ShuffleKit vs Screentop.gg
Screentop is the community's default for free browser playtests, and it is very good at that one job. ShuffleKit is where the deck is designed and played in the same tab. If you are still changing cards between games, that difference is the whole story.
Frictionless for testers, or instant between edits
Screentop.gg deserves its reputation. It is a 2D browser tabletop where testers need no account, no download and no payment: you send a link, they type a name, they are at the table. Protospiel Online runs most of its digital events on it, and its free plan covers 3 games. It is a playtest platform, though, not a design tool, so your deck is built somewhere else and uploaded. ShuffleKit's playtable is in the same project as the card editor, so when a session exposes a problem card you fix it in the editor and the next game deals the updated deck. Choose Screentop for free, low-friction sessions with any group. Choose ShuffleKit when the deck is still moving and you do not want an upload step between every revision.
Feature comparison
Side-by-side, no spin.
| Feature | ShuffleKit | Screentop.gg |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Design tool with a playtable built in | Browser tabletop for playing what you built elsewhere |
| Card design | Full visual editor, layouts bound to card data | None, you upload finished images |
| Edit-to-table loop | Fix a card, next game deals the new version | Re-export art, re-upload, rebuild the game |
| What testers need | A browser and your link | A browser and your link, no account at all |
| Cost for testers | Free | Free |
| Players per session | Up to 6 | Flexible group sizes |
| Free plan | 1 project, 120 cards, 10 layouts, 1 playtest session a month | 3 games, 32 MB storage each |
| Paid pricing | From $4/month billed yearly | Pro at $10/month for 20 games |
| Scripting and automation | None, it is a sandbox | None, deliberately |
| AI card generation | Built-in, project-aware AI | None |
| Rules documents | Versioned docs beside the cards they govern | None |
| Feedback capture | Cards flagged mid-game land as notes on the card | Take your own notes |
| Print on demand | Direct integration with The Game Crafter | None |
| Designer roles and revision history | Project members and card snapshots | On the Pro plan |
How we compared: Checked on 9 September 2026 against Screentop.gg's published plans. ShuffleKit's limits come from our published plan configuration. Check Screentop.gg directly, since software pricing changes.
Why designers switch
No upload step between revisions
With Screentop, changing a card means re-exporting the art and rebuilding the game. In ShuffleKit the playtable reads the same cards the editor writes.
Feedback lands on the card, not in a notebook
Flag a card mid-game and it becomes a note attached to that card, waiting for you when the session ends.
Storage is not the constraint
Screentop's free plan gives 32 MB per game, which high-resolution card scans eat quickly. ShuffleKit stores the source layout, not a folder of exported images.
The deck, the rulebook and the table in one project
Version history shows which wording a playtest broke, because the rules document lives beside the cards it governs.
The same project prints the deck
When a deck graduates from testing you are already in the tool that exports it for print or Tabletop Simulator.
AI helps you fix what the session exposed
Rebalance a set, rewrite a keyword across cards, or generate replacement art without leaving the project.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before getting started.
Still have questions? Contact us
Other comparisons
Still weighing the options? These cover the rest of the field.
- ShuffleKit vs nanDeckThe script-driven desktop classic since 2006, against a browser editor with AI, playtesting and print fulfillment built in.
- ShuffleKit vs DextrousTwo no-code browser editors, closely matched on price. What separates them is AI, playtesting, rules docs and printing.
- ShuffleKit vs CanvaA superb general design app against a tool that treats your deck as data, so one edit updates every card that carries it.
- ShuffleKit vs Tabletop CreatorA $59 one-time desktop app for Windows and macOS, against a browser tool with AI, online playtesting and print on demand.
- ShuffleKit vs SquibKeep the deck in Ruby and git, or get the same data-driven cards without the code, plus playtesting and printing.
See for yourself
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