Comparison

Game Maker vs Riptide Volleyball Academy

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

Head to head
About

Game Maker

Organize pickleball games, find nearby courts, and connect with players. Create custom game formats, manage groups, and communicate with other players.

Highlights
  • Find nearby games and courts
  • Connect with players by DUPR, age, gender
  • Create private groups and chat
  • Organize games with custom formats
  • Scramble, Round Robin, King of the Court modes
  • DUPR rating sessions
Features
Read full description

Game Maker is made for pickleball — the one app you open before, during, and after every session. Find courts and players near you, set up games in seconds, run brackets, track your DUPR rating, and stay connected with the people you play with. Whether you're organizing your regular doubles group or chasing your next rating bump, Game Maker keeps your whole pickleball life in one place. Meet Pickles AI Just ask. Say "set up a private game Saturday morning at 9am with my advanced players group" and Pickles AI — with voice dictation — turns it into a real, confirmable game inside the app. Organizing play has never been this fast. Your games, on your Calendar Every game you create syncs straight to your iPhone's Calendar, including recurring sessions — so your schedule lives where you already look. Find your game • Discover nearby courts and players on the map • Filter by distance to find games that fit • Host or join games and manage invites Play & compete • Build round-robin and tournament brackets • Record match scores • Head-to-head history and leaderboards Track your progress • Connect your DUPR rating • See 90-day performance trends and match insights • Follow your improvement over time Stay connected • Add friends and create groups • Message the players you play with • Game Maker player indicators so you know who's on the app Play anywhere — now in 24 languages Game Maker automatically matches your device language, or pick from 24 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Turkish, and more. Download Game Maker and play more pickleball. By using Game Maker, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Privacy Policy: https://pickleball.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://pickleball.com/terms-of-use

About

Riptide Volleyball Academy

This app centralizes all information for a volleyball academy, connecting athletes, parents, coaches, and administrators. It provides easy access to schedules, announcements, player and team details, payments, and club documents, keeping the community organized.

Highlights
  • View practices, tournaments, and events
  • Receive club announcements
  • Access player and family information
  • View team schedules
  • Track payment information
  • Access club documents
Features
Read full description

Everything Riptide, all in one place. The Riptide Volleyball Academy app makes it easier for athletes, parents, coaches, and administrators to stay connected throughout the season. Families can quickly access the information they need without searching through messages, emails, and multiple platforms. With the Riptide app, members can: • View practices, tournaments, and club events • Receive important Riptide announcements • Access player and family information • View team information and schedules • Keep track of payment information • Access important club documents • Stay connected with Riptide throughout the season Different account types provide access to the information relevant to each member of the Riptide community, including parents, athletes, coaches, and administrators. Whether you're preparing for practice, checking an upcoming tournament, or looking for an important club update, Riptide Volleyball Academy keeps your season organized in one convenient app. One club. One community. One place to stay connected.

Screenshots

Game Maker4 screens
Riptide Volleyball Academy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Riptide Volleyball Academy at 5.0 against Game Maker's 3.8. Riptide Volleyball Academy also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). Game Maker's advantage is ratings volume (18 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, 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. Game Maker sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Riptide Volleyball Academy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Riptide Volleyball Academy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Game Maker has 18 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Game Maker ships an update every 8 days, Riptide Volleyball Academy every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Game Maker versus Riptide Volleyball Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGame MakerRiptide Volleyball Academy
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (18 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings18 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPickleball TopCo LLCBrittany Wrains

Customer experience

Game Maker

All ratings18 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative27.8%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.3%

Riptide Volleyball Academy

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Game Maker

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Access$4.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly Access$19.991 Month
  • Yearly Access$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Annual Access$199.991 Year
None

Riptide Volleyball Academy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Game Maker free?
Game Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Riptide Volleyball Academy free?
Riptide Volleyball Academy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Game Maker or Riptide Volleyball Academy?
Riptide Volleyball Academy is rated higher. Game Maker averages 3.8 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Riptide Volleyball Academy averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Game Maker or Riptide Volleyball Academy have ads?
Game Maker shows ads; Riptide Volleyball Academy does not.
Which is updated more often, Game Maker or Riptide Volleyball Academy?
Game Maker ships an update every 8 days, and Riptide Volleyball Academy every 2 days. Most recently, Game Maker was updated on October 30, 2026 and Riptide Volleyball Academy on October 21, 2026.

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