Comparison

RefsWatch Dev vs REF!

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

Head to head
About

RefsWatch Dev

Features
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Companion app for use by team managers or referees and their assistants for recording a rugby game. The game can be displayed on a pitchside screen, publicly via the internet or by users of the app.

About

REF!

Features
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REF! is the ultimate app for football referees. Create the match, invite your crew and run it from the watch. No paper, no fuss. BEFORE THE MATCH - Create the match with teams, competition, ground, date and time. - Save your teams and the grounds you visit most. - Competitions with their own refereeing and travel fees. - Choose whether you're the referee or an assistant. - History for every team: how many times you've officiated them and how those matches ended. - A countdown to your next match in the widget, the Live Activity and your watch face. - A calendar event, created automatically. ON THE PITCH, FROM YOUR APPLE WATCH - Period timer: set how many periods, how long each one lasts and how long the break is. - Haptic alert when time is up, with added time and a warning if the break runs over. - Choose which team kicks off at the start of each period. - Goals with the scorer's shirt number. - Yellow and red cards, for players and for team staff - Substitutions with the numbers coming on and off. - A match summary on your wrist the moment you blow the final whistle. - Tournament mode to chain matches with their own timings and fees without leaving the watch. - Create a match on the watch itself if your appointment changes at the last minute. - Leave the app or let the screen sleep — the match picks up where you left it. AFTER THE MATCH - Distance covered, sprints, top speed, heart rate, calories and steps. - A heat map of your position over real imagery of the pitch, in satellite or pitch view. - Effort zones calculated from your maximum heart rate. - A full match report: goals, cards, minutes and substitutions across every period. YOUR SEASON - Stats across every season and any date range. - A complete history of teams, competitions and grounds. - Matches as referee and as assistant, counted separately. PAYMENTS - Total paid and total outstanding for the season, always in view. - Breakdown by competition and by month, with a per-match average. - Refereeing and travel fees kept separate. - A one-page annual PDF report and a CSV with one row per match, for your association or your tax return. - Mark matches as paid one by one or all at once. WITH YOUR CREW - Find other referees by name or @nickname and add them as friends. - Invite them to a match: they get a notification and accept it from their inbox. - The match syncs between all three of you in real time. - A combined heat map and stats for the whole refereeing team. - Your own profile with an avatar and nickname. AND ALSO - Everything synced through iCloud between iPhone and Apple Watch. - Backups you can export and import. - Works without a signal: whatever you record on the pitch is sent as soon as you're back online. - Tutorials for the app and the watch, plus a quick-start guide. - Match alerts and reminders. REF! PRO Core features are free. REF! PRO unlocks physical performance, full stats, payment reports, shared matches and tournament mode. €2.99/month or €16.99/year, with the first month free on the annual plan. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. You can manage yours in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://therefapp.es/en/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://therefapp.es/en/privacy.html

Screenshots

RefsWatch Dev4 screens
REF!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RefsWatch Dev at none against REF!'s 2. RefsWatch Dev also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). REF!'s advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 4 months). On price, 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. REF! sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. RefsWatch Dev asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RefsWatch Dev ships an update every 4 months, REF! every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
RefsWatch Dev versus REF!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRefsWatch DevREF!
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMac BeaganRodrigo Vicente Valmorisco

In-app purchases

None

RefsWatch Dev

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

REF!

Subscriptions2
  • REF! PRO Monthly$2.991 Month
  • REF! PRO Yearly$14.991 Year

Questions

Is RefsWatch Dev free?
RefsWatch Dev is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is REF! free?
REF! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RefsWatch Dev or REF! have ads?
Neither RefsWatch Dev nor REF! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RefsWatch Dev or REF!?
RefsWatch Dev ships an update every 4 months, and REF! every 6 days. Most recently, RefsWatch Dev was updated on September 29, 2026 and REF! on September 14, 2026.

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