Bracket Maker vs Contested
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bracket Maker
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Create clean tournament brackets for sports, games, school events, office competitions, clubs, and friendly matchups. Brakora helps you build tournaments fast, track match progress, and share brackets with players or friends. Whether you are running a football cup, tennis ladder, padel event, esports night, chess tournament, or local league, Brakora keeps the format simple and organized. Features: - Create tournament brackets in seconds - Build single-elimination brackets - Plan round-robin and group-stage events - Add players or teams quickly - Randomize or manually adjust seeding - Automatically handle BYE matches - Track scores, winners, and standings - Share tournament links with participants - Save tournament history - Reuse formats for future events - Works for sports, games, clubs, schools, and casual competitions Brakora Pro unlocks more power for organizers: - Unlimited tournaments - Larger brackets - Live scoring - Public sharing links - Match history - Saved templates - Advanced tournament formats Perfect for: - Football, tennis, padel, basketball, baseball - Esports and gaming tournaments - Chess, ping pong, pool, darts - School and club competitions - Office events and friendly challenges - Any custom competition you want to organize - Start your next tournament in minutes. Add players, choose a format, generate the bracket, and keep every match moving. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nazarovkirill.tech/privacy-policy.html
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 update cadence: Contested at every 3 days against Bracket Maker's every 2 months. Contested also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Bracket Maker's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Bracket Maker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $39.99 per year 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 ships an update every 2 months, Contested every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bracket Maker | Contested |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Kiryl Nazarau | Pawel Pyrz-Brown |
In-app purchases
Bracket Maker
- Weekly Trial7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Montly Trial1 Month trial$39.991 Year
Contested
- Contested Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
- Contested Pro Yearly$49.991 Year
- Contested Lifetime Unlock$99.99
Questions
Is Bracket Maker free?
Is Contested free?
Do Bracket Maker or Contested have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bracket Maker or Contested?
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