GolfTracker vs GolfStatus, Golf Genius, Event Caddy, BirdEase and Perfect Golf: 2026 Golf Tournament Software Comparison

Of the six best-known golf tournament platforms, GolfTracker is the only one that is free to start, publishes every price, needs no sales call, and gives every golfer its own free phone and watch app with GPS yardage, shot tracking and scoring, on iPhone with Apple Watch and on Android with Wear OS. GolfStatus is the strongest on sponsorship, Golf Genius is built for clubs and associations on an annual contract, Event Caddy and Perfect Golf Event are free to start but charge per player or per dollar, and BirdEase charges a flat $299 per event. This guide compares them feature by feature so you can pick the right one for your tournament.

Every competitor detail below comes from that company's own website, help center, pricing page or app store listing, checked in October 2026. Where a vendor does not advertise a feature, we say "not advertised", which means exactly that, not that it cannot be done. The full side-by-side grid lives on our GolfTracker comparison page.

The short version: who each platform is for

• GolfTracker: charity and corporate tournament organizers who want to start free today, see every price up front, and give their players a real golf app for the event and every round after it.
• GolfStatus: nonprofits whose event lives or dies on sponsorship and who are comfortable starting with a demo and an unpublished transaction fee.
• Golf Genius: private clubs, courses and golf associations running many events a year on an annual subscription.
• Event Caddy: small organizers who want a free registration page and do not mind a $4 charge added to every player.
• BirdEase: organizers who prefer one flat price per event and already have their own payment gateway.
• Perfect Golf Event: organizers who want free registration and accept a 3.9% fee, with live scoring on the top tier only.

What does each golf tournament platform cost?

Price is where these six differ most, and the model matters as much as the number.

• GolfTracker: Starter is free with a 3.5% platform fee on money raised. Pro is $299 per event and lowers the fee to 2%. White-Label is $1,750 per year on your own Stripe account with no platform fee at all. Every price is on the website.
• GolfStatus: $0 to start, but the transaction fee is not published, setup begins with a demo request, and GolfStatus collects the event's money and holds it until you request a payout. A live-scoring-only option is $299 per event if you process payments elsewhere.
• Golf Genius: Tournament Management is $1,425 per year (TM Club, plus a $200 onboarding fee) or $4,275 per year (TM Premium, plus $500), sold to clubs, courses and associations through its sales team.
• Event Caddy: free to start, then $4 is added to every player's registration on top of card processing. At 144 players that is $576 before card fees.
• BirdEase: a flat $299 per event with no per-registrant fee; card processing runs through your own merchant account, or BirdEase Payments at 3.9%.
• Perfect Golf Event: the free Par plan processes payments at 3.9%; paid plans run $347 to $1,297 per event.

The practical difference: with GolfTracker you can build your event site the same day you sign up, and you know exactly what you will pay before you take a single registration.

Which platforms include live scoring and a leaderboard?

All six offer live scoring in some form, but three of them hold it back for a higher tier.

• GolfTracker: live scoring and a public leaderboard on every plan, including free Starter.
• GolfStatus: included.
• Golf Genius: on the TM Premium tier.
• Event Caddy: on the PRO ($299 per tournament) and ELITE plans.
• BirdEase: included, as a web link.
• Perfect Golf Event: on the Ace tier only ($1,297 per event), through a partnership with Golf Genius.

GolfTracker also keeps a record of every score changed after it was first entered: who changed it, which hole, the old and new score, and when. Organizers see that record in Live Scoring. None of the other five publishes a record of changed scores, which is the feature that settles a disputed leaderboard in the clubhouse.

Which tournament platforms have a golf app with GPS yardage?

This is where the field thins out fast. Most tournament platforms stop at the leaderboard. A golfer on the course wants the number to the green.

• GolfTracker: front, middle and back yardage for players, in the free app on iPhone and Android, and on the wrist with Apple Watch and Wear OS.
• GolfStatus: GPS yardage in its own golf app.
• Golf Genius: through Golfshot, the golf GPS app it owns, which is free for basic GPS, with front and back yardage, hazards and shot tracking in Golfshot Pro.
• Event Caddy, BirdEase and Perfect Golf Event: GPS yardage for players is not advertised.

