Comparison

Buddy Timer vs Shiny Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Buddy Timer

Read full description

Designed for players of Pokémon GO to track buddy excitement actions. This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by Niantic or The Pokémon Company.

About

Shiny Tracker

Organize your shiny hunting progress with this focused tracker. Log encounters, save found shinies with details, and manage multiple hunts simultaneously. Share your progress and track your collection across devices.

Highlights
  • Track active and found hunts
  • Multi Hunt for up to four hunts
  • Adjustable encounter step counter
  • Save nicknames for found shinies
  • Track Dex and Living Dex progress
  • Share hunts and finds
  • Cross-device support (Mac, Apple Watch)
Features
Read full description

Shiny Tracker is a focused native tracker for shiny hunters who want to keep every hunt organized without clutter. Create active hunts, choose a game and method, set your encounter step, and count each encounter from a large, easy-to-tap tracker screen. When a shiny is found, save the result with its encounter count, date, method, game, and optional nickname. Built for quick use during real hunts: • Track active and found hunts • Count up to four active hunts at once with Multi Hunt • Count encounters with adjustable steps • Tap the large counter directly and undo accidental counts • Add existing hunts with custom counts and dates • Save nicknames for found shinies • Track Dex and Living Dex progress • Link evolutions and view hunt history • Pin favorite hunts and Dex entries • Share active hunts and finds as square or story cards • Filter, sort, search, and reorder hunts • Use widgets for active hunts and found shinies • Continue active hunts from Apple Watch • Use the native Mac app with the same hunt data • Optional iCloud sync No account is required. The app is designed to stay quiet, fast, and focused on the hunt.

Screenshots

Buddy Timer1 screens
Shiny Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shiny Tracker at none against Buddy Timer's 1. Shiny Tracker also leads on ads (none vs shown). Buddy Timer's advantage is update cadence (daily vs monthly). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Buddy Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shiny Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Buddy Timer ships an update daily, Shiny Tracker monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Buddy Timer versus Shiny Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuddy TimerShiny Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating—1.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB7 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperHANNES DAVID ÖSTLUNDLiudger Grunbauer

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Buddy Timer

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99
None

Shiny Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Buddy Timer free?
Buddy Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shiny Tracker free?
Shiny Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Buddy Timer or Shiny Tracker have ads?
Buddy Timer shows ads; Shiny Tracker does not.
Which is updated more often, Buddy Timer or Shiny Tracker?
Buddy Timer ships an update daily, and Shiny Tracker monthly. Most recently, Buddy Timer was updated on October 3, 2026 and Shiny Tracker on October 11, 2026.

Other comparisons