Comparison

Birdie Golf vs SMPL Golf

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

Head to head
About

Birdie Golf

Experience a realistic golf simulation with stunning 3D graphics and physics. Build your career, unlock new courses, and challenge friends in multiplayer modes. Customize your golfer and enjoy hundreds of holes across diverse landscapes.

Highlights
  • Stunning 3D graphics
  • Realistic ball physics
  • Unique global courses
  • Customizable characters
  • Career mode progression
  • Multiplayer challenges
  • In-app purchases for customization
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Birdie Golf, the top golfing game and simulator for the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac. Birdie Golf is sure to keep you entertained over hundreds of holes across five distinct landscapes. Play the famous Birdie Links club for free while starting your career as a professional golfer, then unlock all of the prestigious tournaments and courses with in-game coin currency. Birdie Golf is simple enough to pick up and play but deep enough to keep you coming back over and over again. Features include • Stunning 3D graphics - Nuclear Nova's third generation graphics engine with all-new character models and fresh models/textures/artwork • Realistic ball physics - Beginners will enjoy the simple three-touch shot system, while avid golfers will be able to shape every shot and watch the ball react to all surfaces and lies just like they would expect in real life • Unique courses - Seven unique courses all from different places around the world. These aren't just simple re-skins, each setting has it's own play style and what works well on one course may not work well on another • Customizable characters - Level up your character's golfing skills while managing each avatar's wardrobe and physical appearance • Career mode - Work your way up from the beginner to amateur circuit, then to the pro tour by winning various qualifiers and tournaments • Multiplayer - Challenge up to three of your friends and play at the same time, stroke and match play supported • Purchase custom clubs, balls, helpers, music, and more using virtual coins bought with in-app purchase • High replay value - Each hole has 64 unique configurations based on different tees, pin locations, and environmental difficulty • Custom soundtrack made specifically for Birdie Golf • Achievements tracked along with course records, stored both locally and online with Game Center.

About

SMPL Golf

Experience a realistic golf simulation with intuitive one-handed controls. Master shot mechanics, course strategy, and environmental factors to conquer every hole. Play full rounds in minutes or enjoy quick sessions anytime.

Highlights
  • Intuitive drag-and-release controls
  • Realistic ball physics (wind, spin, lie, terrain)
  • Strategic course navigation
  • One-handed gameplay
  • Quick 18-hole rounds
  • Progress saved after every swing
Features
Read full description

SMPL Golf – Simple Controls. Quick Fun. Real Golf. Drag to aim, pull back to power up, release to swing. Your shot lands somewhere in the projected zone — shaped by wind, spin, lie, and terrain. Just like real golf, perfection is never guaranteed. Strategy that actually matters Choose your shot shape, manage spin and power, and navigate bunkers, trees, slopes, and headwinds. Every hole is a puzzle. SMPL Golf doesn't dumb down the game — it strips away the complexity without losing the depth. Play in minutes. Think about it all day. Knock out a full 18-hole round in minutes, or play a few holes during breaks in your day for a quick hit. Progress saves after every swing so you can pick up and put down whenever life gets in the way. Built for golf lovers. Playable by everyone. Realistic shot mechanics with one-handed controls True ball physics — wind, spin, lie, and terrain all affect every shot Course strategy at the center of every decision Clean, minimal visuals that keep the focus on the game Stop swiping. Start swinging. Download SMPL Golf and play your first round in under 10 minutes.

Screenshots

Birdie Golf4 screens
SMPL Golf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Birdie Golf at 100% against SMPL Golf's 50%. SMPL Golf's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99) and rating (4.6 vs 4.0). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SMPL Golf is free to download; Birdie Golf costs $2.99 up front. Birdie Golf sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. SMPL Golf asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SMPL Golf holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 11 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Birdie Golf's written reviews are positive against 50% of SMPL Golf's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Birdie Golf ships an update every 57 months, SMPL Golf every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Birdie Golf versus SMPL Golf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBirdie GolfSMPL Golf
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (5 ratings)4.6 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings511 — better
Update frequencyEvery 57 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size318 MB513 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNuclear Nova SoftwareEdward Johnson

Customer experience

Birdie Golf

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SMPL Golf

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Birdie Golf

One-time8
  • 5 Coins$0.99
  • 12 Coins$1.99
  • 20 Coins$2.99
Show 5 more
  • Full Version$2.99
  • 40 Coins$4.99
  • 100 Coins$9.99
  • 250 Coins$19.99
  • 800 Coins$39.99
None

SMPL Golf

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Birdie Golf free?
Birdie Golf costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is SMPL Golf free?
SMPL Golf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Birdie Golf or SMPL Golf?
SMPL Golf is rated higher. Birdie Golf averages 4.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while SMPL Golf averages 4.6 from 11 ratings.
Do Birdie Golf or SMPL Golf have ads?
Neither Birdie Golf nor SMPL Golf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Birdie Golf or SMPL Golf?
Birdie Golf ships an update every 57 months, and SMPL Golf every 2 months. Most recently, Birdie Golf was updated on November 1, 2026 and SMPL Golf on November 5, 2026.

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