Comparison

Swipe Play Clock vs zRef

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

Head to head
About

Swipe Play Clock

This Apple Watch app provides customizable play clock timers for sports like football and lacrosse. It features intuitive swipe controls to start timers and includes a separate game clock with alerts and programmable settings.

Highlights
  • Customizable play clock lengths
  • Swipe up/down to start timers
  • Independent game clock
  • Programmable settings
  • Alerts for time remaining
  • Workout mode for screen primary
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Apple Watch App Only: Update for problems the swipe to start the play clock on the new 46mm Series 10 Apple Watch. Similar to the last update, start games in settings menu to start the game since previous method no longer worked. Still working to add previous features, but currently works when swiping up and down on the watch face. Crown rotation does not currently start the play clocks, hope to fix in future versions. Still programmable play clock lengths. This allows you to use the app for both (American) football and lacrosse! Easily swipe up to start the 40 second clock and swipe down to start the 25 second clock on the face of your Apple Watch so you can concentrate on the field. These play clock timers are now programmable so they can be used for other sports, such as lacrosse. Watch Tutorial at: backjudgesolutions.com For football officials using college and high school (NFHS) rules. A game clock is included as well, which runs independent from the play clock (double tap the watch face to start/stop). Instructions (w/ watch face is active/on): 1. Settings Button - Menu Screen includes: a. Start Game - This turns on workout mode for the watch which is required to run timers. b. End Game - When the game is completed, exit workout mode. c. Adjust game clock time d. Settings window 2. Swipe Up on watch face - Starts the swipe up play clock timer 3. Swipe Down on watch face - Starts the swipe down play clock timer 4. Double Touch watch face - Starts/Stops game clock Settings Window: Period Length - This is the time that the Game Clock will reset once it expires (00:00:00). If you do not have game clock responsibilities, you can set this to be your Time Out timer. 2-Minute Warning - Watch will alert you with 2 minutes left on the Game Clock Swipe Up Timer - Sets the length of the Play Clock when the clock face is swiped up (or crown rotate up), such as the 40 second play clock Swipe Down Timer - Sets the length of the Play Clock when the clock face is swiped down (or crown rotate down), such as the 25 second play clock 5 second countdown - Sends an alert every second from 5 seconds until time expires on the Play Clock 10 second alert - Sends an alert with 10 seconds left on the Play Clock 15 second alert - Sends an alert with 15 seconds left on the Play Clock 25 second alert - Sends an alert with 25 seconds left on the Play Clock While the game is running, your watch is in workout mode to keep the screen primary, I do not record any health data.

About

zRef

This app helps referees manage sports matches by tracking time, logging goals, cautions, and ejections. It provides a timer and stopwatch for game management and generates end-of-game reports with scores and event details.

Highlights
  • Match time tracking
  • Goal logging
  • Caution and ejection tracking
  • Timer and stopwatch
  • End-of-game reports
  • Simple match creation
Read full description

zRef is a refereeing app to help you keep track of your matches. The app can keep track of time, log goals, cautions, ejections, and more. The app is simple to use. Simply create a new match, and supply the time per half. Click the start button to start the timer and press it to stop. There is a timer and stopwatch, so you can know he time remaining and the elapsed time for filling out game cards. You can also click and hold start/stop the button to log things such as goals, cautions, and ejections. When the game is over, you will be given an end of game report. This will contain the final score and each event that occurred (including time).

Screenshots

Swipe Play Clock1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: zRef at Free against Swipe Play Clock's $5.99. zRef also leads on rating (4.0 vs 2.7) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 12 months). Swipe Play Clock's advantage is chart position (#60 vs unranked) and ratings volume (26 vs 6). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

zRef is free to download; Swipe Play Clock costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

zRef holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Swipe Play Clock's written reviews are positive against 50% of zRef's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Swipe Play Clock ships an update every 12 months, zRef every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Swipe Play Clock versus zRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSwipe Play ClockzRef
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating2.7 (26 ratings)4.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews38.9% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings26 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#60 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.2 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBack Judge Solutions LLCRami Sinno

Customer experience

Swipe Play Clock

All ratings26 ratings
Positive42.3%
Neutral7.7%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive38.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative50.0%

zRef

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Swipe Play Clock

No in-app purchases

None

zRef

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Swipe Play Clock free?
Swipe Play Clock costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is zRef free?
zRef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Swipe Play Clock or zRef?
zRef is rated higher. Swipe Play Clock averages 2.7 out of 5 from 26 ratings, while zRef averages 4.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Swipe Play Clock or zRef have ads?
Neither Swipe Play Clock nor zRef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Swipe Play Clock or zRef?
Swipe Play Clock ships an update every 12 months, and zRef every 2 months. Most recently, Swipe Play Clock was updated on September 22, 2026 and zRef on September 9, 2026.

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