MATCHUPS vs 18Birdies for Golf Tournaments

MATCHUPS vs 18Birdies for running a golf tournament. Formats, team play, side games, platforms and price, from each app's own pages.

By MATCHUPS Editorial Team · Nov. 7, 2026 · 3 min read

Fans gather around a green during tournament play. Photo: Anthony Melone / Unsplash

Disclosure: this site is made by the MATCHUPS team. Facts about other apps come from their own pages, checked in November 2026.

18Birdies is a big, free, all-round golf app with tournaments built in. MATCHUPS is built around one thing: two teams playing for a trip or a cup.

We make MATCHUPS. This page uses facts from each app's own site and help center, checked in November 2026.

The short answer

Pick 18Birdies for a free tournament with a field of individuals, net or gross scoring, lots of side games, or any Android players.
Pick MATCHUPS for a two-team event of 4, 8 or 12 on iPhone, with a lock-screen scoreboard, end-of-trip awards and AI pro-style headshots.

Side by side

	MATCHUPS	18Birdies
Price	Free download. Hosting free for 4, $49.99 one-time for 8 or 12	Free tournaments. Optional Premium
Platforms	iPhone + Apple Watch	iPhone, Android, Wear OS
Tournament structure	Two equal teams, 4, 8 or 12 players, 1 to 5 rounds	Create, invite and score; stroke play, Stableford, best ball or scramble
Handicaps	No GHIN sync	Net or gross with its free handicap
Side games	Skins, High/Low, Low/Low, Hammer	10 listed, including Skins, Nassau, Wolf, Vegas, Dots
Extras	GPS, lock-screen scoreboard, awards, AI headshots	Leagues roll results into season standings

Tournament structure

This is the core difference.

18Birdies tournaments suit a field. Lots of players, one leaderboard, net or gross. That is how most club and charity events work.

MATCHUPS tournaments are two teams. Exactly equal. Four, eight or twelve players. Points or scores roll up across one to five rounds. That is how most buddies trips and friend cups work.

If your event is "everyone for themselves, best net score wins," 18Birdies fits better. If it is "our team vs your team," MATCHUPS is built for it.

Formats

18Birdies lists stroke play, Stableford, best ball and scramble for tournaments.

MATCHUPS scores Stroke, Match, Best Ball, Scramble, Skins, High/Low and Low/Low. It does not do Stableford.

Side games

18Birdies has the longer list. Its help center lists ten side games: Skins, Nassau, Match, Points, Dots, Wolf, Vegas, Sixes, Rolling Stroke and Targets.

MATCHUPS has Skins, High/Low, Low/Low and the Hammer side game. No Nassau. No Wolf.

If your group lives on Nassau or Wolf, choose 18Birdies.

Phones

18Birdies lists iPhone and Android, plus Wear OS. MATCHUPS is iPhone and Apple Watch only.

One Android player is enough to decide this.

Price

18Birdies tournaments are free, with an optional Premium upgrade. MATCHUPS hosting is free with four players. For eight or twelve, it is a one-time $49.99.

Where MATCHUPS stands out

For two-team events, MATCHUPS adds things built for the moment:

A live scoreboard on the lock screen, so you can check the match between shots.
End-of-trip awards.
AI pro-style headshots of the players.
Built-in GPS and Apple Watch support.

Who should pick which

Your event	Better fit
40-player charity scramble	18Birdies
Net stroke play for a field	18Birdies
8 friends, two teams, three rounds	MATCHUPS
Group plays Nassau every round	18Birdies
Anyone on Android	18Birdies
12-player trip cup with awards on iPhone	MATCHUPS

What MATCHUPS does not do

No Android. No Nassau, Wolf or Stableford. No GHIN sync. No fields above 12 or uneven teams.

Bottom line

18Birdies is the free all-rounder for fields and side games. MATCHUPS is the two-team event app for iPhone groups. Pick by your event's shape.

See every option in our golf tournament app comparison.

Leaderboard Weekly is published by the people who make MATCHUPS, a free golf app for iPhone and Apple Watch. MATCHUPS on the App Store. matchupsgolf.com.