How LittleStake works

Create a birth-date pool, invite friends, and track their picks. The host collects payments and sends payouts directly.

For hosts

1. Set the due date, stakes, payment details, and entry deadline. Picks are private by default.
2. Save your private host link and access file. Share the guest link with participants.
3. Confirm each payment against your bank records, then mark the entry paid. Unpaid picks reserve spots but cannot win.
4. Close entries before the birth date is known. Use an automatic deadline or select “Close entries now” in your dashboard.
5. Record the birth date, review the family and winner shares, and send the payouts. Keep transfer receipts and download a data backup. The guest link then shows the birth date, paid winners, and payout distribution.

For participants

Choose up to five dates per email, submit your name and email, and pay the host using their instructions. Each date has five spots.

Stakes decrease by $5 for each day before or after the due date, down to the minimum. The minimum per date depends on the stake for the due date:

Amounts use the pool’s selected currency. Free allows up to 10 participants and Plus up to 50. Pro has no plan participant limit. Every plan keeps five spots per date and five dates per email.

The split

The family receives 50% of collected stakes. The remaining 50% is shared equally among paid participants who picked the actual birth date. Each email receives one winning share, even with multiple submissions.

If no paid participant picked the birth date, the family receives 100%. Any leftover cents are allocated in email order.

Deadlines and reopening

All plans include entry controls. Choose three weeks, two weeks, or one week before the due date, or Never. Deadlines close at the start of the chosen day in the host’s local timezone. Automatic deadlines appear in each participant’s local timezone and block new entries when they pass. Closing a pool preserves its picks and payment records.

The due date, pricing, currency, pick limits, and entry deadline lock permanently after the first submission. The 50/50 split and no-paid-winner rule are fixed for every pool. The host may close entries early. Reopening is allowed only if no birth date is recorded and the original deadline has not passed. Payment confirmation and recording the birth date remain available.

Privacy and access

Participant names appear on the guest page. Emails are visible only to the host and authorized admins. With private picks enabled, selected dates and individual stakes stay private. Dates with all five spots reserved appear as unavailable. Total stakes are always visible to the group and include unpaid entries.

Enabling public picks reveals selected dates and individual stakes.

Hosts use private host links rather than accounts. Anyone with that link can manage the pool, so keep it safe. Link recovery and self-service deletion are not available. Ask your host for corrections or deletion requests; they can contact an admin for support.

Plans and pricing

All plans are currently free. No card is required.

Complimentary links cover one pool on the selected plan. Plan fees are charged in USD and are separate from participant stakes.

The host handles all pool payments and payouts.