Comparison

Hoops Lab vs PlayBook

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

Head to head
About

Hoops Lab

This sports team management app streamlines practice preparation and administrative tasks for coaches. It offers tools for designing plays, communicating with the team, managing schedules, and organizing rosters, allowing more time for actual practice.

Highlights
  • Play designer
  • Message board
  • Team schedule
  • Roster management
  • Practice preparation tools
Features
Read full description

Hoops Lab helps coaches run a more productive team. One where you spend less time standing around and more time practicing. With our play designer, message board, team schedule, and roster management, coaches can offload many of the setup and administrative tasks to happen before practice so that their players come prepared and ready to play.

About

PlayBook

This app allows coaches to create, customize, and share strategic plays for various sports. It offers drawing tools, player customization, and the ability to record and export plays for team communication and practice drills.

Highlights
  • Draw and customize plays
  • Choose offensive and defensive players
  • Customize themes and player colors
  • Record plays with voice
  • Share plays and generate playbooks
  • Export plays as JPEG and PDF
  • Apple Pencil compatible
Features
Read full description

PlayBook is a coaching board app that allows you to draw and share plays with your team quickly. Major features of the app include: • Choose offensive and defensive players • Half and full courts available • Customize the entire app theme with your team colors • Ability to choose custom player colors • Easily view and manage your team • Tap on players to pass the ball • Add orange cones for practice drills • Change player size (small, medium, and large) • Change ball size (small, medium, and large) • Rotate board horizontally or vertically • Draw different line styles (move, pass, screen, dribble, and more) • Add shapes (square, circle, and line of sight) • Customize board textures from our collection of wood, grass, water, and more • Choose your team logo and customize your play the way you like • Apple Pencil compatible on iPad • Clear board with a single tap • Save your plays with notes • Record your plays and voice with a single tap • Share your plays with your team, colleagues, and other coaches • Present plays quickly during timeouts and team meetings • Generate and share your playbooks • Export plays as JPEG and PDF formats • Choose different basketball court styles (High School, College, NBA) • Explore our blog • No ads Sports: • Basketball • Football • Soccer • Volleyball • Field Hockey • Ice Hockey • Tennis • Water Polo • Men's and Women's Lacrosse • Handball • Floorball • Cricket • Badminton • Futsal • Netball • Rugby • Ultimate • Pickleball • Baseball • Pro Wrestling • Freestyle Wrestling • Cheerleading • Teqball • Australian Football • Gaelic Football Here's what coaches have to say about the PlayBook app: "Tech has improved our game in so many ways. The PlayBook app is just another example of it. Gone are the days of magnet and dry erase boards. The best app for drawing plays, no matter the sport!" - Coach Adam Bauman, The University of Alabama "Great things are meant to be shared so others can also enjoy the benefits. Loving the PlayBook app - have been using it to make huddles more efficient and it has been a game-changer, literally! Totally recommend for sports coaches." - Coach Jamie Quarles, University of South Florida PlayBook is loved by coaches, athletic teams, and sports fans worldwide, and we hope you'd love it too! Take your game to the next level with PlayBook Pro: PlayBook Pro is an auto-renewing subscription or lifetime purchase that unlocks all the features in the app, including different court styles, fully customizable theme and player colors, custom team logo, unlimited players, saved plays, line styles, shapes, export as PDF, screen and voice recording, and more. Payment will be charged to the account associated with your Apple ID when you confirm your purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription anytime by going to your account settings in the App Store after purchase. Privacy Policy - https://playbookteams.com/privacy Terms of Service - https://playbookteams.com/terms

Screenshots

Hoops Lab4 screens
PlayBook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hoops Lab at none against PlayBook's 3. Hoops Lab also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). PlayBook's advantage is ratings volume (361 vs 13). On price, review sentiment, 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. PlayBook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Hoops Lab asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hoops Lab holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PlayBook has 361 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Hoops Lab's written reviews are positive against 26% of PlayBook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hoops Lab ships an update weekly, PlayBook every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hoops Lab versus PlayBook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHoops LabPlayBook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (13 ratings) — better4.2 (361 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews — better26.3% of reviews
Number of ratings13361 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB69 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLabrador SportsAnant Patni

Customer experience

Hoops Lab

All ratings13 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral23.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral66.7%
Negative0.0%

PlayBook

All ratings361 ratings
Positive78.1%
Neutral5.3%
Negative16.6%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive26.3%
Neutral21.1%
Negative52.6%

Bugs and requests

Hoops Lab

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

PlayBook

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 🐛 Repeatedly called for screen rotation but never saved
  • 🐛 Cannot restore previous/life-time purchase
  • 🐛 Cannot screen record after switching devices
  • 🐛 Cannot write on court after update

Requested features

5 requests
  • Live Play action option to animate plays
  • Add erase option for editing
  • Smoother operating interface needed
  • Allow writing on court again
  • Month free trial to test app

In-app purchases

None

Hoops Lab

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

PlayBook

Subscriptions2
  • PlayBook Pro$9.991 Month
  • PlayBook Pro$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • PlayBook Pro$299.99

Questions

Is Hoops Lab free?
Hoops Lab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlayBook free?
PlayBook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hoops Lab or PlayBook?
Hoops Lab is rated higher. Hoops Lab averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while PlayBook averages 4.2 from 361 ratings.
Do Hoops Lab or PlayBook have ads?
Neither Hoops Lab nor PlayBook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hoops Lab or PlayBook?
Hoops Lab ships an update weekly, and PlayBook every 5 weeks. Most recently, Hoops Lab was updated on September 20, 2026 and PlayBook on September 23, 2026.

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