Comparison

HeyBLU vs Next Inning

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

Head to head
About

HeyBLU

This app transforms your iPhone into an objective strike zone for youth baseball and softball. It provides live audio calls for balls and strikes, tracks pitch data, and helps develop pitcher command and batter's eye.

Highlights
  • Live audio ball/strike calls
  • Adjustable strike zone
  • Pitch heatmaps and logs
  • Estimated velocity tracking
  • Command effectiveness rating
  • Pitcher performance tracking
  • Batter's eye development tool
Read full description

HeyBLU is a live, objective strike zone for youth baseball and fastpitch softball. Mount your phone, set the zone, and hear live “BALL” or “STRIKE” the moment the pitch crosses the plate. Make your next bullpen count with BLU/Big League Umpire. No radar gun. No sensors in balls. No cell service or Wi‑Fi required. Built for any outdoor field including your backyard. AFFORDABLE PRECISION TECH Train command with your bullpen umpire what it costs to hire one umpire, or one pitching lesson. Bucket Dads, Diamond Moms, Pitching Coaches and teams, track your progress with heatmap reports after every bullpen. ESTABLISH COMMAND Size the strike zone, hit your target, hear instant BALL or STRIKE through your iPhone, or connect a Bluetooth speaker, or earbuds. Train to Your Zone: HeyBLU's zone is adjustable to make it more or less challenging to get strikes, or to match the zone you expect on game day. Every Pitch Tells a Story: Heatmaps in both 2D and 3D Replays, just like the Pors. Every pitch logs plate-crossing location, pitch count, and estimated velocity. NEW IN THIS VERSION • Share reports straight to Instagram. • Sharper fastpitch softball calls. • Spreadsheet data now in feet and inches. Keep the suggestions coming — HeyBLU gets better with every bullpen SELECT YOUR SPORT: Baseball & plus 11-inch or 12-inch softball tracking. Follow Live: With a 2nd iPhone or iPad fans can follow along. COMMAND TRAINING TOOL With a 2nd iPhone or iPad coaches or player can pick the intended location before the pitch. HeyBLU compares result to target and builds a sharable command rating report. Earn Your Innings: Save and compare pitcher performance over time to see who hits their spots. Solo Bullpens: Get instant audio feedback while throwing alone. Batter’s Eye: Give hitters a consistent zone so plate discipline isn’t “close enough.” Umpire Training: An objective reference for aspiring umpires — we empower umpires; we don’t replace them. START YOUR 14-DAY FREE TRIAL. Not at the field yet? Download, select a reminder, and your trial doesn't begin until you're ready. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Account Settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://www.heyblu.ai/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.heyblu.ai/terms

About

Next Inning

This app helps youth baseball coaches manage player lineups, fielding rotations, and playing time. It simplifies game planning, tracks player stats, and ensures fair distribution of innings and positions. The app works offline and can sync with assistant coaches.

Highlights
  • Dynamic fielding rotation grid
  • Generated lineup plans
  • Continuous batting order
  • Pitch count tracking
  • Offline functionality
  • Season fairness reports
  • Assistant coach invites
Features
Read full description

