Comparison

Skate Plan vs Axel

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

Head to head
About

Skate Plan

Design, score, and share figure skating routines with official elements and realistic score projections. This app helps skaters, coaches, and choreographers create competition-ready programs, visualize paths, and sync choreography to music.

Highlights
  • Design IJS-based routines with 120+ official elements
  • Project scores and check program balance
  • Draw skating paths and visualize routines
  • Import and sync music with beat detection
  • Share routines as editable files or PDF
  • Coach mode for managing multiple skaters
Features
Read full description

Skate Plan – Design, Score, Share, and Coach Figure Skating Routines Skate Plan is a complete program‑building tool for figure skaters, coaches, and choreographers. Create competition‑ready routines with official IJS elements, check that your program is well‑balanced, project your score, and share it with your coach or students — all on iPhone and iPad. Build IJS‑Based Routines Skate Plan includes 120+ official ISU elements across Singles and Ice Dance. Add jumps from singles through quads, spins (Levels 1–4), step sequences, twizzles, dance lifts, pattern dance, and choreographic elements. A real‑time predicted base score shows how your routine is shaping up, with a full category breakdown. The smart jump‑combination builder validates rules automatically so your layout stays legal. Program Check Choose your governing body (U.S. Figure Skating or ISU), level, and program type. Skate Plan checks your routine against well‑balanced‑program requirements — element counts, jump repetition limits, required spin types, and duration — and flags anything that needs attention. Score projection shows a low, expected, and high Technical Element Score, including second‑half jump bonuses. Personalized Score Ratings Set your own realistic value for each element to project your score based on how you actually land jumps and execute elements. Switch back to standard IJS base values anytime. Visual Path Drawing Draw your skating path on a realistic rink and place elements exactly where they occur on the ice. The workflow is simple: pick elements, draw the path, refine timing. Music & Timing Import music from Files, Your music library or Apple Music. Automatic beat and tempo detection creates a rhythm timeline, and you can drag elements along the timeline to sync choreography precisely to the music. Audio Tools Cut, Trim, Fade and edit music to get the sound you need. Additionally you can merge multiple audio clips together to create a single audio file as needed. Animated Preview Watch your routine skate itself along your drawn path, fully synchronized to your music — ideal for coaches and choreographers reviewing choreography. Share & Export Share routines as editable Skate Plan files that open directly in the app, or export a PDF with an official‑style Planned Program Content sheet listing elements and base values. Perfect for skaters, parents, and training partners. Coach Mode Create profiles for multiple skaters, assign routines to each, and filter your list with a single tap. All your students’ programs stay organized in one place. Manage Your Routines See IJS scores on every routine card. Duplicate routines to build variations. Sort by duration, element summary, or last edited. Who It’s For Competitive skaters, coaches, choreographers, skating parents, and test‑level skaters — from a first Axel to a quad combination. Built with SwiftUI for iPhone and iPad, featuring intuitive gestures, smooth animations, and full offline use. Your routines stay on your device, and no account is required. Program Check requirements and score projections are planning aids — always confirm against current USFS/ISU rules and your officials. Download Skate Plan and design your next program with confidence. By using this app, you agree to Apple’s standard End User License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Axel

Features
Read full description

Learn to skate one skill at a time with Axel, the figure skating skills tracker. Explore 155 skills across 24 progressive tiers, find technique tips and tutorial videos, and track self-assessed progress between lessons. LOOK AFTER YOUR BLADES Add your skates and blades under My skates. Every session you log adds time on ice to that pair, so you can see how much skating each pair has had since its last sharpen. TRACK YOUR SKILLS Follow 24 progressive tiers from Basic 1 through quad jumps. Mark your progress as you go. SEE HOW A SKILL MOVES Animated demonstrations show a move step by step, with the skate lines on the ice. Free on Basic 1–2 and Novice 1–3. Axel Pro adds skill animations above Novice. LOG EVERY SESSION Record how long you skated, add notes and videos, and watch your time on ice add up week by week and across the season. ATTACH SKILLS TO YOUR VIDEOS Record or import practice video, attach the skill you're working on and get analysis of each attempt. Add notes and compare attempts over time without digging through your camera roll. TIPS NEXT TO EVERY SKILL Tutorials, pro tips and common mistakes sit right beside the skill you're working on. BUILT FOR SKATERS WHO TRAIN For recreational, adult and competitive figure skaters. AXEL PRO Axel Pro adds skill animations above Novice, custom skills and tiers, more skill tags per video and slow-motion review. Choose a monthly or annual subscription. Your skating progress, skill by skill. https://axelskating.com/en/privacy https://axelskating.com/en/terms

Screenshots

Skate Plan4 screens
Axel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Axel at every 3 days against Skate Plan's fortnightly. Axel also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Skate Plan sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and Axel sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Skate Plan ships an update fortnightly, Axel every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Skate Plan versus Axel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkate PlanAxel
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAaron McdonaldJAMES DAVID MCMULLEN

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Skate Plan

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Access to Skate Plan$0.997 Days
  • Skate Plan7 Days trial$14.996 Months
  • Premium Access to Skate Plan7 Days trial$19.991 Year
2 purchases

Axel

Subscriptions2
  • Axel Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Axel Pro Annual14 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Skate Plan free?
Skate Plan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Axel free?
Axel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Skate Plan or Axel have ads?
Neither Skate Plan nor Axel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Skate Plan or Axel?
Skate Plan ships an update fortnightly, and Axel every 3 days. Most recently, Skate Plan was updated on November 5, 2026 and Axel on November 10, 2026.

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