Comparison

Pickleball Score Keeper vs Golf Journal

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pickleball Score Keeper

Easily track pickleball match scores directly from your Apple Watch. This app stores all your game data on your iPhone, providing key statistics to help you improve your play. It supports singles and doubles, tracks errors, and offers insights into opponent strengths.

Highlights
  • Apple Watch score tracking
  • Singles and doubles match modes
  • Unforced error tracking
  • Player database with notes
  • Live match point-by-point following
  • Health app integration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Pickleball Score Keeper is the first Pickleball app designed for Apple Watch. It turns your Apple Watch into a simple and easy-to-use score tracking device. All matches are stored on your iPhone and key statistics give you insights on how to improve your game. - Keep track of all your matches (with or without an Apple Watch) - Singles and doubles match modes - Identify teammates and opponents - Track your unforced errors - Service statistics - Player database to keep notes on opponent strengths and weaknesses - Follow live matches point by point - Integrates with Health app (steps taken, running distance, maximum heart rate, calories burned) to help you gain insight into your Pickleball workouts as well as to monitor how hard your opponents make you work --- How to use the Watch app: It is so simple. Just start the app from your Apple Watch. - Select game setup (i.e.: Doubles, Game to 11, Win by 2) - Swipe towards you when you win a rally. - Swipe away from you when you lose a rally. - Swipe right to record an unforced error. - Swipe left to undo. - Press down on the watch face to end session or restart a game. TIP! Swipe from the middle of the watch, not the edge. Scores are spoken aloud and gentle vibrations allow you to continue play without looking at your watch. Player positions and current server are shown on the watch face in case you lose track. IMPORTANT: The watch is by default set to wake on wrist raise. If Pickleball Score Keeper does not open on Wrist Raise gesture during a match, please do the following from the watch home screen: 1. Tap Settings > tap General > tap Wake Screen 2. Make sure that "Wake Screen on Wrist Raise" is turned on. 3. Scroll down to "Resume to: Previous Activity" and checkmark. Please don’t be shy to use the Feedback button on the Pickleball Score Keeper iPhone app to contact us with ideas and suggestion. We welcome your feedback.

About

Golf Journal

Track your golf performance with this app, logging rounds, practice sessions, scores, and media. Analyze your game with performance graphs and iCloud syncing. Ideal for golfers of all levels aiming to improve.

Highlights
  • Round diary and score tracking
  • Practice session documentation
  • Photo and video gallery
  • Performance graphs
  • iCloud syncing
Features
Read full description

Golf Journal is a golf diary for your rounds, your practice and your handicap. Log a round from its total in about 20 seconds, or hole by hole, and watch your handicap estimate move as you play. ROUNDS • Log the total, or score hole by hole: strokes, putts, fairways, greens in regulation and penalties. • Out and In totals, and a scorecard with your birdies, bogeys and doubles marked. • Notes, a feel rating, photos and videos for every round. • Scan a paper scorecard: take a photo and the hole scores are read on your iPhone for you to check. • Golf workouts recorded with the Workout app on Apple Watch show up ready to become rounds, with the date filled in. HANDICAP ESTIMATE • Uses the World Handicap System formula: the best 8 of your last 20 rounds, with nine-hole rounds paired. • See your trend, which rounds count, which one drops out next and what score would bring your estimate down. • Course handicap for each set of tees, net score and Stableford points. • Have an official Handicap Index from your club? Enter it and Golf Journal uses it for course handicap, net and Stableford. It's an estimate to follow your game, not an official Handicap Index. COURSES • Tees with course rating, slope, par and yardage, and a scorecard with par and stroke index for every hole. • Look up courses near you or by name. Course data comes from OpenStreetMap. • Your average and best score at each course. PRACTICE • Log practice sessions: range, putting, chipping, bunker, on course, lessons and more, with time, balls and notes. • Keep your swing cues and drills from one session to the next. • Start the practice timer and fill in the rest when you finish. • Turn a round's notes into a plan for your next session. INSIGHTS • How often you make birdie, par, bogey and worse, and how you score on par 3s, 4s and 5s. • Your hardest holes, your scoring by course and by month, and where your practice time goes. • Set a goal, such as breaking 90 or getting down to 15, and see how far off it you are. ON ALL YOUR DEVICES • iCloud sync between your devices. No account to create; your diary stays on your devices and in your iCloud. • Widgets for your handicap estimate and your last round. • Siri and Shortcuts: "Log round", "Log practice", "What's my handicap". • A reminder when you haven't logged a round for a while. • Yards or meters. GOLF JOURNAL PRO Golf Journal is free for up to 3 rounds, 3 practice sessions and 2 courses. Golf Journal Pro removes the limits and adds export: your rounds as a spreadsheet (CSV) and a printable season report (PDF). Pro is available as a subscription or a one-time purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.mygolfjournal.app/posts/privacy

Screenshots

Pickleball Score Keeper4 screens
Golf Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Golf Journal at Free against Pickleball Score Keeper's $5.99. Golf Journal also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). Pickleball Score Keeper's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ratings volume (134 vs 12). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Golf Journal is free to download; Pickleball Score Keeper costs $5.99 up front. Golf Journal sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Pickleball Score Keeper asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Golf Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pickleball Score Keeper has 134 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pickleball Score Keeper ships an update every 5 weeks, Golf Journal fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Pickleball Score Keeper versus Golf Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPickleball Score KeeperGolf Journal
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (134 ratings)4.8 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings134 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#196 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopercodeDependent Software IncorporatedGruffydd Johnston

Customer experience

Pickleball Score Keeper

All ratings133 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews100 reviews
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative3.0%

Golf Journal

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Pickleball Score Keeper

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Swipe gestures fail to register consistently
  • App freezes when recording scores
  • Cannot cancel or stop a game once started
  • Activity recording cannot be stopped without deleting app
  • Game ending cannot be undone if wrong direction swiped
Show 4 more
  • Haptic feedback unreliable on some Apple Watch models
  • Font display issues on iPhone with enlarged text settings
  • App incompatible with hearing aids for audio output
  • Difficulty swiping from screen edges

Requested features

14 requests
  • Rally scoring mode support
  • Location/court tracking feature
  • Cloud backup and data synchronization
  • Player name customization on watch display
  • Volume control via watch side button
Show 9 more
  • Ability to record matches you're not playing in
  • Hearing aid audio compatibility
  • Tap-based controls instead of swipes
  • Manual score editing capability
  • Custom activity type (Pickleball instead of Racquetball)
  • Undo functionality for game-ending points
  • Partner unforced error tracking on watch
  • iPad synchronization support
  • Better tutorial/demo for new users

Golf Journal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Pickleball Score Keeper

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Golf Journal

Subscriptions4
  • Pro7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Pickleball Score Keeper free?
Pickleball Score Keeper costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Golf Journal free?
Golf Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pickleball Score Keeper or Golf Journal?
Golf Journal is rated higher. Pickleball Score Keeper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 134 ratings, while Golf Journal averages 4.8 from 12 ratings.
Do Pickleball Score Keeper or Golf Journal have ads?
Neither Pickleball Score Keeper nor Golf Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pickleball Score Keeper or Golf Journal?
Pickleball Score Keeper ships an update every 5 weeks, and Golf Journal fortnightly. Most recently, Pickleball Score Keeper was updated on November 6, 2026 and Golf Journal on November 8, 2026.

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