Comparison

18Birdies vs Flowstate

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

Head to head
About

18Birdies

This app provides advanced GPS technology and game improvement tools for golfers. It offers personalized training, AI swing analysis, and a community to connect with friends and compete. Improve your game with detailed stats and course insights.

Highlights
  • GPS Rangefinder
  • Digital Scorecard
  • Handicap Tracking
  • AI Swing Analyzer
  • Golf Community
  • Shot Tracking
  • 3D Green Maps
Features
Read full description

Play better golf from the first tee to the final putt. Featured by Apple as “The Best App for Golfers” and trusted by more than 10 million golfers, 18Birdies gives every player a smarter way to play, practice, compete, and improve. 18Birdies helps you know the distance, choose smarter shots, track every round, and understand where your game can improve. Get free GPS yardages on 45,000+ courses, keep score, follow your handicap, review your stats, and use Apple Watch tools to stay focused. Improve your swing with AI feedback, Instant Swing Playback, Golf School training, and expert coach reviews. FREE GOLF GPS, SCORECARD & STATS Know the distance before every shot. Get yardages to greens, hazards, layups, and carries on 45,000+ courses worldwide. Keep score, save round history, monitor your handicap, and use shot tracking and stats to improve your game. APPLE WATCH GOLF TOOLS Keep your phone in your bag. Use 18Birdies on Apple Watch for distances, scoring, shot tracking, and automatic swing detection. IMPROVE FASTER Improve your game faster with advanced swing tools built for real results. Upload swing videos to the AI Swing Analyzer for personalized feedback, fault detection, and drills to help you improve. Use Instant Swing Playback to review swings and understand what changed from swing to swing. Build better habits with Golf School drills and lessons designed to help you practice with purpose. For expert feedback, submit your swing to Pro Swing Analysis for a personalized review from a certified golf coach. PLAY WITH FRIENDS Golf is better with friends. Connect, share rounds, compare progress, and create competition with side games, team formats, leagues, tournaments, and live leaderboards. FREE FEATURES - GOLF GPS RANGEFINDER: Distances to greens, hazards, layups, carries, and more - DIGITAL SCORECARD: Track scores for every round - HANDICAP TRACKER: Follow your handicap trend - STATS & ROUND HISTORY: Track performance over time - SHOT TRACKING: Capture shots and learn more about your game - APPLE WATCH: Distances, scoring, and shot tracking - INSTANT SWING PLAYBACK: Review your swing during practice - GOLF COMMUNITY: Connect with friends, share rounds, and celebrate your best golf moments - TEAM MODE & SIDE GAMES: Play Scramble, Best Ball, Skins, Wolf, and more - TOURNAMENTS & LEAGUES: Create live leaderboards for group competition - COACH CONNECT: Share your game with your coach for feedback PREMIUM TOOLS Upgrade to 18Birdies Premium for advanced tools and deeper insights. Free trial available for eligible users after download. - PLAYS-LIKE DISTANCES: Account for conditions that affect true yardage - CLUB RECOMMENDATIONS: Get personalized club guidance - ADVANCED GPS TOOLS: Plan shots with more confidence - 3D GREEN & HEATMAPS: Read slopes, breaks, and green contours - ADVANCED STATS: Analyze your game with charts, filters, and comparisons - STROKES GAINED: See where you gain or lose strokes - SMART TRACKING & AUTO SWING DETECTION: Capture your round automatically with less manual input, with or without Apple Watch - AI SWING ANALYZER: Get personalized swing feedback from video - HD INSTANT SWING PLAYBACK: Review your swing with annotations and deeper analysis - GOLF SCHOOL: Unlimited training, drills, and lessons - SHOT TRACKING INSIGHTS: Understand distance, shape, and performance - PRO SWING ANALYSIS DISCOUNT: 25% off personalized swing reviews from certified coaches LEGAL 18Birdies Premium is an optional auto-renewable subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Subscription renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel in App Store account settings. By using 18Birdies, you agree to Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ and our Terms of Service https://18birdies.com/legal/terms/ and Privacy Policy https://18birdies.com/legal/privacy-policy/.

