Comparison · 6 min read
Odds comparison site or arbitrage scanner: which do you need?
Both tools show you prices from many bookmakers, and one of them is free. The difference is who does the searching and the maths, and who pays for the tool. Here is what each one does, a worked example with the same prices in both, and when the free option is all you need.
Updated 22 October 2026
Contents
What an odds comparison site does
An odds comparison site lists the prices of many bookmakers for the same match side by side and highlights the best one for each outcome. You pick the match and the market; the site tells you where your bet pays most. That is line shopping, and it is worth doing for every bet you place.
Most comparison sites are good at exactly that job: a clean grid of prices for popular leagues, often with odds movement charts and a choice of odds format. Some also show the payout percentage of each bookmaker, which is a quick way to see how much margin you are paying (our guide to the bookmaker margin and overround shows how to calculate it yourself).
How free comparison sites are paid
A comparison site costs you nothing because the bookmakers pay for it. The usual model is affiliate marketing: when you click a bookmaker's logo and open an account, the site earns either a one-off fee per new depositing customer or a share of what the bookmaker earns from that customer over time. Bonus banners and "best bookmaker" rankings on these sites are often part of the same arrangement.
None of this makes the prices on the grid wrong. It does explain some design choices: the site wants you to open accounts and keep betting, and it has little reason to show you the cases where the maths says a bet is not worth placing, or to warn you that winning accounts get limited. Keep that in mind when a ranking puts one bookmaker on top.
What a sure-bet scanner does on top
An arbitrage scanner starts from the other end. Instead of you choosing a match, it checks many events and markets across bookmakers and reports only the combinations where the best prices on all outcomes add up to less than 100% implied probability. Then it does the work a comparison grid leaves to you:
- Settlement rules. Two prices only form a sure bet if both bets settle on the same thing. Regular time versus extra time, how a tennis retirement is settled, how overtime counts in ice hockey: a mismatch here turns a sure bet into an ordinary bet. A scanner matches markets by their rules and flags the cases you should check on the slip.
- Stakes. It splits your budget so the payout is about the same whichever outcome wins, and can round stakes to amounts that look like normal bets. Our arbitrage calculator guide shows the formula.
- Data age. Every price has a timestamp. A good scanner drops quotes that are too old and legs that lag behind the rest of the market, and tells you how fresh the prices are. On a comparison grid you usually can't tell whether a price was updated a minute or an hour ago.
- Filters. Only the bookmakers you actually have accounts at, a minimum and maximum percentage, an odds range, sports and markets. A sure bet at a bookmaker you can't use is worth nothing to you.
- Fees and commission. Exchange commission and betting fees such as the Austrian Wettgebühr change the effective odds. A scanner can price them in before deciding whether a combination is still a sure bet.
- Alerts. Sure bets often last minutes. Notifications matter more than a nicer grid.
Worked example: the same prices, two tools
A comparison site shows the best price for Player 1 as 2.10 at Bookmaker A and the best price for Player 2 as 2.05 at Bookmaker B. The grid stops there.
A scanner adds up the implied probabilities: 1/2.10 + 1/2.05 = 0.4762 + 0.4878 = 0.9640. That is below 1, so the pair is a sure bet of 1/0.9640 − 1 = 3.73% on the total stake. For a €200 budget it suggests €98.80 on Player 1 and €101.20 on Player 2. Either way the payout is about €207.47, a result of about +€7.47.
Now add the Austrian Wettgebühr. If Bookmaker A passes the 5% fee on to you, its 2.10 is effectively 2.10 × 0.95 = 1.995. The sum becomes 0.5013 + 0.4878 = 0.9891, and the sure bet shrinks from 3.73% to about 1.1%. With a slightly smaller gap it would disappear completely. A scanner that knows which bookmaker passes the fee on accounts for that; a price grid does not.
Illustration with decimal odds, rounded to the cent. It assumes both legs are accepted at these odds and both bets stand. Real results vary and can be negative: odds move, bets get voided and accounts get limited.
Comparison table
The table compares the two tool categories in general and ArbVantage in particular. It describes typical features; individual products differ, so check the provider's own pages.
| Criterion | ArbVantage | Typical paid scanner | Typical odds comparison site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price for you | €97/month after a 14-day free trial (card required) | Monthly subscription, from tens to hundreds of euros depending on plan | Free |
| Paid by | Subscribers only; no bookmaker affiliate deals | Subscribers; some also run bookmaker affiliate links | Mostly bookmakers (affiliate fees) |
| Starting point | Scans markets for you | Scans markets for you | You choose the match |
| Finds sure bets and middles | Yes (value bets coming soon) | Yes; scope varies by plan | No, you add up 1/odds yourself |
| Stake split | Yes, with optional rounding | Yes | No |
| Data age shown, stale prices dropped | Yes | Usually | Rarely |
| Your bookmakers only | Yes, from your account list | Yes | Sometimes, as a display filter |
| Austrian Wettgebühr and exchange commission priced in | Yes | Varies | No |
| Licence flag for AT/SK/DE | Yes, neutral "not licensed" flag, nothing hidden | Varies | Varies |
| Local AT/SK books (tipp3, Admiral, Tipsport, Fortuna …) | Not in the odds feed yet; the large international books are | Varies; often international books only | Varies by site and country |
| Alerts | Web push notifications | Usually | Rarely |
As of October 2026. Based on ArbVantage's own product and on the publicly described features of tool categories, not a test of any single competitor. Report a correction to support@arbvantage.net. How we compare tools is explained in our methodology.
When a comparison site is enough, and when it isn't
A free comparison site is enough if you bet your own picks, a few times a week, and simply want the best price for each one. Line shopping alone can change your long-run result noticeably, at no cost.
A scanner makes sense if you want to bet price differences rather than opinions: sure bets, middles and converting free bets. Finding these by hand means checking hundreds of markets every few minutes, adding fractions and working out stakes before the price moves. Doing that manually is possible in theory and impractical in practice.
Before paying for anything, be honest about the limits. Sure bets are small, mostly 0.5–2% and many below 1%, and they depend on accounts staying open: bookmakers limit winning customers, and that is the main constraint for anyone doing this seriously. Read how bookmaker limits work and the risks of arbitrage betting first, and work out your numbers with the typical arbitrage percentages in mind.
Austria and Slovakia
Austria. Many Austrian bettors use both the Land-licensed local books and international brands. Whichever tool you use, compare prices after the Wettgebühr: 5% of the stake since April 2025, passed on to customers by some bookmakers and absorbed by others. See the Austrian betting tax guide.
Slovakia. Only bookmakers licensed by the ÚRHH may offer online betting to Slovak residents (for example Tipsport, Fortuna, Niké, DOXXbet, SYNOT TIP and Tipos), and the regulator publishes a list of prohibited offers. A comparison site or scanner aimed at an international audience may show books that are on that list. Check the licence before you open an account.
FAQ
Can I find sure bets with an odds comparison site?
Occasionally, by hand. You would have to open each match, check every outcome and add up 1/odds yourself, and by the time you find one the price has often moved. Comparison sites are built to show the best price for a bet you have already chosen, not to search every market for combinations that add up to less than 100%.
Why are odds comparison sites free?
Most are paid by bookmakers. When you click through and open an account, the site usually earns a one-off fee per new customer or a share of the bookmaker's revenue from you. That is a legitimate model, but it means the site earns more when you sign up and keep betting.
What does an arbitrage scanner cost?
Paid scanners usually charge a monthly subscription. Pre-match plans typically start in the tens of euros a month, and live or multi-market plans run into the hundreds. ArbVantage costs €97 a month after a 14-day free trial. Always check the provider's own price page, because prices change.
Do I need both?
Not necessarily. If you only bet your own picks, a free comparison site is enough. If you want sure bets or middles, a scanner does the searching and the stake maths that a comparison site leaves to you. Many people keep a comparison site open for their own picks and use a scanner for arbitrage.
Sources
- The Odds API v4 documentation: per-market last_update timestamps
- RIS: Gebührengesetz 1957, § 33 TP 17 (Austrian betting fee)
- Úrad pre reguláciu hazardných hier (ÚRHH): licences and prohibited offers, Slovakia
- Directive 2006/114/EC on misleading and comparative advertising
As of October 2026. The calculations are illustrations under the stated assumptions. Not betting, legal or tax advice. 18+.
Betting involves risk, sure bets included: odds move, bets get voided and accounts get limited. Only stake money you can afford to lose. If betting stops being fun, our responsible gambling page lists free help in Austria and Germany.