Bracket Maker・Tournaments vs Contested
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bracket Maker・Tournaments
Easily create and manage various tournament formats, from single elimination to round robin, directly from your phone. It handles seeding, byes, and results automatically, with options for digital scoring and advanced features for larger events. Share results instantly with players or groups.
- Multiple tournament formats (single elimination, round robin, double elimination, Swiss)
- Automatic seeding and byes
- Digital scoring and results tracking
- Event management and progress saving
- Export brackets, fixtures, and standings
- Offline functionality
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Bracket Maker turns a list of names into a ready-to-run tournament in under a minute — then runs the whole competition from your phone. No account, no sign-up, and no internet needed. FOUR FORMATS • Single elimination — the straight knockout: lose once and you are out. Free for up to 16 entrants, and up to 128 with Pro • Round robin — everyone plays everyone, ranked on points. Free for up to 16 entrants, and up to 32 with Pro • Double elimination — one loss only drops you to the lower bracket, so nobody goes home after a single bad match. A Pro format, up to 64 entrants • Swiss system — play opponents on a similar record without being knocked out early. A Pro format, up to 64 entrants BUILD THE BRACKET IN SECONDS • Paste a whole roster at once, split on line breaks, commas or semicolons, with duplicates removed and reported • Or type names one by one, or just pick a number of teams • Automatic seeding from your list order, and automatic byes for ANY number of entrants — not only 8, 16 or 32 • Shuffle for a random draw, or move any name up or down the list to set the seeding yourself before the first match • A round robin generator that turns the roster into the full all-plays-all fixture set in one step RUN THE EVENT, NOT JUST THE CHART • Tap a team to advance the winner and watch the bracket fill toward the final • Next up shows exactly which matches are ready to play right now • Pro adds digital scores, so the winner comes straight from the numbers • Change your mind and every result that depended on that match is cleared properly — no stale winners left behind • Undo the last result even after you close and reopen the app • Round robin and Swiss standings track wins, draws, losses, points and point difference, and say honestly when the lead is shared instead of inventing a champion SWISS, DONE PROPERLY — A PRO FORMAT • Recommended number of rounds for your field size • Players meet opponents on similar records, and rematches are avoided • The bye goes to the lowest-scoring player who has not had one yet • You decide when the next round is generated — nothing happens behind your back SIZE AND SAVING • Every format runs 16 entrants for free. Pro raises that to 128 for single elimination, 64 for double elimination and Swiss, and 32 for round robin • Your first tournament is free. After that, each new tournament takes one short video — or go Pro for unlimited tournaments and no ads. • Keep 5 saved tournaments for free, or as many as you like with Pro — they sit side by side on the home screen until you delete them • Pinch, pan and zoom to read even a 128-team bracket • Continue the event you had open, search by tournament or team name, filter by active or complete, and duplicate a past event to reuse the same roster SHARE THE RESULT • Export the bracket, the fixtures or the standings as an image • Send it to the players or a group chat in one tap • Free exports carry a small Bracket Maker watermark. Playing a short video clears it for that one export, and with Pro every export is clean • Pro also adds five event colours, so each competition looks like its own YOURS, ON YOUR DEVICE Tournaments, teams, scores, themes and undo history are stored only on your phone. There is no account, nothing is uploaded, and everything works with the internet switched off. One thing to be clear about: Bracket Maker builds the pairings and the round structure. It does not schedule dates, kick-off times or venues, and it has no data about real-world leagues or competitions. Game night, the office table-tennis championship, a pool or darts night, a chess club, a pickleball round robin, a school sports day or an esports event — Bracket Maker keeps it straight from the first round to the final. Some of the features described require a subscription. Terms of Use: https://zeroplay.io/docs/legal/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://zeroplay.io/docs/legal/privacy-policy
Contested
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Run any tournament, any sport, any format — Contested handles knockout brackets, double elimination, round robins, leagues, group stages, and Swiss pairings, with built-in timers that show live on your Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, and Apple Watch. WHY CONTESTED Most tournament apps make you choose between a proper bracket tool and a working timer — or charge you per tournament for the privilege. Contested does both, with no per-tournament limits: start a match, and the countdown follows you to your Lock Screen, your Dynamic Island, and your wrist, without needing to keep the app open. TOURNAMENT FORMATS • Knockout — automatic seeding with byes correctly assigned to your top seeds, a clean bracket at every round, and an optional 3rd Place match. • Double Knockout — losers drop into a Losers Bracket instead of being eliminated outright; the Grand Final is set once both the Winners and Losers Bracket finalists are decided. • Round Robin & League — every team plays every other team across as many cycles as you choose, with a live standings table, tie-breakers, and bonus points you can award directly. • World Cup Style (Groups + Knockout) — a group stage feeds a projected knockout bracket that updates as group results come in, so you can see likely matchups before the group stage even finishes. • Swiss — each round pairs players by current standings while avoiding repeat matchups where possible, ideal when a full round robin isn't practical. RUN IT TOGETHER, WATCH IT LIVE • Share a running tournament with an Admin Code or a Spectator Code. • Spectators watch scores and standings update live — completely free, no account, no purchase, ever. • Bring in a co-organizer with an Admin Code and they can enter scores from their own phone too, covered by your subscription. • No one to send a code to? Scan the built-in QR code and get straight to the download. BUILT-IN TIMERS, EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK • Sequential mode gives each match its own start/pause timer; Simultaneous mode runs one shared timer for an entire round of matches at once. • Every running timer appears live on your iPhone's Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island — check the clock without unlocking your phone. • A dedicated Apple Watch app mirrors your tournaments and timers in real time, plus a watch face complication for a countdown at a glance. • Your phone (and watch) buzzes when time's up, even locked. RUN IT YOUR WAY • Team or individual competitions, with seeding, photos, and custom tags. • Forfeits and walkovers award a result and advance the winner automatically. • Import participants straight from a CSV file instead of typing every name. • Export finished brackets and standings as a PDF or CSV — perfect for printing or keeping records. • Schedule matches directly into Apple Calendar. • Archive completed tournaments and search across everything, including archived events. Whether you're running a Saturday morning club competition, a multi-week league season, or a full weekend knockout tournament, Contested keeps the bracket, the clock, and the standings all in sync — on your phone, your Lock Screen, and your Apple Watch. Try Contested free for 7 days. No account, no sign-up required. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Contested at none against Bracket Maker・Tournaments's shown. Contested also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). Bracket Maker・Tournaments's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Bracket Maker・Tournaments sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days and Contested sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bracket Maker・Tournaments ships an update every 2 months, Contested every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bracket Maker・Tournaments | Contested |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | ZeroPlay Ltd. | Pawel Pyrz-Brown |
In-app purchases
Bracket Maker・Tournaments
- Weekly3 Days trial$7.997 Days
- Monthly$19.991 Month
Contested
- Contested Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
- Contested Pro Yearly$49.991 Year
- Contested Lifetime Unlock$99.99
Questions
Is Bracket Maker・Tournaments free?
Is Contested free?
Do Bracket Maker・Tournaments or Contested have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bracket Maker・Tournaments or Contested?
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