FTA Buddy vs Lovat Collection
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FTA Buddy
This utility app assists volunteers in specific roles at FIRST Robotics Competition events. It provides quick access to a field monitor, technical flashcards, and a reference guide for helpful information.
- Embedded field monitor browser
- Technical flashcards
- Quick reference guide
- Assists FTA/FTAA roles
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app is for volunteers at FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) events in the FTA (FIRST Technical Adviser) or FTAA (FIRST Technical Adviser Assistant) roles. It's a small app that serves three main purposes: display the field monitor in an embedded browser, show flashcards (like the FTA Notepad app), and show a quick reference page with some helpful technical tidbits.
Lovat Collection
Scout FIRST Robotics Competition matches with an intuitive interface, contextual game screen, and haptic feedback. This app supports offline tournament scouting by storing data locally, allowing uploads when connectivity is restored. It offers a quick onboarding process and easy-to-manage settings.
- Contextualized game screen
- Haptic feedback
- Offline tournament support
- Local data storage
- Quick onboarding with team code
- Match assignment via Lovat Dashboard
Read full descriptionHide full description
Lovat Collection makes it easy to scout FIRST Robotics Competition matches with a contextualized game screen, haptics, and an intuitive layout. It supports tournaments without an internet connection by storing data locally and allowing users to upload at any time. The app features a quick onboarding process using a team code that you will receive from your scouting lead. Once connected, scouters can see all of the matches that their scouting lead has assigned to them using Lovat Dashboard. If needed, scouters can also enter the match information on their own. All settings in the app are easy to understand and can be changed whenever necessary.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Lovat Collection at every 2 weeks against FTA Buddy's every 8 months. Lovat Collection also leads on ratings volume (27 vs 1). FTA Buddy's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
FTA Buddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lovat Collection has 27 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of FTA Buddy's written reviews are positive against 79% of Lovat Collection's.
FTA Buddy ships an update every 8 months, Lovat Collection every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and July 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FTA Buddy | Lovat Collection |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.7 (27 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 78.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 27 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ken Schenke | Piedmont Makers |
Customer experience
FTA Buddy
Lovat Collection
In-app purchases
FTA Buddy
No in-app purchases
Lovat Collection
No in-app purchases
