sorare cards depends on the demand. Normally, the higher the performance of the player, the bigger the demand and consequently the price.

So what type of players to invest in, when to invest in them, and when to sell?

Investing in injured stars

One of my favorite strategies for successful trading on Sorare is investing in star players that are currently out of the game because of injuries.

Kylian Mbappe is a great example of such a player. When fit, there’s no way he’s left on the bench. Considered one of the best players in the world, the French International has a guaranteed starting place in basically any football team in the world.

The strategy of investing in injured players is profitable but only when it comes to medium-term injuries. That’s because if a player misses a single game, the price difference will be minimal. On the other end of the spectrum, you don’t want to target players that will miss most of the seasons since their price is likely to take a massive hit after the card turns from In-Season (competing for money prizes) to Classic (competing for cards).

Once the player is back from injury, you can list it on the secondary market and count on really good profits.

Investing in young talents

If you are fine with the idea of long-term trading, a solid strategy is to invest in young talents that are at the gates of first-team football.

If you have good knowledge about a particular league and are familiar with all its biggest talents that are not playing regular first-team football yet, you are at an advantage.

Promising young players come with the Under 23 sticker and are highly valued because of their long utility in the game.  Once they start participating regularly in the first team, their prices will skyrocket and that will be the perfect moment to sell.

Investing in players about to change clubs

Those of you who are into transfer gossip or have credible sources in the game can be a step or two ahead of the rest of the market. 

Players who you should be monitoring are those who are rumored to be leaving in the near future.

But not all transfer deals will be profitable for Sorare managers. A player’s price will increase only if his chances of scoring high points after the transfer will increase. 

The two most popular scenarios in this case are:

• The player leaves a medium-to-bottom tier club and moves on to a top club in the same league (ie. moving from Southampton to Manchester City)
• The player leaves a strong league and moves to a club from a lesser league where scoring high points is easier (ie. moving from Chelsea to Rangers)

In the ideal scenario, you should buy the players just before it becomes common knowledge that the transfer will happen, and sell them just when the deal is announced.

Investing in backup goalkeepers

Goalkeepers are the most sought-after players in the game because their number is much more limited.

While players in other positions are in the tens of thousands, most of the teams only have two to three goalkeepers in their ranks. 

Hence, it’s a good idea to invest in backup goalkeepers and sell them when the first-choice keeper gets injured, serves a suspension, is about to change clubs, or has simply lost his place because of poor form.

End-of-season purchases

When a particular season comes to an end, the prices will drop as well.

You can buy such cards during the so-called end-of-the-season discount phase and resell them for likely profit once the season restarts.

FAQ regarding this Sorare tutorial

Since posting this Sorare beginner’s guide, I’ve received additional questions from the readers.

To make this Sorare tutorial even more complete and easy to grasp, below find the FAQ section.

How to get into Sorare?

The best way to get into Sorare is by signing up via my link since you will be getting as much as $150 in credits to spend on your first cards. After clicking on the link, you will be redirected to the Sorare website where you can create your account. The registration process is pretty straightforward and won’t take more than a couple of minutes.

Once you’re done, make sure to follow all the tips & tricks listed in this Sorare beginner’s guide to get as much fun and success as possible out of the game.

How to play Sorare for free?

Many newbies wonder: can you play Sorare for free?

The platform doesn’t discriminate against people who don’t want to spend money on cards. There are weekly Common Card (free) tournaments for users who want to show their skills without spending any money. The tournaments don’t have cash prizes but they can still win you some alternative rewards at 0 cost.

How to make money on Sorare?

There are two ways of earning money on Sorare.

The first way is to participate in the weekly In-Season tournaments and win cash prizes.

The second way is to trade player cards. Buy low, sell high is the mantra here.

How much money can you make on Sorare?

This will greatly depend on your skill.

Looking at the roosters of the leading players and the profits the best traders make on the platform, you can hit good numbers with the right strategy.

The more you play and the more experience you gain in the process, the higher your chances are of becoming one of the top dogs in Sorare and making serious money.

How much do you need to start Sorare?

The platform requires 0 investment for players who want to participate in fantasy football tournaments for Common cards.

But how much to invest in Sorare if you actually want to compete for awesome rewards?

If you want to participate in tournaments with attractive prizes, you will have to spend anywhere from dozens to hundreds to even thousands of dollars, depending on the card scarcity you want to start with.

I recommend starting out with minimal investment into Limited Cards to learn your trade and work your way up from there.

How much do Sorare cards cost?

The price of a Sorare card will depend on many factors but its scarcity is the biggest one.

Limited cards can be bought even for as little as $0.50 while the most sought-after Unique cards can cost well into four figures!

What is the meaning of Sorare extra player?

The extra player completes the 5-card requirement of your So5 line-ups in In-Season competitions and the 7-card requirement of your So7 line-ups in the Classic competitions.

When it comes to football, it can be a player of any position on the field apart from a goalkeeper.

What is the meaning behind “DNP”?

Sorare DNP’s meaning is simple.

The “DNP” abbreviation stands for “Did Not Play” and is assigned to all players that haven’t featured in any of their team’s last 15 games.

