FPL bonus points

FPL Bonus Points Explained: How the BPS System Works

FPL bonus points are up to three extra points awarded after every match to its three best-performing players, decided by the Bonus Points System (BPS) — a behind-the-scenes score built from on-pitch actions like goals, assists, tackles, saves and passing. The top-ranked player in each match earns 3 bonus, the second 2 and the third 1; ties share or add more. The full scoring table, the timing, and the players the system rewarded most are below.

Updated 18 July 2026 · 2025/26 figures final · Source: Official FPL API

How bonus works

How bonus points are Decided

Every player in a match accumulates a running BPS (Bonus Points System) total from their actions on the pitch. When the match finishes, the three players with the highest BPS receive bonus points on top of their normal FPL score: 3 for first, 2 for second and 1 for third.

Ties change the maths. If two players tie for the top BPS, both receive 3 bonus and the next player down gets 1 (no 2 is awarded). If two tie for second, both get 2 and no 1 is awarded. So a single match can hand out more than the usual six bonus points — which is why totals across a season do not divide neatly.

The key thing to understand: BPS is not your FPL score. It is a separate, hidden tally used only to rank players for bonus. A player can rack up a big BPS total all season and still bank very little bonus, because bonus is settled match by match among the top three only — a point the 2025/26 data below makes concrete.

BPS scoring actions

The BPS scoring-action Table

The on-pitch actions that build a player's BPS, and what each is worth. These are the 2025/26 BPS values from the Official FPL rules — documented game mechanics, not a Bawler estimate. FPL confirms the 2026/27 table at game launch; it has carried over unchanged across recent seasons.

Points added to BPS

ActionBPS
Playing 1 to 60 minutes+3
Playing over 60 minutes+6
Goal scored — goalkeeper or defender+12
Goal scored — midfielder+18
Goal scored — forward+24
Assist+9
Goalkeeper or defender clean sheet+12
Saving a penalty+15
Each save made+2
Scoring the match-winning goal+3
Creating a big chance+3
Every 2 clearances, blocks & interceptions+1
Every 3 ball recoveries+1
Successful tackle+2
Key pass+1
Successful open-play cross+1
Successful dribble+1
Pass completion 70–79% (min. 30 passes)+2
Pass completion 80–89% (min. 30 passes)+4
Pass completion 90%+ (min. 30 passes)+6

Points deducted from BPS

ActionBPS
Own goal−6
Missing a penalty−6
Red card−9
Yellow card−3
Conceding a penalty−3
Missing a big chance−3
Error leading to a goal−3
Error leading to an attempt at goal−1
Being tackled (dispossessed)−1
Conceding a foul−1
Being caught offside−1
Shot off target−1

Clean-sheet BPS applies to goalkeepers and defenders; the pass-completion tiers need at least 30 attempted passes to register.

When added

When are FPL bonus points added?

Provisional bonus points appear live, during and immediately after each match, based on the BPS standings at that moment. They are shown as an early guide but can still move as the final data is processed.

Confirmed bonus is added a few hours later, once every match in that batch has been played and the data is verified — usually the same evening for the day's games. Bonus is confirmed per matchday, so a gameweek spread across several days locks in its bonus in stages rather than all at once.

Until confirmed bonus lands, your gameweek total and live rank use the provisional figures, which is why an FPL score can drift after full-time. This matters most for captaincy and close mini-league races — the same reason the swing shows up on Bawler's captaincy analysis.

Season archive · 2025/26

Who bonus rewarded in 2025/26

The headline cut from the completed 2025/26 season — 2,415 bonus points across 380 matches (~6.4 per match). For the full study — bonus per 90 leaders, the defender goldmines, the goalkeeper blind spot and the players the formula under-paid — see FPL bonus point magnets 2025/26.

Top bonus earners, 2025/26

#PlayerClubPosBonusPts/90
1HAHaalandMCIFWD432391.31
2BFB. FernandesMUNMID412351.20
3GAGabrielARSDEF302090.98
4JPJoão PedroCHEFWD301771.02
5BOBowenWHUFWD281870.74
6WAWatkinsAVLFWD261670.83
7RIRiceARSMID231840.67
8THThiagoBREFWD221810.60

Haaland (43) and Bruno Fernandes (41) led; Arsenal's Gabriel was the top defender on 30 — third overall, ahead of every forward but Haaland.

Where the bonus went, 2025/26

PositionTotal bonusShareSeason BPS
Midfielders109845.5%64,179
Defenders67628.0%44,292
Forwards47919.8%15,315
Goalkeepers1626.7%10,890
The BPS-vs-bonus quirk

West Ham's Mateus Fernandes posted 659 season BPS — a top-tier total — yet banked just 7 bonus points, because he rarely finished in a match's top three. Midfielders took 45.5% of all bonus and goalkeepers only 6.7%; not one keeper reached the top 50 earners. Season BPS tells you very little about who actually banks the bonus.

From gameweek 1

From GW1: live bonus Tracking

The 2026/27 season has not kicked off yet, so there is no live bonus to show — the figures above are the final 2025/26 archive. From Gameweek 1, this page will be updated with live bonus tracking:

  • During matches: the provisional bonus standings — each fixture's top three by live BPS — updated as games are played, labelled provisional because they can still move.
  • After each matchday: the confirmed final bonus for the gameweek, baked into this page from the Official FPL API, with the date it settled.
  • Each gameweek: a running season bonus leaderboard, so the 2025/26 archive is replaced by live 2026/27 totals as they accrue.

We never label anything “live” that can render empty or stale: until the first fixtures are played, this section states plainly that there is nothing live yet, and the confirmed table appears only once real bonus has been awarded.

Bonus & BPS data from the Official FPL API. 2025/26 figures are final. Pure fantasy-points analytics — no betting content.