Comparison

Pickleball Drills vs Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide

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

Head to head
About

Pickleball Drills

Enhance your pickleball skills with daily drills and video instruction. Access a library of routines for all levels, including solo options for home or court practice. Improve your dinks, drops, volleys, and more with expert guidance.

Highlights
  • Daily pickleball drills
  • Video instruction for each drill
  • Drills for all skill levels
  • Solo practice drills (wall/ball machine)
  • Improve dinks, drops, and volleys
  • Monthly new drill uploads
Features
Read full description

The Pickleball Drills App by Pickleball Playbook is designed to help you improve your game every single day, no matter your level. With new drills uploaded monthly and videos for each drill, you’ll have the ability to work on what you want, when you want. No partner to drill with? No problem. We’ve got you covered with wall drills you can do at home, or ball machine drills you can do on the court. Gone are the days of wondering what drill to do to help you improve your dinks, drops, drives, volleys, and more. HOW TO JOIN & ACCESS THE PICKLEBALL DRILLS APP Download the App and subscribe to the Pro Membership or Basic Membership for unlimited access to all trainings and drills. PERKS Join the private Facebook group. Here you will get access to exclusive giveaways, trainings, and pickleball tips. DRILLS Each drill will take 30 to 60 minutes and will provide players with repetition & the mental skills needed for match play. Each drill includes video instruction and pro tips from some of the best players in the world! FEATURES "Drop" into trainings that help you improve your game every day, every day, every day, including the following: Beginner (1.0-3.49) Intermediate (3.5-4.49) Advanced (4.5+)

About

Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide

Improve your pickleball game with strategic insights and decision-making guidance. Learn court positioning, shot placement, and partner communication to play more confidently and win more points. Content is structured for players at the 3.5+ level and beyond.

Highlights
  • 20+ strategy modules
  • 100+ scenario-based court situations
  • Animated court diagrams
  • Progress tracking
  • Serve and Return Strategy
  • Dinking Fundamentals and Advanced Dinking
  • Partner Communication
Features
Read full description

LEARN TO PLAY SMARTER Pickleball rewards smart decisions as much as athletic ability. The Pickleball Strategy App focuses on positioning, shot selection, patience, and decision-making. Detailed court illustrations, animated diagrams, and explanations let you study how rallies develop at your own pace and understand what to do next and why. Designed for players who already know the rules and have some experience on the court, the app helps you develop the strategic habits needed to progress toward the 3.5 level and beyond. It focuses on strategy rather than rules, scoring, or stroke mechanics. FREE DOWNLOAD Download the app free and explore selected strategy scenarios and articles. Unlock the complete library with an optional one-time in-app purchase. No subscription. No email registration. INSIDE THE APP • 100+ visual strategy scenarios with animated diagrams and detailed explanations • 20+ strategy modules covering serves, returns, third shots, transition play, dinking, and the mental game • Strategy by Section for a structured path through the content • A Visual Strategy Browser with filters to help you find scenarios you want to explore • Strategy Questions linked to related scenarios and articles, with a Focus checkbox to save questions you want to work on • Scenario tracking to organize what you want to review, work on, or consider part of your game • A Dashboard summarizing your selected scenario statuses BUILD YOUR STRATEGIC UNDERSTANDING Basic (2.0–3.0) modules cover foundational tactics and positioning. Advanced (3.5+) modules explore higher-level strategy, mindset, and competitive decision-making. Explore serve and return strategy, court positioning, shot placement, third-shot drops and drives, transition play, dinking, stacking, poaching, team movement, defensive play, partner communication, and the mental game. Whether you are working toward 3.5 or are already an experienced recreational player, the app provides a visual reference for studying strategic situations and returning to ideas you want to apply on the court. Developed by Payton Bond, author of Pickleball Strategy: A Guide to 3.5 and Beyond and a regular contributor to The Kitchen Pickleball. Download free and explore the strategy behind the game.

Screenshots

Pickleball Drills4 screens
Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide at free with in-app purchases against Pickleball Drills's subscription. Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 87%). Pickleball Drills's advantage is ratings volume (303 vs 40). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Pickleball Drills sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Pickleball Drills against 4.7 for Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pickleball Drills has 303 ratings behind it against 40, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Pickleball Drills's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pickleball Drills ships an update every 6 days, Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pickleball Drills versus Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPickleball DrillsPickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (303 ratings) — better4.7 (40 ratings)
Positive reviews87.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings303 — better40
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.0.215.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size172 MB111 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPickleball Playbook LLCSmallbizBI LLC

Customer experience

Pickleball Drills

All ratings303 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive87.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative11.3%

Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide

All ratings40 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Pickleball Drills

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Scheduler does not work
  • Login issues and app not working
  • Billing and cancellation problems

Requested features

2 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • More strategy-focused content

Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pickleball Drills

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Biannual Subscription7 Days trial$89.996 Months
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$149.991 Year
1 purchases

Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide

One-time1
  • Full Strategy Unlock$9.99

Questions

Is Pickleball Drills free?
Pickleball Drills is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide free?
Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pickleball Drills or Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide?
Pickleball Drills is rated higher. Pickleball Drills averages 4.8 out of 5 from 303 ratings, while Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide averages 4.7 from 40 ratings.
Do Pickleball Drills or Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide have ads?
Pickleball Drills shows ads; Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide does not.
Which is updated more often, Pickleball Drills or Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide?
Pickleball Drills ships an update every 6 days, and Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide every 5 days. Most recently, Pickleball Drills was updated on October 5, 2026 and Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide on October 12, 2026.

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