Range Buddy vs Shot Timer Drills
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Range Buddy
This app provides a vast library of shooting drills for firearms enthusiasts. Track your progress with a scorekeeper and leaderboard, and log your training sessions to identify areas for improvement. Connect with instructors and discover new drills tailored to your skill level.
- 160+ shooting drills
- Drill filtering by skills
- Scorekeeper and leaderboards
- Integrated training log
- Instructor marketplace
- Random drill picker
- Dry fire tool
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Range Buddy is the all-in-one firearms training app for shooters who want better drills, on-video shot scoring, video coaching, a smarter training tracker, and real competition. Connect a shot timer, record and score your shooting on video, break a run down frame by frame, build training regimens, follow standards, and compete in head-to-head duels or group challenges. Browse a drill library sorted by target type, category, and skill focus so you can train with purpose and measure progress over time. Record, Score, and Share Your Shooting Hit record and Range Buddy captures your run, then overlays your shot times, splits, and scored hits onto the clip—save to your camera roll and share in seconds. Score against 12 targets including B-8, IPSC, USPSA, IDPA, steel, the FBI QIT and Rangemaster Q quals, and Dot Torture—or free-shoot with no target at all. Film Studio—Review, Sync, and Compare Turn range footage into training video. Review a single run, sync multiple camera angles, or compare up to four runs side by side with frame-by-frame stepping. Waveform editing lines up the beep and every shot, captions generate automatically, and exports come out landscape, square, or vertical. Breakdown—Coach the Video Markup and annotate on the video. Drop callouts on exact frames, tag steps of the draw, set slow-motion sections, and overlay a skeletal wireframe to show body position through the run. Record a voiceover/picture-in-picture, then export a Coach's Cut—the clean run first, then your analysis with markups, slow motion, and narration baked in. Performance Lab—Analyze Your Draw Record or upload a draw and every rep is measured, graded, and replayed with a skeleton overlay. You get one specific thing to fix, plus phase trends over time. Shot Timer—Bluetooth or Your Phone Pair a Bluetooth shot timer—AMG Commander, Special Pie, RangeTech, Shooters Global, or Kestrel KST1000—to pull live shot data into your drills and videos. With the Kestrel KST1000, Range Buddy also starts and stops the timer and sets par times from your phone. No timer? Range Buddy detects shots from your phone's mic for live or dry fire, with adjustable sensitivity for quiet trigger presses and shots on screen in real time. Train From Your Wrist Pair an Apple Watch or Wear OS smartwatch to start drills, advance steps, and see shots hands-free. Instructor Marketplace: Post custom training requests and invite reputable instructors to apply directly. First and Only Virtual Instructor - randomize your training, keep it fun and upbeat. Features: -Works with AMG Commander, Special Pie, RangeTech, Shooters Global, and Kestrel KST1000 shot timers—or just your phone's mic. -Multi-angle sync and four-run compare with frame-by-frame stepping and auto captions. -Telestration—draw, callouts, slow motion, voiceover, and picture-in-picture coaching. -Coach's Cut export that pairs the clean run with your coached analysis. -Pose analysis that grades every draw rep and names the one thing to fix. -160+ shooting drills for handgun, rifle, and shotgun, searchable and sorted by required target. -Skill filters including draw to first shot, reloads, movement, and more. -Step-by-step drill breakdowns with requirements and stage setup. -Training tracker with target-specific scoring to measure improvement over time. -Training regimens for repeatable practice plans, and standards to benchmark progress. -Head-to-head duels and group challenges that make practice competitive and social. -Drill leaderboards, a shot calling tool, and a random drill picker. -Training log with session notes, time, date, and location. -Favorites, community drills, and a Dry Fire Tool and Tracker. Dry fire, live fire, standards, or match prep—train with structure and keep improving. Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Shot Timer Drills
This app transforms your phone into a comprehensive training log for shooting sports. It allows you to run various drills, record every shot and split time, score your performance, and track improvements over time. You can also film and sync video of your runs with shot data burned in.
- Built-in drill library
- Custom drill creation
- Multiple scoring methods
- Video recording and syncing
- Progress tracking and analysis
- Squad mode for multiple shooters
- CSV export for data analysis
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Shot Timer Drills turns your shot timer and your phone into a complete training log. Run drills, capture every shot and split, score your hits, and watch your times improve. RUN DRILLS, NOT SPREADSHEETS Tap Shooter Ready, the timer beeps after a random delay, and your shots stream in live. When the string ends, your time and splits are already there, so you just count your hits. Pressing START on the timer itself works the same way. • A built-in library of drills: qualification standards, hit factor benchmarks, rifle and carbine, diagnostics and dry fire • Build your own drills on one simple page: stages, targets, par times, scoring and instructions • Scoring for hit factor, time plus, and points, with per-stage penalties • Range Day trips for running a whole session of drills in order • Squad mode: several shooters, one timer, fair standings SEE YOUR PROGRESS • Personal bests for every stage and every drill • History by drill, by trip, or by day, with trends, splits and consistency • "Where to focus" points at the stages costing you the most • Compare any two runs side by side • Beautiful result cards to share RECORD VIDEO OF YOUR RUNS • Film each stage with your phone. The app syncs the video to your timer's beep automatically • Export a finished video with your times, splits and shot-by-shot HUD burned in • Add your own intro and outro, your own song, and a photo of your target that shows with your score at the end • Or export only the string: just your shooting with the shot times • Squad runs export as separate or joint videos with a final standings card • Rerun and record in one tap from Jump Back In • Or add a video from your camera roll and sync it yourself WORKS WITH YOUR TIMER • Competition Electronics ProTimer BT, SG Timer / Timer 2 / GO, Special Pie M1A2+ and Kestrel KST1000 are verified on real hardware • AMG Commander and DAA Edge are supported experimentally, with more testing on the way • No timer? Use the simulated timer, or type your times in YOUR DATA, YOUR WAY • Share a drill by link, and update your copy when a friend improves theirs • Share drills, runs and shooters between devices by AirDrop or Files, with a confirmation step before anything changes • Export and import CSV for spreadsheets • Full backup and restore • Optional iCloud sync across your devices • No account. No ads. Your training stays on your devices. Also includes Apple Watch companion controls. Shot Timer Drills is not affiliated with any timer manufacturer. All product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shot Timer Drills at none against Range Buddy's 3. Shot Timer Drills also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs weekly). Range Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (19 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Range Buddy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Shot Timer Drills asks for nothing beyond the download.
Shot Timer Drills holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Range Buddy has 19 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Range Buddy ships an update weekly, Shot Timer Drills daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Range Buddy | Shot Timer Drills |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (19 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Daily — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 199 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Practical Defense Training, LLC | Daniel Kuruvilla |
Customer experience
Range Buddy
Shot Timer Drills
In-app purchases
Range Buddy
- MonthlyTwo$2.991 Month
- Range Buddy Pro Monthly14 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Range Buddy 12mo Subscription14 Days trial$49.991 Year
Shot Timer Drills
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Range Buddy free?
Is Shot Timer Drills free?
Which has better reviews, Range Buddy or Shot Timer Drills?
Do Range Buddy or Shot Timer Drills have ads?
Which is updated more often, Range Buddy or Shot Timer Drills?
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