SFRef Soccer Referee Watch vs Match Keeper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch
This app helps referees manage soccer and futsal matches directly from their smartwatch or iPhone. It tracks game time, scores, substitutions, fouls, and player statistics. Rosters can be imported via Airdrop or OCR, and game reports can be generated instantly.
- Independent watch operation
- GPS location tracking
- Preconfigured match setup
- Substitution tracking
- Roster import (Airdrop, OCR)
- Instant game reports
- Workout statistics
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Run the app independently on the watch - don't need the phone at all, even for configuration. You can also setup a match on the phone and transfer it to your watch, if you prefer. Run the app independently on the iPhone if you don't have a watch. Use GPS to track referee locations on the field. Preconfigure matches for the next week/month/season and load it up whenever you need it. Your matches can be saved on the phone and/or the watch. Doing tournaments? Save current match results on the watch and move on to the next match. Your results can be accessed at a later time when you want to file a report. Track substitutions by enabling them in your match setup. Tracking is not enabled when you do a quick game setup on phone or watch. Getting rosters late? Ask coach to install app and Airdrop (or send it as an email attachment). You can also scan and use OCR to fill in rosters. No more manual entry. Setup your match and Airdrop it to your Assistant Refs, so the match is configured on their app also. Send a game report from your device after the game with the press of a button. Reports include goal/card details as well as player game time. Look at your workout stats (distance, calories burned heart rate). More statistics will come soon! See how to set it up on the watch: https://youtu.be/nv2hU8S2OWI Tip: Remember to: - Put your watch in Airplane mode during the game. It ensures you are not interrupted by other events. Your watch will also not constantly search for the phone across the field and lose charge. Free app can track games with up to 10 minute halves. Purchase in app to track longer duration. Users who purchased the app from 1.0 to 6.5 will have no restrictions. Now the details: The app has three timers - game clock, stoppage clock and elapsed time. Elapsed time starts at zero and runs uninterrupted during the game. Game clock and stoppage clock are tied together - either game clock is running during the game or stoppage clock is running. They are controlled by a tap on screen. From Game clock screen, swipe left to go to the game record screen. Here all elements are editable with a tap. You can change home and away team names. You can record scores or record yellow and red cards. The app automatically records the time at which the event took place. In case, you added a goal event or card event in error, you can delete the incorrect entry. On the watch, do a force touch and go to event logs. Tap and delete whichever event you entered incorrectly. Displays will update automatically. On the phone, go to events, then hit Edit and then delete. From the game record scene, swipe left to go to Futsal DFK accumulated fouls tracker scene. Swipe up on the numbers to increment. If you made a mistake, swipe down to decrement. Displays turn yellow after 5 fouls and on the watch, a haptic is sent. After the sixth accumulated foul, the display turns red and watch also plays a haptic. On the game clock screen, force touch takes you to a menu where you can set game duration, enable GPS (for referee location tracking), reset clocks, discard the entire game or load game settings from watch filesystem or the paired iPhone. If you select reset clocks, you can select which period to start to set elapsed time appropriately. You can also generate a game report to the paired iPhone running the app and send it out from iPhone app to Notes, iMessage, email or other eligible apps. From Futsal DFK screen, swipe left to look at referee workout statistics. If you run the app on the phone, it also maps the referee location during the course of the match. To view your map after the game, go to menu on the game clock scene -> Load/Save -> View Map. The map will show on the paired iPhone. Privacy Policy: On the Apple Watch, the app uses HealthKit to get distance walked and energy burned while a game is in session. On the iPhone, the app collects referee location while a game is in session.
Match Keeper
This app simplifies soccer match management for coaches, referees, and parents. It offers a comprehensive timer, player tracking, custom format creation, and a penalty shootout tracker. Easily manage all aspects of a game from start to finish.
- Match timer with start, pause, rewind, and whistle
- Player and team management with stats
- Customizable match formats
- Penalty shootout tracker
- Birth year to age group calculator
- Score tracking and adjustments
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Match Keeper is the soccer timer and match manager for coaches, referees, parents, and players. Simplifying the beautiful game, it runs every part of a match — from the fixture list to the final whistle. SCHEDULE & MATCH DAY - Schedule matches ahead and see what's coming in one place - Match Day puts today's fixtures on one screen, ready to kick off - Save the venue, field, and an address that opens in Maps - Set an arrival time, and choose each team's kit - Share a fixture, or the whole match day, as an image TEAM SCHEDULE - Every team has its own schedule — past results and what's coming, in one list - Share it as a printable sheet for the fridge, or a card for the team chat - Choose the matches to include, or pick a range of dates - Styled with your team's logo, emblem, and colors MATCH TIMER - Start, pause, rewind, and skip periods with ease - Automatic whistle at the end of each interval - Track additional time APPLE WATCH APP - Start a match from your wrist, with no phone needed - Tap to score, hold to correct - See the live timer and score on your watch face - Included free with the app MATCH & PLAYER MANAGEMENT - Create teams with names, colors, logos, rosters, and a default format - Track goals, substitutions, cards, and playing time - Handle ties with extra time, golden goal, or penalty shootout TEAM LOGOS & COLORS - Give every team its own logo — a shape, a pattern, and a monogram or emblem - Choose from 100 emblems: animals, birds, shields, stars, and more - Set your team's exact colors, shown on the scoreboard and in formations MATCH HISTORY & SHARING - Review match history and notes after the game - Share matches and match stats with a QR code or link TEAM & PLAYER STATISTICS - Team record, goals, and clean sheets across your saved matches - Leaderboards for top scorers, assists, and most minutes played - Per-player minutes, starts, and share of playing time CUSTOM FORMATS - Pick a format and set age group, period length, OT rules, and ball size - Apply restrictions like no heading, offside, goalie, or slide tackles - Customize field and goal dimensions, and share formats by QR code or link PENALTY SHOOTOUT TRACKER - Track best-of-5 shootouts, with a Decisive Shot indicator for the key moments BIRTH YEAR TO AGE GROUP CALCULATOR - Instantly convert birth years to age groups, from U4 to Over 60 Whether you're running a tournament or timing your child's weekend game, Match Keeper gives you the tools to manage the match with confidence. Terms of service: https://lucatoni-labs.com/products/keeper/terms-of-service Privacy policy: https://lucatoni-labs.com/products/keeper/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Match Keeper at 5.0 against SFRef Soccer Referee Watch's 4.4. Match Keeper also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 59%) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). SFRef Soccer Referee Watch's advantage is ratings volume (153 vs 15) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. SFRef Soccer Referee Watch sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Match Keeper sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Match Keeper holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SFRef Soccer Referee Watch has 153 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of SFRef Soccer Referee Watch's written reviews are positive against 100% of Match Keeper's.
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch ships an update every 3 weeks, Match Keeper every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SFRef Soccer Referee Watch | Match Keeper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (153 ratings) | 5.0 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 59.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 153 — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Peramanayagam Marimuthu | Lucatoni, LLC |
Customer experience
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch
Match Keeper
In-app purchases
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch
- Limited Access$3.99
- Full Access$6.99
Match Keeper
- Keeper Premium Monthly$1.001 Month
- Keeper Premium Annual$6.001 Year
Questions
Is SFRef Soccer Referee Watch free?
Is Match Keeper free?
Which has better reviews, SFRef Soccer Referee Watch or Match Keeper?
Do SFRef Soccer Referee Watch or Match Keeper have ads?
Which is updated more often, SFRef Soccer Referee Watch or Match Keeper?
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