Comparison

VRC RoboScout vs OpenScout

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

Head to head
About

VRC RoboScout

This app revolutionizes team and event tracking for robotics competitions. It allows users to record match notes, export data, view leaderboards, and even predict match outcomes. It supports multiple competition modes and seasons, offering a comprehensive scouting solution.

Highlights
  • Favorite teams and events
  • Universal team and event lookup
  • World Skills and TrueSkill leaderboards
  • In-app match notes
  • Data export
  • Match predictions
  • Multi-season and multi-mode support
Features
Read full description

Whether you want to keep track of all your favorite teams and events, check the World Skills leaderboard with a single tap, take in-app match notes for individual teams, export scouting spreadsheets, check the vrc-data-analysis TrueSkill leaderboard, or predict the outcome of every single match at an event, VRC RoboScout is the definitive scouting app. Open-source and community-focused, take your scouting to the next level. Features include: - Favorite teams and events - Universal team and event lookup - World Skills leaderboard - World TrueSkill leaderboard - Customizable appearance - Multi-season functionality - VEXU, VRC MS, and VRC HS modes - Event information, teams, divisions, and rankings - Excellence eligibility calculator - Match Notes - Data exporter - Match predictions Coming soon: - Cloud syncing for Match Notes between teammates - Match widgets - Match and rankings notifications

About

OpenScout

Follow VEX Robotics tournaments, track teams, and scout competitors. Features include live event updates, match notes, picklists, and practice tools. Sync data across devices with optional account sign-in.

Highlights
  • Follow VEX Robotics teams and events
  • Real-time rankings and match results
  • Scout teams and build picklists
  • Sync notes and picklists across devices
  • Tournament mode for quick event access
  • World Skills rankings
  • Practice field and timer tools
Features
Read full description

OpenScout helps you follow your VEX Robotics team through an entire tournament. OpenScout is an independent app from RoboSTEM Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by VEX Robotics, Innovation First International, or the Global Robotics & Science Foundation. Competition data comes from public event and team information on events.vex.com. FOLLOW YOUR TEAM Set your team number once. Home shows their next match, current ranking, and skills scores, and you arrange it from blocks for the events and teams you follow. SEARCH ACROSS VEX Explore searches across the entire program instead of just the page you're viewing. It understands common terms like sig, states, champs, and worlds. Search a full team number to see the events that team has competed at. FOLLOW A LIVE EVENT Open an event to see rankings, match results, elimination brackets, division standings, skills rankings, awards, and the venue agenda. Results update as the event runs. If a match has video, you can watch it inside OpenScout. Turn on predictions to see the win chances for each unplayed match, from OpenScout Score. SCOUT TEAMS Compare teams side by side, take match notes, build a picklist, work through alliance selection, and follow the bracket. Export an event to CSV, or save it to read offline. Make a Cloud team with your scouting group, and everyone's favorites, notes, and picklists stay in sync. TOURNAMENT MODE A single screen for the event you're attending. See your next match, which field you're on, and your current standing without digging through event pages. WORLD SKILLS STANDINGS View full-season World Skills rankings across every supported program and grade level. FIELD AND TIMER TOOLS Use the built-in match timer, score calculator, and whiteboard for practice and strategy. NOTIFICATIONS AND LIVE ACTIVITIES Get match results for the teams you favorite, and follow your team's matches on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. TRANSLATION Event and team names appear in the language entered by the event organizer. OpenScout can translate them automatically or whenever you request it. ACCOUNT OPTIONAL You don't need an account to use OpenScout. Signing in with Apple, Google, or Discord lets you sync your followed team, favorites, notes, and picklists across devices, and join Cloud teams. You can delete your account directly inside the app at any time. FREE, NO ADS, NO TRACKING OpenScout is free. There are no ads, no subscription, no third-party analytics, and no tracking across other apps and websites. Terms of Service: https://openscout.ing/terms Privacy Policy: https://openscout.ing/privacy Questions: contact@robostem.org

Screenshots

VRC RoboScout4 screens
OpenScout4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: VRC RoboScout at 135 against OpenScout's 4. VRC RoboScout also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). OpenScout's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for VRC RoboScout against 4.8 for OpenScout. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VRC RoboScout has 135 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VRC RoboScout ships an update every 6 weeks, OpenScout every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
VRC RoboScout versus OpenScout: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVRC RoboScoutOpenScout
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (135 ratings) — better4.8 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings135 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWilliam CastroROBOSTEM FOUNDATION INC

Customer experience

VRC RoboScout

All ratings135 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.7%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

OpenScout

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

VRC RoboScout

No in-app purchases

None

OpenScout

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VRC RoboScout free?
VRC RoboScout is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OpenScout free?
OpenScout is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, VRC RoboScout or OpenScout?
VRC RoboScout is rated higher. VRC RoboScout averages 4.9 out of 5 from 135 ratings, while OpenScout averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.
Do VRC RoboScout or OpenScout have ads?
Neither VRC RoboScout nor OpenScout shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VRC RoboScout or OpenScout?
VRC RoboScout ships an update every 6 weeks, and OpenScout every 3 weeks. Most recently, VRC RoboScout was updated on October 14, 2026 and OpenScout on October 8, 2026.

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