score70 vs 18Birdies
18Birdies is a golf app with a free tournament feature and a paid Premium tier.[1][2]
For a tournament, each player downloads the app and creates an account; the organiser can add guests instead.[2][3]
score70 asks nothing of the players but a tap on a link. 18Birdies does far more for one golfer’s own game.
The short answer
Who each one suits
18Birdies suits you if…
- Everyone in the group already uses 18Birdies for their own rounds.
- You want GPS, stats and a tournament in the same app.
score70 suits you if…
- You want the whole group scoring without anyone downloading or signing up.
- You play match play, a Ryder Cup, Bowmaker or other British society formats.
- The handicap settings might need changing after the first tee.
- The course has patchy signal.
Credit where it is due
What 18Birdies does well
- Running a tournament is free.[1]
- Players can join by code, QR code or link.[3]
- Stroke play, Stableford, best ball and scramble in tournaments, with side games.[4]
- A Premium tier for golfers who want more from the app for their own rounds.[1]
- A guest option: the organiser can add a player and type their handicap.[2]
Limits its own pages mention
- Once a tournament has started, its handicap settings “cannot currently be updated”.[2]
Side by side
score70 and 18Birdies, feature by feature
| score70 | 18Birdies |
|---|---|
| Do players need the app? | |
| No. Players open the link in the browser their phone already has. | Yes. Every player is asked to download the app; the organiser can add guests instead.[2][3] |
| Do players need an account? | |
| No. Each player taps their name once. Only the organiser has an account. | Yes, or the player is added as a guest with a handicap the organiser types in.[2] |
| Cost for a 12 to 40 player day | |
| Free. No plans, no player cap, no card. Nothing is held back for a paid tier, because there is no paid tier. | Tournaments are free. Premium is $99.99 a year.[1] |
| Ads | |
| None. | Not documented on the pages we read |
| Formats | |
| 24 formats, including Bowmaker, Irish Rumble, Russian Stableford, Texas scramble with minimum drives, 1-2-3, Vegas and a Ryder Cup board. No foursomes or greensomes yet. | Stroke play, Stableford, best ball and scramble, plus side games. Match play and Ryder Cup are not listed in its tournament formats help article (October 2026).[4] |
| Handicaps | |
| World Handicap System course handicaps from each tee’s slope and course rating, with the allowance for each format shown. | Its own 18Birdies Handicap; the organiser can choose to apply a course handicap.[2] |
| Posts scores to an official handicap record | |
| No. score70 works out the handicaps for the day but does not post scores to England Golf or any other body. | Not documented on the pages we read |
| Scoring with no signal | |
| Yes. Scores are saved on the phone first and send themselves when signal comes back. | Not documented on the pages we read |
| Courses | |
| More than 1,800 UK courses, over 1,500 of them with WHS course and slope ratings already in. Anywhere else, you type the card in once. | Not documented on the pages we read |
| Men and women on different tees in one group | |
| Yes. Each player plays their own tee in the same group, with women’s par, stroke index and ratings where the club rates them. | Not documented on the pages we read |
| Season or league table | |
| Yes, free: a season table on a best-of rule, weekly pairs or teams, and fixed league handicaps if you want them. | Its help pages cover formats for leagues as well as tournaments.[4] |
| GPS, stats, watch | |
| No GPS, no shot tracking and no watch app. It is a scorecard and a leaderboard. | Yes. Its Premium tier ($99.99 a year) is built around GPS and playing features.[1] |
| Nearest the pin, longest drive | |
| Not yet. | Side games in tournaments.[4] |
The 18Birdies column is what its own pages, app store listings and reviews said when we checked. Numbers in brackets are the sources, listed at the bottom.
Plainly
What score70 does not do
- No GPS, distances, shot tracking or watch app.
- No official score posting: rounds do not go to England Golf or your WHS record.
- No nearest-the-pin or longest-drive markers yet, no TV board yet.
- No foursomes or greensomes yet.
- Fewer courses than the big apps: more than 1,800 UK courses, with the card typed in for anywhere else.
- No social feed, by design, and no push notifications.
What it does do, it does without asking anything of the players: one link, a tap on their name, and they are scoring.
Free, and nothing for the players to install
Try it on your next round
Make the organiser account, add the players and the course, and send one link to the group. Everyone else just taps their name.
Sources
Every statement above about another product comes from one of these pages, read on the date shown. Prices and features change; check the product’s own site before you decide. “Not documented” means we did not find it on the pages we read, not that it is missing. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email hello@score70.com and we will correct it.
- [2]18Birdies help: getting started as a tournament organizer(opens in a new tab) · read 21 October 2026
- [3]18Birdies help: how to join a tournament(opens in a new tab) · read 21 October 2026
- [4]18Birdies help: scoring formats for tournaments and leagues(opens in a new tab) · read 21 October 2026
Golf GameBook, Squabbit, Golfify and 18Birdies are trademarks of their owners. score70 is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any of them. Their names are used only to compare products.