The best golf stats apps in 2026: an honest comparison

Golf Stats App · Updated 13 October 2026 · 5 min read

There is no single best golf stats app: there is the right one for how you play and how much you want to spend. Here we compare the most popular ones on three concrete questions: how you log your shots, what analysis you get and what it costs.

Before you choose: three questions

1. How do you want to log shots? With sensors on your clubs (automatic, but with hardware to buy and charge), with a watch or a pocket device, or by hand on your phone (no hardware, but a few minutes per round).
2. Do you need GPS or analysis? Many apps start as on-course distance tools and add stats; others do the opposite. If you already have GPS (rangefinder, watch), look for the best analysis.
3. How much do you want to spend each year? Prices range from zero to a few hundred dollars between subscription and hardware.

The comparison

Prices checked on 13 October 2026 on the official websites: they can change and vary by country.

The apps one by one

Arccos

The benchmark for automatic tracking: sensors screwed into the end of your grips and the phone in your pocket record shots almost by themselves. The analysis is rich and compares your game with different handicap levels. The downsides are the yearly cost and managing the sensors; putts often need correcting by hand. Ideal if you don't want to enter anything and have the budget.

Shot Scope

Focuses on hardware (GPS watches and devices with club tags) and doesn't charge a subscription for stats. A good choice if you want to buy once and forget about it, and like having distances on your wrist.

UpGame

The app that goes deepest into hand-entered Strokes Gained, popular with competitive players and coaches. Accurate but slower entry, and monthly subscription prices higher than the others, especially for the Pro plan.

18Birdies and Golfshot

They started as GPS apps: distances, scorecard, hole maps. Stats are there and grow with the paid plan, but shot-by-shot analysis is not their core. Great if GPS is mainly what you want.

Golf Stats App

This is ours, so take it with healthy scepticism and try it. It was built around one idea: the best stats app is the one you keep using. For each shot you enter where you play from, the distance and the club: about 10 minutes for 18 holes, no sensors. In return you get the Strokes Gained of every shot, by category (tee, approach, wedges, short game, putting), by distance band and by club, against the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour or a handicap level from 0 to 40. Coach features are free, with unlimited students, and more than 22,000 courses are already in the database.

What it doesn't do: no sensors or automatic tracking, and no on-course GPS distances. If you need those, look at Arccos or a GPS app.

Which one to choose

• You want zero data entry and have the budget: Arccos.
• You want to buy hardware once, no subscription: Shot Scope.
• You mainly need GPS: 18Birdies or Golfshot.
• You want in-depth Strokes Gained without sensors, at a low cost, and maybe to share it with your coach: Golf Stats App or UpGame. The main differences are entry time and price.

Whichever app you choose, only one thing matters: using it for enough rounds to see a trend. To understand what to look at in your data, read the guide on the golf stats that really matter.