Comparison

DryfireX vs Alpha Charlie

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

Head to head
About

DryfireX

This app uses your device's microphone to precisely time your firearm draw and trigger click for realistic at-home training. It offers instant statistics, detailed history tracking, and customizable sound calibration for accurate reaction timing.

Highlights
  • Audio-based shot timing
  • Draw and trigger click detection
  • Accurate reaction time measurement
  • Progress tracking and statistics
  • Sound and sensitivity calibration
  • Real-time visual and audio feedback
Read full description

DryFire: Precision Timing for Dry Practice DryFire is your personal dry-fire shot timer, built for speed, realism, and total control. Whether you’re a competitive shooter or focused on safe at-home training, DryFire uses your device’s microphone to time your draw and trigger click with precision — no hardware needed. How It Works • Audio-Based Detection: The timer starts after the beep ends — just like real competition shot timers. • Two-Sound System: Capture your draw and trigger click sounds to measure total reaction time. • Accurate Reaction Timing: Your performance is measured to the hundredth of a second. • Calibration Tools: Tune draw and trigger sensitivity for different guns and environments. • Real-Time Feedback: Visual timers, animations, and audio feedback keep you in the zone. Track Your Progress • Instant Stats: See your best and average times after every run. • Detailed History: Review each run with time and date. • Standard Deviation: Track consistency and improve your draw discipline. Fully Customizable • Sound Calibration: Train the app to recognize your gear and dry-fire click. • Sensitivity Sliders: Adapt detection to your unique environment. • Introduction Slides: Learn the system in minutes with an onboarding walkthrough. Safe. Smart. Effective. • Practice without ammo. Anywhere, anytime. • Requires a quiet space and two distinct dryfire sounds (draw + trigger click). • Designed for maximum safety — always confirm your firearm is unloaded. No subscriptions. No ads. Just pure training. Download DryFire and start sharpening your edge.

About

Alpha Charlie

Analyze your performance in competitive shooting matches like USPSA and IDPA. Get detailed breakdowns of each stage, compare your scores to other shooters, and track your progress over time. Understand where you're losing points and how to improve your accuracy and speed.

Highlights
  • Match result analysis
  • Stage breakdown and comparison
  • Head-to-head shooter comparison
  • Performance trend tracking
  • Offline data storage
  • Optional iCloud Sync
Features
Read full description

Alpha Charlie is THE performance analytics app for USPSA, IDPA, PCSL, GPA and IPSC competitive shooters. Stop guessing where you're losing — start knowing. Capture your match results directly from the match results page and get instant, deep analysis of your performance. Alpha Charlie breaks down every stage, compares you to the field, and shows you exactly what's costing you places. MATCH ANALYTICS See your overall and division rank, match percentage, hit factor, and points down at a glance. Track how you're improving across every match you've shot. STAGE BREAKDOWN Review every stage in detail — your time, points, hit breakdown, and rank on each stage. Swipe through stage cards and spot where you gained or lost ground. HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON Compare yourself directly to any shooter in the field. See how your time, points, alphas, charlies, deltas, and misses stack up against any competitor. MATCH ANALYSIS Get smart insights that tell you whether speed or accuracy is costing you more places. See how many positions you'd gain with a 10% faster time, a clean run, or better hit quality. Find your best and worst stages relative to your average. TREND TRACKING Charts track your rank, match percentage, and hit factor over time so you can see your improvement arc across your full match history. YOUR DATA, YOUR DEVICE All match data is stored privately on your device. Nothing is sent to any server. Enable optional iCloud Sync to keep your data in sync across your iPhone and iPad. Supports USPSA, IDPA, GPA, PCSL and IPSC Matches Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

DryfireX3 screens
Alpha Charlie4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Alpha Charlie at 88% against DryfireX's 14%. Alpha Charlie also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.6) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). DryfireX's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ads, monetization model 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. Alpha Charlie sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. DryfireX asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Alpha Charlie holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 31 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 14% of DryfireX's written reviews are positive against 88% of Alpha Charlie's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DryfireX ships an update every 3 months, Alpha Charlie weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
DryfireX versus Alpha Charlie: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDryfireXAlpha Charlie
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (9 ratings)4.7 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.3% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings931 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB3 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperPetter StavelandRICHARD DAVID SILBER

Customer experience

DryfireX

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral42.9%
Negative42.9%

Alpha Charlie

All ratings31 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

In-app purchases

None

DryfireX

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Alpha Charlie

Subscriptions2
  • Alpha Charlie Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Alpha Charlie Yearly$49.991 Year

Questions

Is DryfireX free?
DryfireX is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Alpha Charlie free?
Alpha Charlie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DryfireX or Alpha Charlie?
Alpha Charlie is rated higher. DryfireX averages 2.6 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Alpha Charlie averages 4.7 from 31 ratings.
Do DryfireX or Alpha Charlie have ads?
Neither DryfireX nor Alpha Charlie shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DryfireX or Alpha Charlie?
DryfireX ships an update every 3 months, and Alpha Charlie weekly. Most recently, DryfireX was updated on October 30, 2026 and Alpha Charlie on October 31, 2026.

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