About

Flowstate

Transform your iPhone into an action sports camera to capture and analyze your performance. Automatically detect key moments in surfing, snowboarding, and skiing, then track your progress with AI-powered insights. Share highlights and connect with a global community of athletes.

Highlights
  • Action sports camera functionality
  • AI-powered move detection
  • Session performance analysis
  • Progress tracking dashboard
  • Competition management
  • Clip sharing
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone into a surf camera. Capture your sessions, analyse your performance with AI, and keep every wave in one place — at the surf park or in the ocean. Flowstate helps surfers capture every wave, review their sessions, and improve faster. Film Yourself Surf, While You Surf: Set up your phone and let Flowstate do the work. Turn your iPhone into a powerful surf camera Capture your entire session from the beach. Automatically detect and clip your waves and moves — snap, barrel, and more Never miss your best wave again Fast-Track Your Progression: See what's working and where to improve. AI-powered move detection Verified stats — turns, snaps, combos and more Compare sessions side-by-side Progress faster with real data from every session Keep Every Wave In One Place: Your personal surf library. Review every session inside your Zone Build a library of your best clips and photos Track goals and improvements over time Share highlights with friends and coaches Connect With A Coach: Elite feedback, after every session. Move-by-move coaching notes Personalised feedback on your technique Know exactly what to work on next Built For Surfing: Flowstate works wherever you surf. Surf parks & wave pools Ocean sessions Your Surf Zone: Capture your session Track your progression Download Flowstate to get in the Zone. Terms of Use: This app uses Apple's standard End User License Agreement (EULA): This can be found at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

18Birdies4 screens
Flowstate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: 18Birdies at 4.9 against Flowstate's 2.7. 18Birdies also leads on ratings volume (306K vs 3) and update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). Flowstate's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 74%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Both are free to download. 18Birdies sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Flowstate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

18Birdies holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 18Birdies has 306K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of 18Birdies's written reviews are positive against 83% of Flowstate's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

18Birdies ships an update every 6 days, Flowstate fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
18Birdies versus Flowstate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter18BirdiesFlowstate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (306K ratings) — better2.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews73.6% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings306K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size296 MB157 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer18Birdies LLCFlowstate Zone

Customer experience

18Birdies

All ratings305,700 ratings
Positive98.9%
Neutral0.5%
Negative0.5%
Written reviews1,345 reviews
Positive73.6%
Neutral8.6%
Negative17.8%

Flowstate

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

18Birdies

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Yardages not syncing correctly between watch and phone
  • Inability to save rounds or enter scores
  • Incorrect course information and tee box layouts
  • Frequent crashes and performance issues

Requested features

7 requests
  • Automatic handicap calculation
  • Customizable home course stats
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to record scores for non-app users
  • Layup yardages and hazard distances
Show 2 more
  • Improved Apple Watch integration
  • Better social features and leaderboards

Flowstate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

18Birdies

Subscriptions9
  • 18Birdies Premium7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Subscription$7.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Subscription WB$7.997 Days
Show 6 more
  • Monthly Premium Subscription7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • 18Birdies Premium7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Subscription W7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Subscription7 Days trial2 variants$19.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium Subscription WB7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Yearly Premium Subscription7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
2 purchases

Flowstate

Subscriptions2
  • Flowstate Pro monthly subscription$14.991 Month
  • Flowstate Pro Annual Subscription$109.001 Year

Questions

Is 18Birdies free?
18Birdies is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flowstate free?
Flowstate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 18Birdies or Flowstate?
18Birdies is rated higher. 18Birdies averages 4.9 out of 5 from 306K ratings, while Flowstate averages 2.7 from 3 ratings.
Do 18Birdies or Flowstate have ads?
Neither 18Birdies nor Flowstate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 18Birdies or Flowstate?
18Birdies ships an update every 6 days, and Flowstate fortnightly. Most recently, 18Birdies was updated on October 20, 2026 and Flowstate on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons