Comparison

Match Keeper vs zRef

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

Head to head
About

Match Keeper

Manage soccer matches from scheduling to final whistle. Track scores, player stats, and team performance. Includes a timer with whistle, custom formats, and penalty shootout tools. Offers training games and Apple Watch integration.

Highlights
  • Match scheduling and day-of management
  • Real-time match timer with whistle
  • Player and team statistics tracking
  • Customizable match formats and rules
  • Penalty shootout and extra time management
  • Apple Watch integration for live control
  • Training games and challenges
Features
Read full description

Match Keeper is the soccer timer and match manager for coaches, referees, parents, and players. Simplifying the beautiful game, it runs every part of a match — from the fixture list to the final whistle. SCHEDULE & MATCH DAY - Schedule matches ahead and see what's coming in one place - Match Day puts today's fixtures on one screen, ready to kick off - Save the venue, field, and an address that opens in Maps - Set an arrival time, and choose each team's kit - Mark who's in and who's out for each match, and call up guest players to cover - Share a fixture, or the whole match day, as an image TEAM SCHEDULE - Every team has its own schedule — past results and what's coming, in one list - Share it as a printable sheet for the fridge, or a card for the team chat - Choose the matches to include, or pick a range of dates - Styled with your team's logo, emblem, and colors MATCH TIMER - Start, pause, rewind, and skip periods with ease - Automatic whistle at the end of each interval - Track additional time APPLE WATCH APP - Start a match from your wrist, with no phone needed - Tap to score, hold to correct - See the live timer and score on your watch face - Included free with the app MATCH & PLAYER MANAGEMENT - Create teams with names, colors, logos, rosters, and a default format - Sort your teams by name, birth year, gender, date added, or which ones have players - Track goals, substitutions, cards, and playing time - Handle ties with extra time, golden goal, or penalty shootout - Archive and restore teams and players — history and stats kept whole TEAM LOGOS & COLORS - Give every team its own logo — a shape, a pattern, and a monogram or emblem - Choose from 100+ emblems: animals, birds, shields, stars, and more - Set your team's exact colors, shown on the scoreboard and in formations MATCH HISTORY & SHARING - Review match history and notes after the game - Share matches and match stats with a QR code or link TEAM & PLAYER STATISTICS - Team record, goals, and clean sheets across your saved matches - Leaderboards for top scorers, assists, and most minutes played - Per-player minutes, starts, and share of playing time CUSTOM FORMATS - Pick a format and set age group, period length, OT rules, and ball size - Apply restrictions like no heading, offside, goalie, or slide tackles - Customize field and goal dimensions, and share formats by QR code or link PENALTY SHOOTOUTS - Record every penalty as a goal, save or miss, with the shooter and the goalkeeper, through sudden death - See each player's penalty record in their stats TRAINING GAMES - Free games for training: Shootout, Penalty King, Crossbar Challenge, and World Cup - Play with your own players, award medals, and share the result AGE GROUPS - See a player's age group this season and the next five, counted by your country's own rule - Set your club's own rule if it counts differently - Share the age chart as a page to print or a card for the team chat Whether you're running a tournament or timing your child's weekend game, Match Keeper gives you the tools to manage the match with confidence. Terms of service: https://lucatoni-labs.com/products/keeper/terms-of-service Privacy policy: https://lucatoni-labs.com/products/keeper/privacy-policy

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

Match Keeper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Match Keeper at 100% against zRef's 50%. Match Keeper also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). zRef's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, ratings volume, 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

Both are free to download. Match Keeper sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 per month. zRef asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Match Keeper holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Match Keeper's written reviews are positive against 50% of zRef's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Match Keeper ships an update every 3 days, zRef every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Match Keeper versus zRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMatch KeeperzRef
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (15 ratings) — better4.3 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLucatoni, LLCRami Sinno

Customer experience

Match Keeper

All ratings15 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

zRef

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

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Match Keeper

Subscriptions2
  • Keeper Premium Monthly$2.001 Month
  • Keeper Premium Annual$12.001 Year
None

zRef

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Match Keeper free?
Match Keeper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is zRef free?
zRef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Match Keeper or zRef?
Match Keeper is rated higher. Match Keeper averages 5.0 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while zRef averages 4.3 from 7 ratings.
Do Match Keeper or zRef have ads?
Neither Match Keeper nor zRef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Match Keeper or zRef?
Match Keeper ships an update every 3 days, and zRef every 2 months. Most recently, Match Keeper was updated on November 3, 2026 and zRef on November 3, 2026.

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