# Pickleheads vs PickleBuddy

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PickleBuddy at none against Pickleheads's 7. PickleBuddy also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 85%). Pickleheads's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 10). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pickleheads sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. PickleBuddy asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Pickleheads against 5.0 for PickleBuddy. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pickleheads has 11K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Pickleheads's written reviews are positive against 100% of PickleBuddy's.

Pickleheads ships an update every 2 weeks, PickleBuddy every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pickleheads | PickleBuddy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (11K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pickleheads-play-pickleball/id6448714446/reviews) | **[5.0 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/picklebuddy/id6504848025/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **11K** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | 85.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 93 MB | 49 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 16.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dink Technologies, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1685792209) | [SudoWorks LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1786034665) |

## What reviewers say

### Pickleheads

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pickleheads-play-pickleball/id6448714446)

Find pickleball courts, games, and groups near you. Organize matches, manage sign-ups, and connect with other players. Offers guides to improve your game and a community-driven directory of over 16,000 locations.

**Highlights:** Discover courts worldwide, Find games by skill level, Join local pickleball groups, Organize games and manage sign-ups, Create private player lists, Access game improvement guides

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pickleheads Plus - Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Pickleheads Plus - Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| Pickleheads Pro - Monthly | $24.99 | per month |
| Pickleheads Ultra - Monthly | $74.99 | per month |
| Pickleheads Pro - Yearly | $249.99 | per year |
| Pickleheads Ultra - Yearly | $749.99 | per year |
| Round Robin | $5.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to organize Round Robin tournaments
- 🚀 Helpful for finding pickleball courts and sessions while traveling
- 👍 User-friendly interface and great UX
- 👍 Useful for beginners and experienced players alike
- 👍 Effective for coordinating and managing pickleball groups

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Issues with adding courts or players to the app
- 🤔 Not enough users in some areas to fully utilize the app

**Reported bugs**

- Login screen freezes
- Unable to add mobile number to account

**Requested features**

- Export Round Robin tournament data to Excel
- Ability to add courts not already in the app


### PickleBuddy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/picklebuddy/id6504848025)

Organize pickleball sessions, manage player RSVPs, and communicate with your group seamlessly. Features include automated waitlists, threaded chat, and recurring session setup to simplify group play.

**Highlights:** Group and session management, Automated waitlists, One-tap RSVPs, Threaded chat with notifications, Recurring session setup, Player announcements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pickleheads free?

Pickleheads is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PickleBuddy free?

PickleBuddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Pickleheads or PickleBuddy?

PickleBuddy is rated higher. Pickleheads averages 4.9 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while PickleBuddy averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.

### Do Pickleheads or PickleBuddy have ads?

Neither Pickleheads nor PickleBuddy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pickleheads or PickleBuddy?

Pickleheads ships an update every 2 weeks, and PickleBuddy every 9 days. Most recently, Pickleheads was updated on November 13, 2026 and PickleBuddy on November 4, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*