Comparison

Ref vs REF!

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

Head to head
About

Ref

Features
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Ref-Vision captures a referee’s match on Apple Watch and iPhone: GPS, heart rate, speed, distance, match clock, event taps, and sideline video, all heading to one game on your Ref-Vision account. Start the watch at kick-off. Put the iPhone on a tripod if you want film. The watch is built to be glanced at, not stared at. Large buttons, haptics, and an always-on clock. APPLE WATCH • Start at kick-off: one workout records GPS and heart rate for the whole appointment, including half-time • Match clock with half-time, second half, and full-time • Live heart rate, speed, distance, and GPS lock • Four large event buttons by default: Foul, Yellow, Red, Goal • Extra buttons (Advantage, Stoppage, Injury, Sub, Penalty, and more) from a second page if you enable them on iPhone • Undo the last event with a swipe • Sessions are saved on the watch first, then sent to iPhone automatically. No network required during the match IPHONE • Live glance of clock, heart rate, distance, and last event while the watch is recording • Finished sessions arrive from the watch automatically • Review distance, heart rate, and events after the match; edit or delete a mis-tap • Attach the session to a game, or create one, then upload to your Ref-Vision account • Sign in once with the same email code you use on ref.vision • Customise which event buttons appear on the watch and push the layout across RECORD • New Record tab for sideline match film from a tripod-mounted iPhone • Checks before you start: phone on its side (landscape), on the tripod, and on a power bank • Ultra-wide (0.5x) so the pitch fills the frame; 1080p by default, 4K if you want it • Built for a full match — keep the app open and don’t lock the phone • Recordings stay on this iPhone first, even with no signal • Attach or create a game, then upload. We’ll start processing the film onto that game soon • Watch capture and phone film can run together: movement and events on the watch, video on the phone AFTER UPLOAD Watch sessions land on your game with GPS, heart rate, and event tags. Phone film is uploaded from the app; after we process it, it appears on the same game at ref.vision. Attach footage and set one sync offset so movement, heart rate, and watch events line up with the film together. Capture works without an account. Upload to Ref-Vision requires sign-in. Ref-Vision records referee performance (location, heart rate, and optional sideline video). It is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice. Requires a compatible Apple Watch for GPS, heart rate, and event capture. Video recording uses iPhone. Designed for referees at every level.

About

REF!

Features
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REF! is the ultimate app for football referees. Create the match, invite your trio, run it from your watch and fill in the match report on your federation's intranet without leaving the app. No paper, no hassle. BEFORE THE MATCH - Create the match with teams, category, pitch, date and time. - Save your teams with crest, colours and short name, and your usual pitches. - Match and travel fees by category, editable for each match. - Choose whether you're the referee or an assistant. - History for each team: how often you've refereed them and how it went. - Countdown to your next match in the widget, the Live Activity and on your watch face. - A calendar event, created automatically. ON THE PITCH, FROM YOUR APPLE WATCH - Timer by periods: set how many, how long and how long the break is. - Haptic alert when time is up and when the break runs over. - Added time: enter the minutes announced and the watch tells you when they run out. - Choose who kicks off at the start of each period. - Goals with one gesture and the scorer's number; stoppage time is logged like a match report: 45+2. - Yellow and red cards to players and team officials, with second yellows handled for you. - The reason for each card: reckless, promising attack, serious foul play, violent conduct… - Substitutions in the order you write them down, at half-time too. - Substitution windows: how many stoppages each team has used to make changes. - Events view for each team: you choose whether to see goals, cards or substitutions. - Match summary on your wrist at the final whistle. - Tournament mode: create and run matches on the watch itself, with their own times and fees. - If the app closes, the match picks up where you left it. AFTER THE MATCH - Fill in the match report: one tap takes you to your reports on the RFEF or regional federation intranet. - The full report in the app: goals, cards with their reason and substitutions, each with its minute. - Distance covered, per half too, sprints, top speed, heart rate, calories and steps. - Heat map of your position over the real image of the pitch, in satellite or pitch view. - Effort zones calculated from your real maximum heart rate, read from Apple Health. - The match is saved to Apple Health like any other workout. YOUR SEASON - Statistics by season or date range, as referee and as assistant. - History of teams, categories and pitches. FEES - Paid and pending for the season, by category and by month, with match and travel fees kept separate. - Annual PDF and CSV report, for your committee or your tax return. - Mark matches as paid one by one or all at once. WITH YOUR TRIO - Add other referees as friends by name or @alias and invite them to your matches. - The match syncs in real time between the three of you. - Combined heat map and statistics for the whole refereeing team. - Profile with avatar and alias, plus blocking and reporting. AND ALSO - Your federation's intranet one tap away from Home; your password never goes through REF!. - Everything synced with iCloud between iPhone and Apple Watch. - Exportable and importable backup. - Works without signal: whatever you record on the pitch is sent as soon as you're back online. - Match reminders, tutorials and a suggestion box. REF! PRO Refereeing with REF! is free, with no match limit: timer, goals, cards and substitutions from the watch, match metrics and effort zones. REF! PRO unlocks the heat map, statistics across all seasons and by date range, fee reports, friends and shared matches, tournament mode, substitution windows and card reasons. €2.99/month or €16.99/year, with the first month free on the annual plan. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. You can manage it in your Apple ID settings. Terms of use (EULA): https://therefapp.es/en/terms.html Privacy policy: https://therefapp.es/en/privacy.html

Screenshots

Ref4 screens
REF!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ref at none against REF!'s 2. REF!'s advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.4). 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. Ref asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ref ships an update every 3 weeks, REF! weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Ref versus REF!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRefREF!
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.418.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSAMUEL LANE MADDOCKRodrigo Vicente Valmorisco

In-app purchases

None

Ref

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

REF!

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

Questions

Is Ref free?
Ref is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is REF! free?
REF! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ref or REF! have ads?
Neither Ref nor REF! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ref or REF!?
Ref ships an update every 3 weeks, and REF! weekly. Most recently, Ref was updated on November 4, 2026 and REF! on November 5, 2026.

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