What about the watch? Only two of the six have a smartwatch option at all:

• GolfTracker: its own free watch app on Apple Watch and Wear OS, with yardage, shot tracking and scoring, and no upgrade to unlock watch scoring.
• Golf Genius: through Golfshot, which has Apple Watch and Wear OS apps. Golfshot's Apple Watch app can be used to track Golf Genius tournament rounds. Watch GPS is free; scoring on the watch needs Golfshot Pro, about $80 a year.
• GolfStatus, Event Caddy, BirdEase and Perfect Golf Event: no smartwatch app.

On the watch, GolfTracker shows yardage to the front, middle and back of the green, lets you pick a club and mark each shot so drive and club distances are measured, and keeps score and putts on your wrist while your phone stays in the bag. Yardage shows on holes whose green has been mapped in GolfTracker; scoring and shot tracking work on every hole of every course. Everything you enter on the watch lands on the same round as your phone. Read more on our golf GPS app for Apple Watch and Wear OS page.

What do golfers get between tournaments?

A tournament is one day. The golfers who play in it play dozens of other rounds a year. This is the biggest gap between GolfTracker and the rest of the field.

• GolfTracker: a free score tracker for everyday rounds, stats and a handicap estimate (worked out the World Handicap System way from your own rounds; it is not an official USGA or GHIN index), four side games (Nassau, skins, match play and Wolf, gross or net) tracked hole by hole by Bogey, the AI caddie, and settled up so everyone knows who owes whom, GPS shot distances by club, friends and saved crews with invite links, and golf trips with team cup standings, all free.
• GolfStatus: casual-round scoring and GPS in its free app, with a handicap that posts to GHIN; side games settled up are not advertised.
• Golf Genius: player features come through Golfshot (side games, automatic shot tracking and Strokes Gained are in the paid Pro tier) and GHIN; it sells a separate $149 Trip Manager for buddy trips.
• Event Caddy, BirdEase and Perfect Golf Event: no golfer app for everyday rounds is advertised.

For organizers this matters more than it sounds. Players who keep using the app between events are the players who come back to your next tournament. See the free golf scoring app for everything golfers get.

How do sponsors and payments compare?

• Sponsor recognition: all six support a sponsor wall or hole sponsors. GolfStatus is genuinely strong here. GolfTracker adds sponsor micro-pages, self-serve sponsor portals and an interactive course map where each hole shows its sponsor.
• Where the money lands: with GolfTracker White-Label, payments go straight into your own Stripe account. GolfStatus collects event funds and pays them out on request. BirdEase does not hold funds; you connect your own merchant account from its supported list, which does not include Stripe, or use its own BirdEase Payments at 3.9%. Event Caddy works with Stripe and PayPal.
• Your numbers: GolfTracker Pro includes a real-time profit and loss for the event with export. Event Caddy, BirdEase and Perfect Golf also offer financial reporting; Golf Genius reports revenue.

What can GolfTracker do that the others do not advertise?

• Bogey, the AI caddie, for every game you play. In a group round or on a golf trip, Bogey tracks all the side games hole by hole: skins with carryovers, all three Nassau bets, holes up in match play, and Wolf, including whose turn it is to be the Wolf on every hole. Ask who is up, who has the most skins or who owes what, and it answers from GolfTracker's scoring engine, the same numbers as the settle-up, never a guess. It nets out who owes whom across every game, calls the standings at the turn and the finish, and flags any score changed after it was entered. GolfTracker never touches the money; Bogey tells you the numbers and you settle up.
• Bogey at your tournament, too. Players ask the event website's chat who is leading or where their team stands, and Bogey answers from the official leaderboard. If the organizer keeps the leaderboard private, Bogey keeps it private too.
• QR check-in with wallet passes at the registration table.
• A record of every changed score, with who, which hole and when.
• Works with no signal. Scores and registration-desk sales are stored on the device and sync when the connection returns, and everything event-critical also prints.
• Unlimited events on the free plan, with your data carried year over year.

