Swimmingly vs Swimtopia
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
Swimtopia
This app provides real-time swim meet results and team communication for swim teams. It offers free features for team members and guests, with an optional Pro subscription for enhanced live meet data and notifications.
- Live meet results
- Team notifications
- Event and job sign-ups
- Swimmer best times and history
- Live Event/Heat Indicator
- Heat sheets and lane assignments (Pro)
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Stay in touch with your Swimtopia team and receive live meet results from meets run using Meet Maestro with our companion app, Swimtopia Mobile. Swimtopia Mobile helps keep team members and meet spectators better informed. Members of teams using Swimtopia can receive notifications from their team and view their team and swimmer info for free, all season long. The Live Event/Heat Indicator** broadcasts what’s happening in the pool during meets in real time, so no one ever needs to miss a swim again! When meets are run in Meet Maestro, Swimtopia Mobile provides all the info spectators need to stay up-to-date on meet days when they have a Pro subscription. == Free Features for Swimtopia Team Members == * Push notification alerts from your team * Personalized view of upcoming meets and events * Personalized Meet Overview for your family (including swim events and volunteer jobs) * Sign up for swim meets and jobs * Your swimmers’ best times * Your swimmers’ swim history * Post-meet results for your family’s swimmers == Free Features for Guests & Swimtopia Team Members == * Public Meet Search* * Live Event/Heat Indicator** Add a Pro subscription to enhance your meet day experience. Access live results, scores, and heat sheets. View up-to-date estimated start times and receive reminders before each of your favorite athletes’ events. IMPORTANT NOTE: Pro features require the meet host to use Meet Maestro software. == Pro Features for Meets Run in Meet Maestro == **Free 7 Day Trial** * Heat sheets* * Heat/lane assignments and estimated start times for each of your favorite athletes’ events* * Estimated start times for all events that update as the meet progresses* * Upcoming swim reminder alerts for favorited swimmers* * Results notification alerts for favorited swimmers* * Live results for all swimmers* * Team scores* == Pro Subscription Details == * When you upgrade to a Pro subscription, the fee for the first subscription period will be charged to your iTunes account at the end of the 7-day free trial. * Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. * You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal in your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. * Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited if you purchase a subscription. * See our Terms of Service: https://www.swimtopia.com/terms-of-service/ * See our Privacy Policy: https://www.swimtopia.com/privacy/ * For more information see: https://www.swimtopia.com/products/swim-meet-app/ --- * These features require the swim meet to be run using Meet Maestro software. ** Your team can access the Swimtopia Live Event/Heat Indicator in the mobile app when your team admins perform a few simple steps. For team admin instructions on using the Live Event/Heat Indicator see: https://www.swimtopia.com/swimtopia-live
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Swimtopia at 4.7 against Swimmingly's 4.2. Swimtopia also leads on ratings volume (6.1K vs 86) and chart position (#97 vs unranked). Swimmingly's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (75% vs 52%). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Swimtopia sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Swimmingly asks for nothing beyond the download.
Swimtopia holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Swimtopia has 6.1K ratings behind it against 86, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Swimmingly's written reviews are positive against 52% of Swimtopia's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Swimmingly ships an update every 6 weeks, Swimtopia every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Swimmingly | Swimtopia |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (86 ratings) | 4.7 (6.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 52.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 86 | 6.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #97 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Swimmingly, LLC | Team Topia Inc |
Customer experience
Swimmingly
Swimtopia
User reviews
Swimmingly
From 86 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Huge time saver
- 👍 Very easy to use
- 👍 Makes volunteer lives easier
- 👍 Parents love live results
- 👍 Paperless swim meets
Room to improve
- 🐛 Swimmers not seated right
- 🐛 Swimmer times are wrong
- 🐛 Execution is poorly done
- 🐛 Frustrating to use
- 🐛 Not worth the fees
Swimtopia
From 6.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Essential for swimming
- 👍 Excellent resource for swim teams
- 🚀 Keeps everything organized
- 👍 Great app for swim meets
- 👍 Wonderful if the meet hosts use it
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
- 💰 Requires paid subscription for full features
- 🤔 Unintuitive user interface
- 🤔 Difficult to navigate
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
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
Swimtopia
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues and account linking problems
- Blank screens and loading failures
- Inconsistent data and missing information
- Spontaneous removal of favorite athletes
- Notifications for canceled events
Requested features
5 requests- Integrate with calendar
- Improve search functionality
- Provide more detailed meet information
- Add two-way messaging for coaches and parents
- Improve overall user experience and flow
In-app purchases
Swimmingly
No in-app purchases
Swimtopia
- Swimtopia Pro – Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- SwimTopia Pro – Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