Why is the Sorare points system called the Matrix?

I guess it’s because it’s probably a bit complicated. There are tens of variables that contribute to the final score of your teams and it takes time to familiarize yourself with the Matrix.

The Sorare scoring system is for no mugs!

Is Sorare worth it?

This is a tough question to answer. The game can be extremely fun and rewarding but it also requires dedication, time, and money to get good at it.

So if you’re willing to put in the effort, Sorare can definitely be worth your while!

Is Sorare safe?

Yes, Sorare is a safe and secure platform.

The company takes data protection and user safety seriously. All transactions on the site are encrypted and the company employs multiple layers of security to keep its users’ information safe.

The Sorare team is constantly working on improving the platform’s security so that its users can have the best possible experience.

What are Sorare rules on multi-accounting?

The platform states clearly that a person shouldn’t own more than 1 account.

The reason for this is simple: having multiple accounts puts you in an advanced position over others since you can submit multiple teams for the same competitions and therefore have a bigger chance of rewards.

When caught, multi-accounting is likely to lead to a ban.

How to deposit into Sorare?

If all the exciting information above has whetted your appetite and you’re now eager to get your first card, you might be wondering how you can actually deposit money into Sorare and start buying your favorite players.

Compared to how it looked when the platform was making its baby steps, now there are many more options to do so which ensures that all the players can start having fun within minutes of a sign-up.

You can fill your Sorare wallet using a credit/debit card or a bank transfer, as well as via Paypal.

If you’re already familiar with cryptocurrency and have some Ethereum laying around, then you can use any of the ETH wallets compatible with Sorare: Metamask, Wallet Connect, Portis, Coinbase Wallet & Opera.

Whatever option you go for, you can expect the funds to be available and ready for use in your Sorare wallet within few minutes.

How to withdraw money from Sorare?

Alternatively, you might want to cash out your profits from being a great Sorare manager.

You can do so in minutes using exactly the same options as for depositing.

How to buy packs on Sorare?

At the time of writing, it’s not possible to buy Sorare packs.

Instead, you can find Bundle Offers in the New Cards Auction market. They consist of 5 players from the same team.

How to claim Sorare rewards?

Rewards for your participation in weekly tournaments are handed out usually within a few hours after the Game Week has finished.

Once your reward is ready, the notification bell in the top-right corner of the Sorare website will turn red to let you know.

Is Sorare gambling?

Despite gambling regulators in the United Kingdom accusing Sorare of being an undercover gambling platform in 2021, there’s no substance to the claim whatsoever.

The reason behind this is that, at no point in time, are you actually risking anything when playing your cards on Sorare. Since all the cards are assets that you can’t lose and all the tournaments you enter don’t require any entrance fees in the form of money, there’s simply no way that Sorare can be classified as gambling.

The only thing you technically gamble with is the future value of the card you’re buying but then again, the values of all physical and digital assets fluctuate over time.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do your own due diligence before investing any money into the platform but, as things stand, you have nothing to worry about from a gambling perspective.

Is the Sorare Reddit community worth joining?

Absolutely!cThe community is constantly growing and you can find a lot of useful content there – from Sorare starting tips to more advanced strategies.

It’s generally a cool place to exchange information about the game. Check it out here.

How does Sorare make money?

Since the Sorare membership is free, the only way the company earns money at the moment is via the New Card Auction and Instant Buy sales.

A small portion of Sorare’s earnings is attributed to the 5% market fee Sorare managers need to cover for selling a card on the secondary marketplace.

How many Sorare licensed clubs are there?

As things stand, there are more than 300 officially licensed football clubs on the Sorare platform. The number is growing every year.

How many users does Sorare have?

The Sorare user database is constantly growing but the company hasn’t released any official numbers yet.

However, looking at how many participants there are in the weekly tournaments, we can easily estimate that the user base is in the hundreds of thousands.

How to delete Sorare account?

To delete the Sorare account, you have to go to Profile > Settings and click the red-highlighted “Delete My Account” button.

Keep in mind that this is a permanent decision and you will not be able to recover your account or any of the data associated with it.

Sorare Beginner’s Guide: Final Word

Hopefully, this Sorare tutorial has given you a good overview of what the platform is all about and how you can get started with it.

To sum up, Sorare is a fantasy sports game that uses digital cards of mostly football players. The game is free to play but you will need to buy some scarce player cards in order to participate in tournaments with cash and card prizes.

The cards can be bought in the Primary Market (New Card Auctions and Instant Buys), as well as Secondary Market, or won as prizes in weekly tournaments.

The aim of the game is to score points by playing your cards in weekly matches. The more points you score, the higher up the leaderboard you’ll climb and the bigger the rewards.

If you’re looking for a fun and unique way to get into fantasy sports and revive your love for football (or NBA or MLB), then Sorare is definitely worth checking out!

I made sure to get the subject of Sorare explained in the best way possible. However, if you feel this Sorare beginner’s guide is missing any information, feel free to drop me an email and I will get back to you/update the article as soon as possible. Alternatively, feel free to read my Sorare review for additional clues.