Comparison

TopTips Pickleball Instruction 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

TopTips Pickleball Instruction

Learn pickleball from top PPA Tour players with short, inspiring video lessons. Master techniques like drops, dinks, and serves with close-up demonstrations. Get motivated with insights from over 25 iconic players and coaches.

Highlights
  • Learn from PPA Tour players
  • Over 25 iconic instructors
  • Bite-sized video lessons
  • Covers all pickleball skills
  • Cinematic visuals
  • Hands-on demonstrations
Features
Read full description

TopTips: Pickleball Instruction From the World's Best Players. Quick Pickleball Tips to Find Your A-ha Moment. LEARN FROM THE WORLD’S BEST PPA TOUR PLAYERS The greatest have something to teach us all—at any level. Watch world-class instructors share their instruction, drills, stories, and everyday wisdom to inspire you. 25+ ICONIC PLAYERS AND COACHES ALL HERE TO HELP YOU Today’s most brilliant minds teach you drops, dinks, forehands, backhands, serves, volleys, singles, doubles, fitness, strategy, mindset, winning, and more. GET INSPIRED, 1 MINUTE AT A TIME Each TopTip features video lessons that fit into any part of your day. Learn on your own terms: in bite-sized pieces. Find your a-ha moment! AN IMMERSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE Cinematic visuals and close-up, hands-on demonstrations make you feel one-on-one with our instructors. INSTRUCTORS INCLUDE Catherine Parenteau, Connor Garnett, Tina Pisnik, Jessie Irvine, Callie Jo Smith, Patrick Smith, Lea Jansen, Tyler Loong, Meghan Dizon, AJ Koller, Donald Young, Collin Shick, Mary Brascia, Maggie Brascia, and more added regularly.

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

STRATEGY IS OFTEN THE MISSING PIECE Lessons, videos and practice build your strokes, yet many players still lose points without quite knowing why. Usually it comes down to where you stand, which shot you choose, and when you move. This app focuses on exactly that: positioning, shot selection, patience, and recognizing how rallies develop. Each scenario walks through a real rally situation with an animated court diagram: what's happening, what most players do, and what to do instead, and why. FOR NEWER AND EXPERIENCED PLAYERS Basic (2.0–3.0) sections cover foundational tactics and positioning. Advanced (3.5+) sections explore higher-level strategy, mindset, and competitive decision-making. If you're newer to the game, start with the Basic scenarios. If you've played a while, the fundamentals are still worth a look. Many points are lost on the basics we think we've mastered. The app assumes you know the rules and scoring, so every scenario can focus on strategy rather than stroke mechanics. INSIDE THE APP - 100+ strategy scenarios with animated court diagrams and clear explanations - 20+ modules covering serves, returns, third shots, the transition zone, dinking, stacking, poaching, defense, partner communication, and the mental game - Strategy by Section for a structured path through the content - A Visual Strategy Browser with filters to find the situations you want to study - Strategy Questions linked to related scenarios and articles, with a Focus checkbox to save the ones you want to work on - Scenario tracking to mark what you want to review, work on, or consider part of your game - A Dashboard that shows your progress at a glance - Strategy articles, including "The 3.5 Level: How to Know If You're There" STUDY AT YOUR OWN PACE Come back to a scenario before you play, review the ones you're working on, and watch the patterns start showing up on the court. Ideas that don't click yet become clearer each time you revisit them as your game develops. FROM THE AUTHOR Developed by Payton Bond, author of Pickleball Strategy: A Guide to 3.5 and Beyond and a regular contributor to The Kitchen. The book received The Kitchen Team's stamp of approval as "a clear and comprehensive guide that covers all aspects of the game." Download free and start playing smarter.

Screenshots

TopTips Pickleball Instruction4 screens
Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TopTips Pickleball Instruction at none against Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide's 1. TopTips Pickleball Instruction also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 days). Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide's advantage is ratings volume (46 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, 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. Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TopTips Pickleball Instruction asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TopTips Pickleball Instruction holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide has 46 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TopTips Pickleball Instruction ships an update daily, Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
TopTips Pickleball Instruction versus Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTopTips Pickleball InstructionPickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.7 (46 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings246 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.4 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB111 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTopCourt, Inc.SmallbizBI LLC

Customer experience

TopTips Pickleball Instruction

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide

All ratings43 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

TopTips Pickleball Instruction

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide

One-time1
  • Full Strategy Unlock$9.99

Questions

Is TopTips Pickleball Instruction free?
TopTips Pickleball Instruction is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
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, TopTips Pickleball Instruction or Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide?
TopTips Pickleball Instruction is rated higher. TopTips Pickleball Instruction averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide averages 4.7 from 46 ratings.
Do TopTips Pickleball Instruction or Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide have ads?
Neither TopTips Pickleball Instruction nor Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TopTips Pickleball Instruction or Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide?
TopTips Pickleball Instruction ships an update daily, and Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide every 5 days. Most recently, TopTips Pickleball Instruction was updated on October 30, 2026 and Pickleball Strategy 3.5+ Guide on October 31, 2026.

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