SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer vs PlayBall
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer
This app helps coaches and parents ensure every player on a junior team gets equal playing time. It generates fair substitution plans and provides timely alerts during games, allowing for focused coaching and a positive sideline experience. A free trial is available to test its functionality.
- Fair substitution plan builder
- In-game substitution alerts
- Equal game time tracking
- Focus on player development
- 30-day free trial
Read full descriptionHide full description
SubNow is for coaches and parents of junior and youth teams who want every player to receive fair game time. SubNow helps you easily build a fair substitution plan and alerts you when to make substitutions during the game — so you can coach calmly, focus on development, and keep the sideline smiling. Enjoy a 30 day free trial to see whether SubNow will work for you. This is a brand new SubNow — guided by 10 years of user feedback, SubNow has been rebuilt from the ground up and significantly enhanced. SubNow remains focused on increasing the enjoyment of junior team sports for children and parents, by making it easy to fairly share game time. Why SubNow? Because fair game time builds confident players and happier teams. SubNow creates practical substitution plans based on your game length, breaks, subs, goalkeepers, and number of players—then replans during the game when the unexpected happens. SubNow solves the challenge of trying to make substitutions based on the actual game time each player has had on the field. SubNow currently supports: • Small Sided Football/Soccer • Futsal • Junior Hockey (Minkey/Mini Hockey) • Basketball • Touch Football Before the Game - Create and preview your substitution plan before kick-off. Position planning & optimization allows player position preferences to be accommodated while preserving fair game time. Print your substitution plan if working off paper is preferred. During the Game - Get clear, timely substitution alerts, see exactly who’s on and off next, and confirm each substitution as you go. If a player arrives late, is injured, or needs a rest, SubNow recalculates the plan automatically — keeping fairness intact. Ready for fair, stress free substitution management at your next match? Download SubNow and start your 30 day free trial today. See full feature list at http://www.subnowapp.com/features Terms of Use: http://www.subnow.com.au/terms Privacy Policy: http://www.subnow.com.au/privacy
PlayBall
This app helps youth sports volunteers, coaches, and clubs manage teams and create balanced game-day rotations. It simplifies coaching with features like live activity tracking and collaborative coaching options. All data is stored locally, requiring no internet connection.
- Manage multiple teams
- Create game-day rosters
- Automatic balanced rotations
- Live activity tracking
- Collaborative coaching
- Supports various team sizes
Read full descriptionHide full description
PlayBall is built with love for everyone who volunteers their time to youth sports. The app is a free resource for volunteers, coaches, and clubs to help making coaching more accessible and less intimidating. The name PlayBall is a tribute to my dad, who coached me throughout my childhood and taught me the importance of teamwork, and equal playing time for every kid. Key features: - Manage multiple teams: create, edit, and organize rosters all in one place - Game-day rosters made easy: tap to mark who showed up and automatically build balanced rotations - Live Activities: your next rotation is always one glance away - Coach together: Invite assistant coaches or co-coaches who can edit games - Training sessions planned at https://getplayball.app automatically sync to the app - Supports 4v4, 5v5, 7v7 and 11v11 - Team color themes and AI-generated mascot images give every team its own look All data lives on your device. No login, no ads, no subscriptions, no internet required at the field. I will never ask for a payment to unlock features in this app. Everything works on your device with no account, no ads, no subscriptions, and no internet required. An account is optional and free, just for syncing and coaching together. I will never ask for a payment to unlock features in this app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PlayBall at 5.0 against SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer's 4.3. PlayBall also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6). SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer's advantage is ratings volume (27 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.29 per 7 days. PlayBall asks for nothing beyond the download.
PlayBall holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer has 27 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer ships an update every 2 weeks, PlayBall every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer | PlayBall |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (27 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 27 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SubNow | Corey Gagnon |
Customer experience
SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer
PlayBall
In-app purchases
SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer
- Basic Test3 Days trial$0.297 Days
- Pro Test3 Days trial$0.997 Days
- Basic Monthly1 Month trial$4.991 Month
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Pro Monthly1 Month trial$7.991 Month
- Basic Annual1 Month trial$29.991 Year
- Pro Annual1 Month trial$39.991 Year
PlayBall
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer free?
Is PlayBall free?
Which has better reviews, SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer or PlayBall?
Do SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer or PlayBall have ads?
Which is updated more often, SubNow | Ultimate Sub Timer or PlayBall?
Other comparisons















