Substitution Manager vs Kickoff
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Substitution Manager
Easily manage junior soccer substitutions and player tracking for coaches and parents. Ensure fair playing time with automatic tracking, drag-and-drop subs, and helpful alerts. Log cards and goals, and generate instant match reports.
- Automatic player time tracking
- Drag-and-drop live substitutions
- Player bench time alerts
- Cards and goals logging
- Instant match reports
- Offline functionality
- No account required
Read full descriptionHide full description
Sub Manager is a free sideline toolkit for junior football: fair playing time and effortless subs, a tactics board that plays back, broadcast-style match capture, and a complete referee kit, all in one app, no account needed. Built for coaches, parents and volunteers who'd rather watch the game than a spreadsheet. FAIR PLAYING TIME, SORTED - Every player's field and bench time tracked automatically - Drag-and-drop subs, with your formation updating live - Gentle alerts when someone's been on the bench too long - Log goals and cards with a tap - From 5-a-side to full 11-player squads, with early futsal support THE TACTICS BOARD - Move any player with your finger. Bring the ball to someone and it sticks, move too fast and it runs loose - Your lines fade on their own, so the board clears itself between points - Show the ground each side covers, the shot that is on, the passes that are open, the offside line, and the space nobody is close enough to cover - Give the other team a way of playing and see what it costs you: high press, low block, park the bus, stretch and counter, total football - Set the scoreline you want to talk about, and watch a side chasing a goal come out at you GAMECAM - Film matches in up to 4K/60 with a broadcast-style scoreboard burned into the video - Automatic goal highlights, or save the last 30 seconds with a tap - Face blur for safe sharing of junior footage - On-device match analysis: possession, territory and momentum, nothing uploaded REFEREE MODE, A COMPLETE OFFICIATING KIT, FREE - Clock, cards, subs, coin toss and penalty shootouts from your phone or Apple Watch - Speak, don't tap: dictate an incident from phone or watch, transcribed on the device into structured match data - Movement heat map and fitness tracking from your watch (opt-in) - A full match report you can amend afterwards, and career stats across every match you officiate COACH TOGETHER - Co-Coach: share your live match with the bench over Bluetooth, subs, cards and score in sync, no internet needed - Broadcast a live score that nearby supporters can follow AFTER THE WHISTLE - Instant match reports and a shareable full-time recap - Season stats that tell the truth: playing time, net goal impact, goals per field minute - Player cards to share with parents, as an image or a print-ready PDF PRIVATE BY DESIGN - No accounts, no subscriptions, no internet required - 100% free and fully local, your data stays on your phone - Optional one-time purchase: the Apple Watch companion app - Connects with Club Manager for roster sync and backup, if your club uses it - Fully localized in 40 languages Made by coaches and parents who care about fun, fairness and development.
Kickoff
Read full descriptionHide full description
Kickoff is built for the coaches who make grassroots football / soccer happen — the volunteer parent, the community club coach, the person juggling a team sheet and a folding chair on a Saturday morning. No complicated dashboards. Just what you need to get your team out on the pitch and keep track of the season. Manage your squad Set up your team in 9-a-side or 11-a-side format, build your roster, and keep an eye on every player's minutes and stats as the season goes on — handy when parents ask how their kid's getting on. Get ready for match day in three steps Confirm who's available, sort your formation and set your lineup — done from your phone before you've even left for the ground. Run the match without missing a beat A live match screen keeps your formation front and center, with simple substitutions, rotation timers so every kid gets fair playing time, and live goal and score tracking — so you can focus on the game, not the paperwork. Keep score from your pocket Live Activity and Dynamic Island support show the match clock and score right on your Lock Screen, so you're not stuck staring at the app the whole match. Wrap up properly Rate performances after the final whistle and build up a picture of how each player's developing over the season. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Kickoff at weekly against Substitution Manager's every 3 weeks. Substitution Manager's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 26.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Substitution Manager sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Kickoff sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Substitution Manager ships an update every 3 weeks, Kickoff weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Substitution Manager | Kickoff |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 88 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Damien Donnelly | PAUL W SCICLUNA |
In-app purchases
Substitution Manager
- Watch Companion$5.99
Kickoff
- Kickoff Monthly$1.991 Month
- Full Unlock$0.99
Questions
Is Substitution Manager free?
Is Kickoff free?
Do Substitution Manager or Kickoff have ads?
Which is updated more often, Substitution Manager or Kickoff?
Other comparisons















