COMPANIONS COMPARED
Find the AI tool that fits
the way you play Football Manager.
Your next signing. Your next tactic. The youngster you promised a chance.
Compare Hinru, FM Assistant, FM Sidekick, FootballGPT, FM Companion and Save Explorer by features, pricing, how they get your save information and what carries forward. The comparison includes AI companions and a save exploration tool.
Features reviewed October 26, 2026 · Pricing checked October 27, 2026
Which Football Manager tools offer the features you need?
✓ Documented · Coming soon · Not available · — Not documented
Descriptions show the scope of each feature and the documented input methods.
| Feature | FM Assistant | FM Companion | FM Sidekick | FootballGPT | Hinru | Save Explorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Public beta download; AI provider costs may apply | Free: 2 AI searches/day · Premium: £4.99/month | Free app; Gemini usage costs may apply | FM plan: $4.99/month | Free until Nov 10, then $15/month founding pricing | Price not publicly stated; account required |
| How it gets your save information | Screen capture and CSV/HTML imports | Tactic/player screenshots and manual input | Screen capture and manual sync | Chat and results screenshots | Save reader (FM26 & soon FM27), screenshots and conversation | Uploaded save file |
| Screenshot input | ✓ Screen capture | ✓ Tactic and player screenshots | ✓ Screen capture | ✓ Results screenshots | ✓ Screenshots and details | — |
| Squad planning | ✓ Player fit and replacements | ✓ Career roadmaps | ✓ Depth and player fit | ✓ Squad selection | ✓ Depth and roles | ✓ Squad data |
| Tactical advice | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ Shapes and instructions | ✓ Role suitability |
| Match analysis | — | Coming soon | ✓ On-screen match analysis | ✓ Recorded tactic results | ✓ Performance reviews | — |
| Recruitment | ✓ Scanned/imported players | ✓ Scouting and targets | ✓ Signing fit | ✓ Scouting and targets | ✓ Targets and squad fit | ✓ Search and comparisons |
| Youth development | — | ✓ Player potential and training | — | ✓ Development guidance | ✓ Development pathways | ✓ Prospect search |
| Staff perspectives | — | — | — | ✓ Specialist advisors | ✓ Backroom staff | — |
| Player database search | — | — | — | — | Not available | ✓ Across your save |
FM Companion’s live plans and features checked October 27, 2026. Save Explorer requires an account; its public pages do not state a price.
What carries forward?
What each companion keeps, and how you can use it when you return.
| Companion | What it keeps | How it informs later advice |
|---|---|---|
| FM Assistant | Scanned/imported players and tactics | Uses those players and tactics when answering questions |
| FM Companion | Scouting search history | Career plans combine tactics and transfer targets; reuse of saved searches in advice is not documented |
| FM Sidekick | Synced player profiles and tactics | Relates squad needs and potential signings to your setup |
| FootballGPT | Saved tactics and recorded results | Uses previous tactic results in later answers |
| Hinru | Shared plans, decisions, reasoning and results | Brings that history into discussions across squad, tactics, recruitment and youth, season after season. |
| Save Explorer | Uploaded saves, saved searches and career records | Reopens save data and displays season-by-season career history through Memories |
Which approach suits you?
FM Assistant
Desktop help with the players and tactics on your screen.
FM Assistant combines scanning with local save profiles. Its v0.3.1 notes describe three tactic slots per save and CSV/HTML player-list imports, with imported players available as context for questions. Windows and Mac builds are listed. Creator’s release notes
Scanning depends on supported screens, image clarity and your AI provider’s capabilities, costs and usage limits. The v0.3.2 release notes also describe full tactic recommendations. Tactic update
FM Companion
Dedicated tools for tactics, scouting and career planning.
FM Companion’s product page lists tactic analysis from screenshots or descriptions, player scouting, tactic generation and a career planner for multi-season roadmaps. You can open the tool for the task you want to tackle. Product page
The free account includes Tactic Lab, Squad Lab, AI Assistant Chat and two AI searches per day. Premium adds unlimited AI searches, Career Planner and Club Finder. Squad Lab accepts player screenshots or manually entered attributes and includes scouting search history. Match Analysis is still listed as coming soon. Squad Lab
FM Sidekick
An assistant alongside your game.
FM Sidekick uses an always-on-top overlay to capture your screen for tactical advice and player evaluation. You manually sync tactics and player details; its product page describes storing player roles, attributes and history. Product features
The app is a free Windows download. Setup requires a Gemini key and windowed or borderless FM. Your Gemini usage is subject to the provider’s limits and pricing. Setup guide · Download details
FootballGPT
Focused tools and specialist football advice.
FootballGPT’s FM offering includes a tactic builder, scouting and training guidance, specialist advisors and tools such as Free Agent Finder and Opposition Scout. Its real-world coaching products are separate offerings. FM tools and plan
Its privacy policy describes saving tactics and optional performance reports, which can inform later answers. Privacy policy, section 2.7
Pricing: FM plan: $4.99/month
Hinru FM Backroom
A backroom for the club you’re building.
Feel like the manager. Discuss your squad, tactics, recruitment and youth development with backroom staff who bring different perspectives to each decision.
With persistent memory, your staff can draw on the history you share across your save, season after season: the youngster you backed, the signing you passed on, why you changed shape and what happened next.
Bring in your save with Hinru’s save reader (FM26 & soon FM27), then add screenshots and explain what you want to do. See how Hinru works
Pricing: Free until Nov 10, then $15/month founding pricing
sortitoutSI Save Explorer
Player and staff searches across your save.
Save Explorer turns an uploaded save into searchable player and staff data. Its filters include age, value, attributes, Current Ability and Potential Ability. It offers role-suitability comparisons, saved searches and CSV downloads. Saves can be reopened from your account. Official walkthrough
You can explore players you haven’t scouted in-game as well as those already on your radar, including hidden attributes such as Current Ability and Potential Ability. Its Memories feature displays managerial records, trophies, transfers and season-by-season results from the save file. Memories feature
What does “knows my save” mean?
It can mean several things: saved player profiles, a cached tactic, an uploaded database or the reasons behind a decision. Those are all useful, but they answer different questions.
A useful check is to ask what the product will have available when you come back. Will you need to update the squad? Share the result? Explain why you made the change? Try returning to an earlier decision and see how the product uses what you shared.
With Hinru, you can return to a report, discuss the call you made and share what happened afterward. Keep your staff updated as your save develops.
You can keep the tools you like
You might enjoy a dedicated tactic board or a detailed scouting spreadsheet and still want a backroom to discuss the result with.
Bring screenshots or findings into Hinru and discuss what they mean for your squad. You choose what to share; a direct integration isn’t required.
Sources and scope
Sources were reviewed on October 26, 2026. FM Companion’s live pages and Save Explorer’s public access details were checked on October 27, 2026. FM Assistant’s linked release notes cover v0.3.1 and v0.3.2; check its site for newer versions.
Prices, limits and availability may have changed since that date. Hinru’s examples come from our own product. This comparison is based on published information, not hands-on testing across every product.