Swimmingly vs Swimming Timer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Swimmingly
Streamline swim meet operations with this app, eliminating paper and reducing volunteer needs. It allows iOS devices to manage roles like starter, timer, stroke & turn judge, and scorekeeper. Approved for sanctioned USA Swimming competitions.
- Sanctioned USA Swimming competitions
- No paper required
- Digital roles: Starter, Timer, Stroke & Turn Judge, Scorekeeper
- iPad required for Scorekeeper
- iOS 16-18 compatible
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Run swim meets faster. Without paper. Swimmingly replaces your entire meet system with in-app timing, officiating, and scoring. No stopwatches. No clipboards. No nonsense hardware. No manual entry. Assign roles across devices: - Starter - Timer - Stroke & Turn Judge - Scorekeeper Each volunteer can simply download the app on their device, setup in minutes, and run the meet. What you get: - Automatic start + timing sync - Real-time judging and DQs - Instant scoring and results - Live publishing to SwimminglyFan App - No data entry after the meet Why teams switch: - Cut meet time - Reduce volunteers needed - Eliminate paper - Improve accuracy Built for real competition & approved for sanctioned USA Swimming competitions. Used by leagues, clubs, and year-round teams. Device support: - iOS 17, 18 & 26
Swimming Timer
This app helps swimmers practice race starts with customizable timers and randomized delays. It also functions as a stopwatch to accurately measure lap and split times during training. Results can be saved and organized by date, with customizable event names and color themes.
- Customizable race start timer
- Randomized start delays
- Lap and split time measurement
- Save and view results by date
- Editable event names
- Customizable color themes
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Starter & stopwatch app for swimming. It can be used for practicing the starting race command or to help you measure your time. ●Basic Functions 1. Starter function You can set the time from TAKE YOUR MARKS to start sound as you like. It is also possible to randomize the time, which is useful for practicing the start. 2. Lap time & Split time Pressing the "Lap" button or "Stop" button after the start sound, the lap time and split time will be measured. If you accidentally press the button to measure a time, you can delete it by swiping the result cell to the left. 3. Saving results Measured times can be saved by pressing the "Save" button. Saved times can be viewed by date. 4. Event setting By tapping the event name under the time, you can freely select an event (e.g. Men's 100m Freestyle). In the initial display, 100m is set. 5. Color settings The background color and timer color can be changed.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Swimmingly at none against Swimming Timer's 2. Swimmingly also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (86 vs 5). Swimming Timer's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 75%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Swimming Timer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Swimmingly asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Swimmingly against 4.2 for Swimming Timer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Swimmingly has 86 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Swimmingly's written reviews are positive against 100% of Swimming Timer's.
Swimmingly ships an update every 6 weeks, Swimming Timer every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.
| Parameter | Swimmingly | Swimming Timer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (86 ratings) | 4.2 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 86 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Swimmingly, LLC | NAOYA ONO |
Customer experience
Swimmingly
Swimming Timer
Bugs and requests
Swimmingly
Reported bugs
33 issues- Heat sheets have swimmers never seated right
- Swimmer's times are always wrong and usually random numbers
- The timer starts before the buzzer so the times are always 1-2 seconds off
- The moment someone stops a timer the time disappears from the phone
- Nothing runs smoothly with this app or its web version
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- Every meet we use it at has delays due to the app not working
- Coaches don’t know who is DQed so we have to take breaks to tell them
- Timers continue to struggle and the meet starts and stops for them to reconnect
- There is no flow and kids end up sitting in the sun burning
- I have never seen so many swims have to be redone because the times never started, stopped or they can’t save it
- The starter then reboots and we sit around for 15-30 minutes while they test and talk
- The issues with timing and the app led to an extra few hours for the first meet and today after 5 hours we had just made 50% through it
- Always seems to have issues in the middle of a meet
- Takes a lot of battery life - so you live in fear of losing juice in the middle of the meet
- Easy to make mistakes and enter the wrong swimmer
- So many issues with the app so far
- Meets are basically over by the time race results start coming in
- Doesn’t matter if you’re on WiFi of cellular
- Way too many resets
- Way too many delays
- You don’t want to deal with connectivity & syncing issues in the middle of a meet
- The system has too many failure points to be a viable product
- We stopped using the system after multiple fails (meaning starter getting knocked off of the system; watches/iPhones not starting; timers phones dropping off of the system)
- Meet Central does not integrate with Meet Manager
- It is completely unreasonable to expect timers to not switch out of the app at some point in the meet
- Why does everybody use the same Huddle number?
- What happens if multiple people try to join as “starters?”
- Why does it take so long for you to get 16 timers logged into the system?
- The system is marketed to eliminate volunteers however it takes the same number, requires tech savvy volunteers to run a meet smoothly, and volunteers to print and process ribbons
- It seems difficult to use with a league that has different configuration of pools with regard to the number of lanes and the length of the pools (meter vs yard pool)
- Sprint carrier iPhones are inferior and will not work with the system
- The starter's cord did not work for us
- I have a newer and updated IPad and it it's not compatible
Requested features
10 requests- Coaches tab for splits
- Spectator tab for parents to follow times/scores
- Easily backup data during meet
- Dark mode option
- Ability to enter times manually
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- Improve app ecosystem integration
- Improve starter/meet ref visibility of connected timers/judges
- Reduce time for timers to log in
- Beta version for testing
- Shorten meet lengths
Swimming Timer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Swimmingly
No in-app purchases
Swimming Timer
- Support Developer$0.99
- Remove ads$6.99
Questions
Is Swimmingly free?
Is Swimming Timer free?
Which has better reviews, Swimmingly or Swimming Timer?
Do Swimmingly or Swimming Timer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Swimmingly or Swimming Timer?
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