SubTime vs PlayBall
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SubTime
This app simplifies youth sports coaching by managing game planning, player playtime, and substitutions. It offers features like automatic rotation, custom formations, and attendance tracking. Coaches can also share teams and export game data.
- Player playtime tracking
- Automatic substitution rotation
- Customizable formations
- Attendance marking
- Game and player stats export
- Team sharing and collaboration
- Support for multiple sports
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Trusted by more than 60,000 coaches and used for over 600,000 games. Coaching should be about your players and the game - not trying to remember who needs to come off, who has played the longest, or when the next substitution should happen. SubTime takes the stress out of game-day management. Built for youth sports coaches, it helps you manage playing time, plan substitutions, organize lineups, track game events, and keep your coaching team on the same page - all from one app. GIVE EVERY PLAYER FAIR PLAYING TIME No more guessing who has played the most. The game clock and sub timer run together, so you see each player's playing and bench time at a glance throughout the match. SubTime makes it easier to balance minutes, spot who is due for a rest, and give every player a fair opportunity to participate. It's especially useful for youth coaches who want to keep playing time transparent and avoid the post-game question: "Why didn't my child play more?" TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF SUBSTITUTIONS Plan your substitutions before the game or manage them as the action unfolds. SubTime shows who's currently playing, who's on the bench, and who should come on next - so you can make changes without losing focus on the match. Auto Plan also works mid-game, so you can rebuild the rotation after a late arrival or an injury. ARRIVE WITH A GAME PLAN Build your roster, mark attendance, assign player positions, and prepare your starting lineup before kickoff. Pick a standard formation or build a custom one, then save your favorite lineups and reuse them for future games. You can also plan your rotation in advance: either create your own substitution plan or use the Auto Plan feature to generate one that spreads playing time evenly. DEALING WITH THE UNEXPECTED Game day rarely goes to plan, and SubTime has been fine-tuned over years of real matches to cope. A player arrives late. Someone picks up an injury. You make a substitution in the heat of the moment and forget to record it. A guest player turns up to fill a gap in the squad. Rework the squad, the rotation, and the record - adjust as you go or amend after the game, without restarting or losing what you've already tracked. TRACK THE GAME WHILE YOU COACH Record events as they happen - goals, assists, cards, substitutions, and custom events of your own. When the final whistle goes, everything is already organized. Review playing time, player participation, game history, and season statistics without rebuilding it from memory. Game history and player stats export to CSV for club reporting, auditing, or season records. COACH TOGETHER WITH SUBTIME LIVE Game management doesn't have to fall on one person. Share your team with assistant coaches and team managers. With SubTime Live, multiple coaches can collaborate during the same game - one manages substitutions while another tracks events. Family and friends can follow along as viewers, at the field or from home. FOR CLUBS AND MULTIPLE TEAMS Running more than one team? SubTime Club links your club's teams together, lets you view and export game history and player stats across every squad, and lets you buy SubTime access for club teams in bulk at discounted rates. Details at https://www.subtimeapp.com/club IS MY SPORT SUPPORTED? Pick your sport and SubTime is already set up for it: soccer/football, futsal, basketball, lacrosse, rugby, and field hockey. Coaching something else? Build a custom sport with your own positions and events - netball, or however your team plays. SUBSCRIPTION SubTime is free to use for games up to 40 minutes. A paid subscription is required to record games longer than 40 minutes, to use SubTime Live game sharing, and for advanced Auto Plan features. Privacy policy: https://www.subtimeapp.com/appprivacypolicy Terms and conditions (EULA): https://www.subtimeapp.com/general-8
PlayBall
This app helps youth sports coaches manage teams, create balanced rotations, and ensure equal playing time for all players. It offers features like live activity updates, roster syncing, and customizable team themes. Designed for volunteer coaches, it simplifies game-day management so you can enjoy the sport.
- Manage multiple teams and rosters
- Automatic balanced rotation building
- Fair play substitution charts
- Live Activity updates for rotations
- Roster syncing with coaches
- Customizable team themes and mascots
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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 - Fair play scheduling: substitution charts keep playing time balanced for every player, every game - Substitution control: let PlayBall split minutes as evenly as the roster allows, or cap how often you sub and it builds even shifts around it - See the minutes before kickoff: a playing time chart shows how the game splits across your squad, updating as players arrive and settings change - Dedicated goalkeepers: name a keeper for each half and the outfield rotates evenly around them - Live Activities: your next rotation is always one glance away - Swap Only mode: on the sideline, see just who's coming off and who's going on - Sync your roster with assistant coaches using a simple share code - Link training sessions from https://getplayball.app to see your full schedule in one place - Supports 4v4, 5v5, 7v7 and 11v11, in quarters or halves - 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. PlayBall is built with love for everyone who volunteers their time to youth sports. The name PlayBall is a tribute to my dad, who coached me throughout my childhood and taught me the importance of fair play and equal playing time for every kid.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PlayBall at none against SubTime's 8. PlayBall also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). SubTime's advantage is ratings volume (710 vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). 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. SubTime sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. PlayBall asks for nothing beyond the download.
PlayBall holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SubTime has 710 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
SubTime ships an update every 3 weeks, PlayBall every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SubTime | PlayBall |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (710 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 710 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | OTDSOFT INC. | Corey Gagnon |
Customer experience
SubTime
PlayBall
Bugs and requests
SubTime
Reported bugs
8 issues- Power play rule in UK kids football not supported
- Goal not recorded as a shot if a player scores
- Unable to keep the same child as Goalie for a half and change at half time
- Timer is incorrect and loses about 30 seconds each 30 mins
- Unable to edit placeholders on field
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- Unable to move player placeholders around on field
- Unable to edit goal scorers and assists during/after the game
- Loses all game time data if you leave the game screen before it's completed
Requested features
14 requests- Add ability to track saves for goalkeepers
- Allow real-time sync of data between devices
- Add more formations for soccer (11v11)
- Add ability to keep score for individual players
- Add feature to save game stats or export to CSV
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- Add groups of subs at the bottom (strikers, defense, mid, etc.)
- Improve player display format (number on top of name)
- Add volleyball (6v6) and ability to indicate if a player served
- Add summary button to list players and their cumulative playtime
- Add ability to edit placeholders on field (e.g. change ST to CF)
- Add ability to move player placeholders around on field
- Add countdown timer instead of sub time indicator
- Add ability to edit goal scorers and assists during/after the game
- Add ability to automatically shuffle players that remain in after substitutions
PlayBall
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SubTime
- SubTime$2.491 Month
- SubTime Standard Monthly$2.491 Month
- Team Monthly$2.991 Month
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- Team Plan Monthly$3.491 Month
- SubTime$24.991 Year
- SubTime Standard Plan Yearly$24.991 Year
- Team Annual$29.991 Year
- SubTime Team Plan Annual$34.991 Year
PlayBall
No in-app purchases