Next Inning is a lineup, fielding, and playing-time app for youth baseball and softball coaches. It is the top of the third. Your left fielder wants to pitch, a parent is asking why their kid sat two innings in a row, and you are holding a dry-erase board in one hand and a lineup card in the other. Next Inning replaces both. It is built for the innings you are coaching, not the recap afterward. PLAN THE GAME Build the fielding rotation in a grid: players down the side, innings across the top, tap a cell to set a position. Or start from a generated plan: Next Inning fills every inning of fielding around your rules, each player's position preferences, and who has been sitting. You set the batting order yourself, by dragging it into shape (in continuous batting order) or copying it from a prior game, fielding plan too if you like. Enter your limits once (minimum field innings, consecutive bench innings, pitcher innings, pitch caps, rest days) or start from a league preset, with a per-game override for tournaments. Enter pitch counts after an outing and Next Inning helps you track them: it flags a plan that breaks one of your rules and still lets you make the call. SOFTBALL Bat 9, 10, 11, 12 or the whole roster, per team or per game. Mark the DP, FLEX and EP for fastpitch; a pinch hitter keeps the same batting spot, and the Re-enter once setting warns before an illegal re-entry. RUN THE DUGOUT The dugout view is the point of the app: one screen, big type, high contrast, readable at a glance in direct sun from a few feet away. Tap a position to pick a player, or drag a player onto another. One tap steps to the next inning and the positions redraw. Mark a player unavailable, mark an injury from an inning, or sub a player out; the batting order and fielding plan route around them. Position changes, swaps, and sub-outs have an undo, so a mis-tap costs you a second, not an inning. On a tablet in landscape the batting order sits beside the field; on a phone you switch between the two, so the tablet can stay in the dugout while you coach from the baseline. Super-bright mode holds the screen at full brightness for noon games, and it stays awake between pitches. WORKS OFFLINE Ball fields have bad service. Sign in once with your email; after that the dugout runs on the device. Every tap saves on the device first and syncs when signal comes back. SHOW YOUR WORK Season totals per player: innings played, innings at each position, bench innings, pitch counts, games played, and a fairness score that rises when innings and infield time are spread evenly and nobody sits two innings in a row. Export the season fairness report as a PDF to print or bring to the playing-time conversation. YOU AND YOUR ASSISTANTS Invite an assistant coach with a short code. They sign in on their own phone and see the same lineup, fielding plan, and inning, usually within seconds when you both have signal. ALSO IN THE APP - Multiple teams; copy roster instead of retyping names each season - Roster with jersey numbers, preferred positions, and positions to avoid - Bullpen and on-deck planning, plus the pitching order - Per-game availability (one tap on Home), designated hitter, game summary with the score - Schedule with opponent, home or away, field on a map, and game-time forecast - Printable lineup card as a PDF for the umpire and scorekeeper - Coaching-staff chat per team and per game, with mute and report WHAT IT DOES NOT DO Next Inning does not score the game, stream video, or broadcast to families. Other apps do that well and you can keep using them. This one helps you decide who plays where, and shows your work when someone asks. Free to use. No ads. We never sell or rent player data, and a roster is visible only to the coaches you invite. Next Inning is built for coaches. Head coaches and assistant coaches use it, and it stores roster information, so it is not designed for players to use. Support: support@nextinning.app nextinning.app

Screenshots

HeyBLU4 screens
Next Inning4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Next Inning at none against HeyBLU's 4. Next Inning also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). HeyBLU's advantage is ratings volume (21 vs 6). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. HeyBLU sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Next Inning asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HeyBLU holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 21 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HeyBLU ships an update every 8 days, Next Inning fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
HeyBLU versus Next Inning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeyBLUNext Inning
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (21 ratings) — better4.8 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings21 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size78 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBig League Ballpark, IncEMJAY747 Enterprises LLC

Customer experience

HeyBLU

All ratings19 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Next Inning

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

HeyBLU

Subscriptions4
  • Pro Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • HeyBLU Pro Monthly14 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Pro Annual14 Days trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • HeyBLU Pro14 Days trial$79.991 Year
None

Next Inning

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HeyBLU free?
HeyBLU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Next Inning free?
Next Inning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HeyBLU or Next Inning?
HeyBLU is rated higher. HeyBLU averages 5.0 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while Next Inning averages 4.8 from 6 ratings.
Do HeyBLU or Next Inning have ads?
Neither HeyBLU nor Next Inning shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HeyBLU or Next Inning?
HeyBLU ships an update every 8 days, and Next Inning fortnightly. Most recently, HeyBLU was updated on October 30, 2026 and Next Inning on October 29, 2026.

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