An odds screener is a tool that displays betting lines from multiple sportsbooks side by side, letting you instantly see which book offers the best price for any given bet. It's the sports betting equivalent of a price-comparison engine—and it's one of the simplest ways to increase your long-term profitability without changing anything about your handicapping.
WagerWiz offers a free odds screener that covers major U.S. sportsbooks across NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college sports, soccer, and more. This guide shows you exactly how to use it.
Why Comparing Odds Matters
Most casual bettors pick one sportsbook and bet every game there. This is one of the most expensive habits in sports betting. Different books regularly offer different odds on the same game, and those differences add up fast.
Here's a concrete example. Suppose you want to bet the Buffalo Bills moneyline in an NFL game:
| Sportsbook | Bills Moneyline | $100 Bet Payout |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | -145 | $168.97 |
| FanDuel | -140 | $171.43 |
| BetMGM | -150 | $166.67 |
| Caesars | -138 | $172.46 |
| ESPN BET | -142 | $170.42 |
If you bet $100 at Caesars (-138) instead of BetMGM (-150), you'd collect an extra $5.79 on a winning bet—for the exact same outcome. That's a 3.5% difference on a single wager.
Now scale that across an entire season. A bettor placing 500 bets per year who consistently takes the best available line instead of an average line can expect to save 2–4% on total volume. On $50,000 in annual handle, that's $1,000–$2,000 in additional profit—or reduced losses—just from line shopping.
This is why professional bettors never place a bet without checking multiple books first. An odds screener makes that process instant.
How to Access WagerWiz's Free Odds Screener
The odds screener is available to all WagerWiz users, including free accounts:
- Go to thewagerwiz.com
- Create a free account or log in
- Click Odds Screener in the main navigation
No sportsbook accounts need to be linked. WagerWiz aggregates publicly available odds data from all supported books and displays them in a unified comparison table.
Selecting Sports and Leagues
The screener supports a wide range of sports and leagues. Use the sport selector at the top of the page to filter by:
- Football: NFL, NCAAF (college football)
- Basketball: NBA, NCAAB (college basketball)
- Baseball: MLB
- Hockey: NHL
- Soccer: EPL (English Premier League), La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, Champions League
- Other sports: UFC/MMA, tennis, golf, and more as available
Select one or more leagues to view. The screener defaults to showing today's games for your selected sports, with options to view upcoming days as well.
Reading the Comparison Table
The core of the screener is the odds comparison table. Each row represents a game, and each column represents a sportsbook. You can toggle between spreads, moneylines, and totals. Here's an example moneyline view:
| Game | DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | -175 | -170 | -180 | -168 |
| BUF | +150 | +145 | +155 | +148 |
Caesars has the best favorite price (-168) while BetMGM has the best underdog price (+155). The screener highlights the best available odds in each row so you don't have to scan manually. The same logic applies to spread and totals views, where you're comparing both the number and the juice across books.
Identifying the Best Odds
The screener automatically highlights the best available odds for each selection in the comparison table. This visual indicator lets you instantly see which sportsbook to use for each bet without doing any mental math.
When multiple sportsbooks tie for the best price, all tied books are highlighted. If you have accounts at several highlighted books, choose based on other factors like available promotions, remaining betting limits, or loyalty programs.
Filtering by Sportsbook
Not every bettor has accounts at every sportsbook. Use the sportsbook filter to show only the books where you have funded accounts—DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN BET, Fanatics, BetRivers, Hard Rock Bet, and Pinnacle are all available. Enable only your books, and the screener will recalculate which of them offers the best line for each game, so every highlighted cell is immediately actionable.
Live vs. Pregame Odds
The screener supports both pregame and live odds. Pregame odds—available from the moment lines post until game time—are where line shopping provides the most value. Live odds update during games and have wider margins, but comparing them across books can still reveal significant discrepancies during stoppages or between periods. Toggle between views at the top of the screener.
Using the Screener for Line Shopping
Line shopping is the practice of checking multiple sportsbooks before placing every bet and always taking the best available price. The odds screener makes line shopping effortless. Here's a practical workflow:
- Decide what you want to bet based on your own analysis, a model, or the EV scanner
- Open the odds screener and find the relevant game
- Select the bet type (spread, moneyline, or total)
- Identify the highlighted best odds for your side
- Place your bet at the sportsbook offering the best price
This takes 30 seconds and can add percentage points to your long-term results. There is no reason to bet at a worse price when better odds are available at a book where you already have an account.
The Value of Half Points
In spread and totals betting, the difference between -3 and -3.5, or between 47 and 47.5, can be worth significant win-rate percentage points over time. Key numbers in the NFL—3, 7, 10, 6, 14—are especially important. Games land on these margins disproportionately often, so getting the better side of a key number is worth more than it appears.
The screener makes it easy to see when one book is offering a different number than the rest. If four books have Chiefs -3.5 and one has Chiefs -3, that half-point difference on a key number is enormously valuable.
Combining the Screener with the EV Scanner
The odds screener and EV scanner serve different but complementary purposes:
| Tool | Primary Use | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Odds Screener | Find the best price for a bet you already want to make | You've already decided on a side; now find the best line |
| EV Scanner | Find bets where the math is in your favor | You want the tool to tell you what to bet |
The most powerful workflow combines both:
- Start with the EV scanner to identify +EV opportunities across all sports and sportsbooks
- Cross-reference with the odds screener to confirm you're getting the absolute best price
- Place the bet at the optimal sportsbook
Checking both tools ensures you're maximizing every bet.
Practical Tips
- Check early and often: Lines change throughout the day—a middle-of-the-pack book in the morning may post the best number by afternoon.
- Fund multiple sportsbook accounts: Even four or five major books significantly increases your line-shopping edge.
- Pay attention to key numbers: In NFL and college football, getting +3 instead of +2.5 is worth switching books, even if the juice is slightly worse.
- Don't ignore small differences: The gap between -108 and -112 seems trivial on one bet but compounds into meaningful profit over 300+ bets per season.
FAQ
Is the WagerWiz odds screener really free?
Yes. The odds screener is free for all registered WagerWiz users with no time limit or trial period. It covers all supported sports and sportsbooks. The paid tier unlocks additional features like the full EV scanner, bankroll management, and alerts—but the core odds comparison tool is free.
How many sportsbooks does the screener cover?
WagerWiz tracks odds from all major U.S. sportsbooks including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN BET, Fanatics, BetRivers, Hard Rock Bet, and others. The exact count depends on which books are available in your state and which markets they offer for each game.
How often are the odds updated?
Odds are updated in real time as sportsbooks adjust their lines. For pregame markets, this means you're seeing the latest available odds within seconds of any change. Live in-game odds update continuously as well, though the speed of live-market changes means you should verify the line at the sportsbook before placing your bet.
Can I use the screener for player props?
The screener primarily covers game-level markets—spreads, moneylines, and totals—where all sportsbooks offer comparable lines. Player prop coverage depends on the sport and the specific prop market. The EV scanner is often a better tool for finding value in prop markets, since props are less standardized across books.
How much more can I expect to profit from line shopping?
Studies by professional betting analysts consistently show that line shopping adds 1–3% to a bettor's long-term ROI. For a bettor wagering $1,000 per week, that's an additional $500–$1,500 per year in profit (or reduced losses). The impact is largest in spread and total markets where half-point and juice differences are common across books.
