Comparison

BJJ Grapple Buddy vs MatNotes

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

Head to head
About

BJJ Grapple Buddy

Organize and recall your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques with this app. Save videos, upload your own, and track your progress with a structured library and visual tools. Never forget a move again.

Highlights
  • Organized video library
  • Nested folders and smart search
  • Upload own training videos
  • InFocus dashboard for drills
  • 5-star mastery rating
  • Visual technique chains
  • Track practice progress
Features
Read full description

Tired of losing BJJ instructionals in endless YouTube, Instagram and Facebook bookmarks? BJJ Grapple Buddy turns the chaos into a structured system for organising, remembering, recalling and actually executing your techniques on the mat. YOUR STRUCTURED LIBRARY Save any video into nested, fully customisable folders — Submissions, Passes, Sweeps, Escapes, Takedowns, Guards, and more. Share straight from Instagram, Facebook or YouTube and it's saved instantly, no copy-paste. Upload your own training clips, photos and GIFs. Rate your mastery of each technique, set reminders, and search your whole library in seconds. TRAINING LOG Log every session in seconds. In your Drills notes, tag any technique from your Library or a general concept — build a searchable record of what you actually drilled. Log your Rolls too: opponent, result, and every technique you landed or had landed on you, tracked separately for both directions. STATS DASHBOARD See your training translated into real numbers. Win/loss/draw breakdown, rolls over time, and an opponent-by-opponent view of your game. Drill down from broad categories like Submissions all the way to the exact technique that's winning — or losing — you rolls. IN FOCUS & MASTERY Your dashboard highlights exactly what to drill next, based on your own mastery ratings and how long it's been since you touched a technique. No more forgetting what you learned three weeks ago. DISCOVER & CHAINS Browse top-rated instructionals from the community and build visual technique chains that link moves together the way they actually flow on the mat. No more forgetting techniques — finally remember, recall, and execute them when it counts. Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

MatNotes

This app helps martial arts students retain techniques by providing a structured review schedule for short instructional videos. It allows students to ask coaches questions directly from videos and track their progress. Coaches can film techniques once and have them resurface for students on spaced repetition schedules.

Highlights
  • Spaced repetition for technique review
  • Video playback with slow-motion and looping
  • Timestamped questions for coaches
  • Private training notes and progress tracking
  • Searchable technique library for coaches
  • Academy branding
Features
Read full description

MatNotes is how a jiu-jitsu academy makes the details from class actually stick. Coaches film a technique right after teaching it. Sixty to ninety seconds, phone propped on the mat. Students get it that night, then again on a spaced schedule (day 1, 3, 7, and 21), the same rhythm your memory needs to hold onto something new. Instead of "I saw that grip once and forgot it," the move keeps coming back until it is theirs. FOR STUDENTS - A simple checklist of what to review, not an endless feed - Watch tonight, then again each time the app brings it back - Slow any video to half speed and loop the exact section you are stuck on - Tap a moment in a video to ask your coach a question, with the timestamp attached - Keep private training notes and track the techniques you have drilled FOR COACHES - Film once, and the app resurfaces it for every student on the right days - See your students' questions, with the exact video moment, before class starts, so you know what to clean up - Spot where the room got lost on a technique and reteach it - Everything you have filmed, captioned and searchable by position, in one place - Your academy's name and colors throughout MatNotes is used by a whole academy under one plan. Coaches set up and manage their gym on the MatNotes website. Students join with a link from their coach and use the app for free. Questions? Visit thematnotes.com

Screenshots

BJJ Grapple Buddy4 screens
MatNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MatNotes at 100% against BJJ Grapple Buddy's 0%. MatNotes also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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. BJJ Grapple Buddy sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. MatNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BJJ Grapple Buddy ships an update every 6 days, MatNotes weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
BJJ Grapple Buddy versus MatNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBJJ Grapple BuddyMatNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size171 MB2 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperMedia BuddyJacob Weaver

Customer experience

BJJ Grapple Buddy

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

MatNotes

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

BJJ Grapple Buddy

Subscriptions1
  • Premium subscription1 Month trial$2.991 Month
None

MatNotes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BJJ Grapple Buddy free?
BJJ Grapple Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MatNotes free?
MatNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BJJ Grapple Buddy or MatNotes have ads?
Neither BJJ Grapple Buddy nor MatNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BJJ Grapple Buddy or MatNotes?
BJJ Grapple Buddy ships an update every 6 days, and MatNotes weekly. Most recently, BJJ Grapple Buddy was updated on October 30, 2026 and MatNotes on October 31, 2026.

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