18Birdies was the default golf app for a long time, and the reason is straightforward: the free tier is genuinely good and it gives you distance to the green without asking for money. Any comparison that pretends otherwise isn't worth reading.
The complaint that has caught up with it is equally straightforward. Golfers describe it as bloated— “too much going on” — and the scorecard, the thing most people actually opened it for, is now one screen among many, competing with overlays, upsells and a social feed.
Side by side
| SimplyStroke | 18Birdies | |
|---|---|---|
| What it's for | Counting strokes. Nothing else | Social GPS platform + scoring |
| Taps to log a stroke | 1 | Several (scorecard grid) |
| Account to start | No | Yes |
| Cost | Core scoring free | Free tier + premium subscription |
| Ads | None | Yes, on the free tier |
| GPS yardages | No | Yes |
| GHIN handicap posting | No | No (own handicap, doesn't sync) |
| Social feed | No | Yes |
| Solo rounds work offline | Yes | Partial |
If you use 18Birdies for the GPS, keep 18Birdies. Distance to the green on a good free tier is a real thing and SimplyStroke has no answer to it.
If you open 18Birdies to keep score and everything else is noise — the feed, the upsells, the grid you have to find the right cell in — then you are paying attention for features you never asked for. SimplyStroke is a single tap and it costs nothing.
What you give up by switching
- GPS yardages.The big one. If you don't carry a rangefinder, this matters.
- Green maps and slope (18Birdies premium).
- The social feed and challenges.
- Stats and round history depth. SimplyStroke gives you a scorecard, not a dashboard.
Note what is noton that list: an official handicap. Neither app posts to GHIN, and the 18Birdies handicap isn't accepted for USGA events, so if that's what you thought you were getting, you're already doing it by hand.
Common questions
Is there a simpler alternative to 18Birdies?
Yes. If you use 18Birdies mainly to keep score and ignore the GPS, green maps and social feed, a one-tap stroke counter does that job with far less friction. SimplyStroke records a stroke in a single tap, needs no account to start a round, works offline for solo rounds and shows no ads. You give up GPS yardages, handicap tracking and the social feed, which is the trade.
Is 18Birdies free?
18Birdies has a free tier that is genuinely well liked, and it includes GPS distances. The free tier carries ads, and green maps and the more advanced tools sit behind a premium subscription. SimplyStroke keeps its core scoring free and shows no ads, but it also does far less.
Does 18Birdies post to GHIN?
No. 18Birdies maintains its own handicap, which does not sync with GHIN, and per their own documentation the 18Birdies handicap is not accepted for USGA-sanctioned tournaments. If you need an official index you will be posting scores separately. SimplyStroke does not post to GHIN either, and does not pretend to.
Which is better for just keeping score?
SimplyStroke, by design. In 18Birdies, entering a score means opening a scorecard grid, finding the right hole and incrementing a cell, while GPS overlays and the feed compete for attention. In SimplyStroke, entering a score means tapping the screen once. If keeping score is the only job you need done, the second one is a shorter path.
Which is better overall?
It depends entirely on whether you want a golf platform or a scorecard. 18Birdies is more capable at almost everything: GPS, stats, social rounds, green maps. SimplyStroke is better at exactly one thing, which is recording a stroke without breaking your round. Pick based on which of those you actually open the app to do.