Guide

How to run an online baby pool

Family scattered across the country, the baby shower weeks away, and guesses that are easier to make from the couch: online is the simplest way to run a baby pool. You still have to pick how. Here are the four ways to do it, what each one is really worth, and how to start yours in five minutes with My Baby League.

Updated October 20, 2026

1. What a good online baby pool needs to do

Before picking a tool, look at what it has to do for you:

• Keep the guesses secret. If answers get around, latecomers copy the early birds, and the suspense is gone.
• Add up the points. On the big day, nobody wants to open a spreadsheet.
• Nudge the latecomers, without you chasing everyone for weeks.
• Keep the wait fun. The best part happens between the announcement and the birth.
• Respect the family: no ads, and data that goes nowhere.

2. Four ways to do it

The group chat

WhatsApp, Messenger or texts: everyone posts their guesses in the group. It's instant, and everyone is already there. But everyone sees everything: the last ones copy the first ones, and you'll be counting it all up by hand on the big day.

An online form or shared spreadsheet

An online form keeps the answers private, and a spreadsheet can do the maths. It's free, but you build everything yourself: the questions, the scoring, the formulas and the reminders. And between sending the link and the birth, nothing happens.

Baby pool websites

Dedicated websites give you a page to share. They're handy for a one-off game, but people rarely come back, and the conversation happens somewhere else. Check who can see the page, too, and what happens to everyone's email address.

A dedicated app

That's the My Baby League approach. Everyone plays from their own phone, and the guesses stay secret until the reveal. The app nudges the latecomers and adds up the points. In the meantime, the family gets together in the Coop, the league's private conversation.

3. Side by side

The group chat is still perfect for chatting. For the game itself, secrecy and scoring make all the difference.

4. Start yours in five minutes

• Create the league. The name, the due date, then the questions, ticked from the catalogue: name, sex, weight, length, day, time, and a few just for laughs.
• Send the link to the family group chat, or have people scan the QR code.
• Everyone guesses in secret from their phone. You see who has answered, never what they answered.
• On the big day, enter the results: the points, the leaderboard and the birth announcement go out on their own.

Frequently asked questions