Comparison

MatchDay vs SocRef

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

Head to head
About

MatchDay

Track your soccer matches and analyze your performance with detailed stats directly from your Apple Watch. Log goals, assists, and view advanced metrics like heatmaps and match recaps. Syncs seamlessly with your iPhone and Apple Health.

Highlights
  • Track goals and assists
  • Analyze match performance
  • Apple Watch logging
  • Heatmap and match recap visualization
  • Syncs with iPhone and Apple Health
  • Generate PDF scouting reports
Features
Read full description

Your soccer stats, straight from your Apple Watch. MatchDay is built for the everyday player who wants to keep a record of all their matches. Look back on great matches and improve from poor ones. Free Features: Career Totals: Keep a running tally of your lifetime goals, assists, and matches played. Recent Matches: Analyze recent matches showing all metrics pulled during the match. Easy Event Logging: Quickly record goals and assists directly from your Apple Watch with a single tap. Instant Phone Sync: Seamlessly save your matches from your Watch to your iPhone once the final whistle blows. Simple Controls: Pause or end your match anytime with a user-friendly interface designed for the heat of the game. Unit System: Switch between US Units and Metric! Scouting Report: Generate a PDF with lifetime stats to share with coaches or freinds. Go Pro with Advanced Stats (purchase once, keep forever): Unlock the full power of your match data with a MatchDay Pro purchase: Density Heatmap: See exactly where you spent your time on the pitch with beautiful visual overlays. Match Recap: Visualize every route you took in a 30 second video showing your whole match in strides. Growth Ring Progress: Challenge yourself in meeting weekly metrics to improve your game. Hall of Fame: Unlock a dedicated space to view your personal bests, like "Most Distance" or "Top Speed" in a single match. Also unlock player titles. Work Rate: See how many sprints you achieve. Distance Breakdown: How much distance is spent walking, jogging, running, or sprinting? Metrics Collected: SoccerTracker gathers the data that matters most to your game: Match Performance: Total Goals and Assists. Intensity: Live Heart Rate (BPM). Location: Precise location to generate heatmap and match recap. Speed & Distance: Total miles covered and your Peak MPH (top speed) during the match. Energy: Total active calories burned. Apple Health Integration MatchDay integrates with the Apple Health App to ensure your hard work on the pitch counts toward your daily goals. By syncing with HealthKit, your soccer sessions contribute to your Activity Rings, helping you close your Move, Exercise, and Stand goals while keeping your fitness data organized in one place.

About

SocRef

Features
Read full description

**The digital match companion built for soccer referees. Track every goal, card, and substitution in real time—on your iPhone or Apple Watch.** ## MATCH MANAGEMENT Create games in seconds. Set team names, jersey colors, half durations (15–45 min), halftime break, extra time, and penalty shootout options. Import assignments directly from Assignr by pasting from the clipboard—SocRef reads the format automatically and fills in the details, including age-appropriate half durations (7v7, 9v9, 11v11). Browse your upcoming and past games in one list, sorted by closest kickoff. Tap any game to jump back into a live match or review the final record. --- ## LIVE MATCH TRACKING Start the timer and let SocRef handle the rest. The match clock runs through 1st Half → Halftime → 2nd Half → Extra Time → Penalties. Add stoppage time on the fly. Pause, resume, and manually advance periods whenever you need to. Log events as they happen: - Goals — with optional player name - Yellow cards — with reason and player - Red cards — with reason and player - Substitutions — player on, player off Every event is timestamped to the minute and saved instantly. Your data survives app backgrounding and device restarts. **1-Minute Alert** — SocRef sends a haptic notification 1 minute before each period ends, whether the Watch screen is on or off. Never lose track of time during a match. --- ## APPLE WATCH COMPANION Control the match from your wrist. The Watch app stays in sync with your iPhone in real time—score, period, timer, card counts. Record goals, cards, and substitutions without taking your phone out. Perfect for when you're on the pitch and your hands are full. **Two-way sync** — Changes made on the Watch (score, cards, team names, match config) are automatically pushed back to the iPhone. The watch is always the source of truth for an active match. Edit a game on the watch, and the iPhone game list updates the moment they reconnect. --- ## EVENT LOG & EXPORT Review the full event timeline after the whistle. Export the complete match record as JSON—ready for your records, your organization, or your own analysis. --- ## SUPPORTER FEATURES — GPS & MOTION TRACKING Support development and unlock advanced referee fitness tools: - **Motion Tracking** — Steps, distance, cadence, and heart rate via Apple Watch. Runs as a live workout in Apple Health (soccer activity type). - **GPS Tracking** — Records your movement across the pitch at configurable intervals (every 10, 30, or 60 seconds). - **Movement Heatmap** — Calibrate the field corners with GPS, and SocRef generates a color-coded heatmap showing where you spent the most time. Identify positioning patterns and improve your coverage. - **Per-Period Breakdown** — Distance, steps, and heart rate stats for each match period, exportable in full. Supporter purchases are voluntary. Any tier—Tip, Coffee, Latte, or Lunch—unlocks all of the above. HealthKit and Core Motion usage is disclosed in the GPS & Motion Tracking section footer on the Game Setup screen. --- BUILT FOR THE PITCH - Dark theme throughout—readable in any light - Works fully offline - Automatic two-way sync between iPhone and Watch - Large, high-contrast controls for fast input mid-match - Haptic alerts at key moments (1-minute warning, period transitions) --- *SocRef is made by referees, for referees.*

Screenshots

MatchDay4 screens
SocRef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: SocRef at 16.0 against MatchDay's 18.2. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. MatchDay sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SocRef sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MatchDay ships an update every 4 weeks, SocRef every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
MatchDay versus SocRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMatchDaySocRef
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.216.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKEVIN AYALAXiangdong Zhang

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MatchDay

One-time1
  • Matchday Pro$4.99
4 purchases

SocRef

One-time4
  • Tip$0.99
  • Buy a Coffe$2.99
  • Buy a Latte$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Buy a Lunch$12.99

Questions

Is MatchDay free?
MatchDay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SocRef free?
SocRef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MatchDay or SocRef have ads?
Neither MatchDay nor SocRef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MatchDay or SocRef?
MatchDay ships an update every 4 weeks, and SocRef every 3 weeks. Most recently, MatchDay was updated on October 15, 2026 and SocRef on October 2, 2026.

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