FishDonkey vs Check In Chief
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FishDonkey
Easily create and manage various types of fishing tournaments, from catch and release to competitive leagues. Features include live leaderboards, anti-cheating technology, and flexible customization options for organizers and participants.
- Create diverse tournament types
- Live leaderboards with updates
- Anti-cheating technology
- Online registration and payment
- Customizable tournament rules
- Participant messaging
- Works offline
Read full descriptionHide full description
Create and run fishing tournaments on a mobile phone: Catch and release,traditional tournaments by weight or length. You can run bracket (playoff style) head to head tournaments, multi day (Day 1 + Day 2 + Day 3), points based tournaments, photo or video. This is the best and easiest platform with the most options for running your event. FishDonkey is the Future of Tournament Fishing®. Conservation is an important aspect of tournament fishing. Not only do we enable our users to run fun and exciting fishing tournaments, but we also help conserve the fishery on your local lake. The app includes: - Online payment, online registration. - Live leaderboards with exciting updates all day long. - Anti-cheating technology (TM). - Digital Livewell®. - Boat Check-ins and Livewell Checks. - Cheating/fraud prevention tools. - Date and time stamped photos and videos. - Flexible tournament creation allows you to customize your tournament. Best at Tournament Creation The FishDonkey app has built in options to help you create and run an automated tournament just the way you want. Create a variety of tournament options such as biggest fish, largest stringer of fish, grand slam, multispecies tournaments, wildcard, or custom names. You can run a tournament anywhere. Specify any length of time, an hour, a month… easily define and manage the start and end dates. Track daily or weekly winners. Highlighted Features Works without an internet connection. Prevents cheating in catch and release tournaments. Send any participant (or all) messages by email, text, or phone call from the app. Enter your sponsors, prizes, rules, logos and welcome message. Define multiple divisions for children, kayak, boat fishing, angler, co-angler, etc. Potential uses Local fishing leagues World-wide tournaments High School Tournament Trail Team practice sessions Ice fishing tournaments, boat tournaments, shore tournaments, team tournaments Multi-species tournaments Tournaments with divisions (veterans, children, etc.) Cost It is free to create a tournament. Anglers pay a small fee when they join. (All pricing policies are subject to change.)
Check In Chief
Read full descriptionHide full description
Running a league shouldn’t feel like a second job. Check In Chief eliminates the biggest headaches league organizers face: tracking attendance, finding spares, and building fair teams when players drop out. Note: This app is free for players to join groups but requires a paid subscription for organizers to create groups on the app. A 14 day free trial is provided so you can try out the app as an Organizer. Automatic Spare Coverage When full-time players can’t make it, Check In Chief automatically ensures there are enough spares to fill the gaps. No last-minute messages. No empty spots. No stress. Fair, Balanced Team Generation Check In Chief generates even, position-aware teams in seconds. Teams are balanced automatically, removing bias and guesswork while keeping competition fair. Built to Save Organizers Time What used to take hours now takes minutes. Check-ins, spare management, and team generation are handled automatically so organizers can focus on running great leagues. Whether you manage a small recreational league or a competitive season, Check In Chief keeps game day running smoothly. Key Features • Automatic spare management for missing full-time players • Smart, position-aware team generation • Fair and balanced lineups every game • Simple player check-in process • Massive time savings for league organizers Terms https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FishDonkey at none against Check In Chief's 2. FishDonkey also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Check In Chief sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.00 per month. FishDonkey asks for nothing beyond the download.
FishDonkey ships an update monthly, Check In Chief every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FishDonkey | Check In Chief |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (87 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 87 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fishery Innovations, LLC | Daydream Development Inc. |
Bugs and requests
FishDonkey
Reported bugs
7 issues- Video portion crashes
- Bump board ad close button is hidden
- Server crashes
- Digital live well not allowing fish entry
- Cannot check results/leaderboards if not the payer
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- App won't move past divisions during setup
- App did not work for multiple users
Requested features
6 requests- Easier one-handed camera controls
- Local/private tournament setup option
- Camera picture delay function for solo fishing
- Geographic specific feature for tournament search
- Add more countries and fish species
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Improve boat education about AIS
Check In Chief
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
FishDonkey
No in-app purchases
Check In Chief
- Pro Monthly1 Month trial$5.001 Month
- Pro Yearly1 Month trial$30.001 Year
Questions
Is FishDonkey free?
Is Check In Chief free?
Do FishDonkey or Check In Chief have ads?
Which is updated more often, FishDonkey or Check In Chief?
Other comparisons