GolfTracker vs GolfStatus

GolfStatus is the closest competitor and it is strong on sponsorship. Its free app has GPS yardage and scoring for tournaments and casual rounds, though it has no watch app. The differences are access and money: GolfStatus does not publish its transaction fee, starts you through a demo-request form, and collects your event's money until you request a payout. GolfTracker publishes every price, lets you build your site the same day, and on White-Label pays you directly into your own Stripe account.

GolfTracker vs Golf Genius

Golf Genius is a deep platform for clubs, courses and associations on an annual contract, with sales-led onboarding. If you run a full club calendar, it is built for you. If you run one to a few charity or corporate events a year, GolfTracker starts free, has no onboarding fee, and includes live scoring on every plan instead of only on TM Premium. Golf Genius players can use the Golfshot watch app; GolfTracker players get watch yardage, shot tracking and scoring free.

GolfTracker vs Event Caddy

Event Caddy is free to start but adds $4 to every player's registration plus card fees, and live scoring needs the PRO plan at $299 per tournament. GolfTracker has no per-player fee and includes live scoring on the free Starter plan; Pro is a flat $299 and cuts the platform fee to 2%.

GolfTracker vs BirdEase

BirdEase's flat $299 per event is simple, and it never holds your money: payments run through your own merchant account or BirdEase Payments. GolfTracker's Starter plan costs nothing up front, Pro matches BirdEase's $299 with a 2% fee, and BirdEase players score from a web link; GolfTracker adds a player app, GPS yardage and watch support.

GolfTracker vs Perfect Golf Event

Perfect Golf Event is free with a 3.9% processing rate, and live scoring is on its $1,297 Ace tier, powered by Golf Genius. GolfTracker's free plan has a lower 3.5% fee and includes live scoring and the leaderboard.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free golf tournament software?

For most charity and corporate organizers, GolfTracker: it is free to start with a published 3.5% fee, includes live scoring and a leaderboard on the free plan, needs no sales call, and gives players a free golf app with GPS yardage on phone and watch. Event Caddy and Perfect Golf Event are also free to start but add a per-player charge or a higher percentage, and keep live scoring on paid tiers.

Which golf tournament app works on Apple Watch and Wear OS?

GolfTracker works on both. The free app runs on iPhone with Apple Watch and on Android with Wear OS watches, with front, middle and back yardage, shot tracking and scoring on the wrist. Among tournament platforms, the only other watch option is Golf Genius through its Golfshot app, where scoring on the watch needs a paid Golfshot Pro membership.

Do players need to download an app for a GolfTracker tournament?

No. Players can score and follow the leaderboard from a link in their phone's browser. The free app adds the watch, shot tracking and everyday rounds for golfers who want them.

Is GolfTracker cheaper than Golf Genius?

For a single event or a few events a year, yes. Golf Genius Tournament Management is $1,425 a year plus a $200 onboarding fee, and live scoring needs the $4,275 TM Premium tier. GolfTracker Starter is free with a 3.5% fee, and Pro is $299 per event.

Does GolfTracker track side games like skins, Nassau and Wolf?

Yes. Set up skins, a Nassau, match play or Wolf for your group, with a stake per game or just for fun, gross or net. Bogey, GolfTracker's AI caddie, tracks every game hole by hole, answers "who's up?" and "who owes what?" from the scoring engine, and nets out the settle-up across all of them. It works in the GolfTracker app and on golf trips, not just at tournaments. GolfTracker never handles the money; it tells you the numbers.

Can I use my own Stripe account?

Yes, on White-Label ($1,750 per year), where GolfTracker takes no platform fee and payments go straight into your Stripe account.

Start free today

Create your tournament site in minutes at golftracker.ai, compare every feature on the comparison page, and send your players the free GolfTracker app for iPhone and Apple Watch or Android and Wear OS.