Take a look at your phone. I bet that you will see a bunch of apps on it, covering pretty much most aspects of your lifestyle. So, as a grappler, why not add some BJJ apps as well?
There are many effective and versatile BJJ apps for both android and iOS users. There are different types of apps available, whether you are an instructor looking to run an academy, or just looking for an app to track your training or learn a few new moves.
We tested the top BJJ apps available and have put together a list of our favorites! Here’s the ultimate list of BJJ apps for you to choose from:
Types of BJJ Apps
Depending on what you are looking for in a BJJ app, there are several main categories of app that you may want to consider:
- Timer apps include interval timers that you can use to track sparring, drilling, or practice rounds. Most BJJ timer apps come preset with specific work and rest round settings.
- Score tracker BJJ apps are a great way to easily track the score of two grapplers that are having a match. These are especially useful for people learning how points in BJJ work or preparing for competition.
- BJJ Journal apps are intended to help you track different aspects of your BJJ progress like training hours, techniques used, competition records, camp/seminar attendees, promotions, etc.
- Instructional BJJ apps are the most numerous of all the different app categories. They offer technical, conceptual, and tactical instructions, mostly in video format, although there are also apps that include written content, pictures, and diagrams.
- BJJ Games for your phone are a great way to pass time while waiting for class, or in between competition matches.
- Nutrition apps are very helpful both for reaching/maintaining a healthy weight and for cutting weight for competitions. Ideally, you want one with useful information and little to no clutter. These types of apps are usually paired with strength and conditioning information.
- BJJ Gym management apps are great for both students and teachers alike, eliminating the need for attendance cards, sheets, or similar “old-school” record keeping.
- Multipurpose BJJ apps are apps that combine several of the categories from above.
Best BJJ Timers
Spar – BJJ Timer (Google Play)
- App size: 6.6 MB
- Developer: Chroaster
- App pricing: Free
- App rating: 4.8 *
The Spar – BJJ Timer app is a simple, smooth-running Android app that delivers a flexible timer for BJJ sparring and drilling. The app has presets for rolling and sparring, but there is also an option to create and save customized round lengths.
The display shows the time elapsed, the current round, and the total number of rounds, clock, and management buttons (start/stop and settings). This BJJ app is very easy to use, with several different background colors and sound options to choose from.
JiuJitsuTimer (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 15 MB
- Developer: ISul Tecnologia
- App pricing: Free
- App rating: 4.8 *
A very straightforward BJJ app that comes with 5 preset round timers, each with the duration appropriate to the duration of competition matches at each belt level. Each timer is set for five rounds, with 1-minute breaks in between. All preset timers are easily customizable. The app also has the option of adding your own personalized work/rest rounds.
The app is pretty minimalistic, runs very smoothly, and does not crash. There are no options to customize the sound notifications for the start and end of rounds, nor change the background.
Visually, there is color coding to the app timer while it is running, set up in a circular style and changing from green to red as time expires.
Best BJJ Score Trackers & Competition Apps
Winner Tournament Maker App (Google Play)
- App size: 23 MB
- Developer: Talent Apps
- App pricing: Free (contains ads) / Paid (monthly and yearly plans available)
- App rating: 4.6*
This app is not BJJ specific, but it is highly useful if you’re looking to set up tournament brackets using nothing but your phone. It is an elaborate app that offers different menus for creating players, teams, and entire tournaments, as well as creating event venues.
Features include multiple teams and tournament formats, match schedules, tournament sharing, offline and online mode, and the option to add personalized logos for teams/players. There is also a feature allowing multiple admins.
The app is very user-friendly and runs smoothly. In terms of presets, it contains tournament formats for all major sports, with MMA and wrestling presumably being of particular interest to our readers.
This app contains ads, which you can turn off temporarily by watching a video. There are also pro subscription plans, ranging from $2 to $22 and including monthly, bi-monthly, or yearly subscriptions.
BJJ Points and Timer (Google Play)
- App size: 3.5 MB
- Developer: Andrii Bibik
- App pricing: Free (contains ads)
- App rating: 4.9*
This is a very effective, lightweight app that delivers both a BJJ timer and a points counter. It features a very easy-to-use interface that allows immediate access to any feature.
The app contains a timer section that allows you to set up customized interval training rounds (work, rest, and the number of rounds included). The point counter interface offers a stopwatch or a timer version and has easy one-click, color-coded points buttons. A third feature is the option to enter and save practitioners’ names, as well as keep a record of their matches.
Visually, there are 5 different backgrounds and color combinations to choose from, a well as 10 different sound alerts.
Best BJJ Journal Apps
BJJ Buddy: BJJ Tracker Journal (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 19 MB
- Developer: Ranknoodle LLC
- App pricing: Free
- App rating: 3.5*
Having a BJJ journal or diary is not something most grapplers are used to. And still, having a precise log of your training, rolls, even taps and sweeps can come in handy when tracking your progress. This BJJ app provides exactly that.
Features include a log for your training hours and the total number of classes. There are also options to log your submissions, taps, sweeps, and takedowns in each class. There’s a feature called “cardio stats” that logs your training rounds, how many rounds you rolled, the length of work and rest intervals, and your perceived cardio level.
There is also the option to check your statistics which include gi vs. no-gi training time on top of all the other statistics from previously mentioned features. You could even share your results in an in-app feed.
When tested we found the app very easy to use and runs smoothly.
BJJ Logbook (Apple Store)
- App size: 16.9 MB
- Developer: Atomic Cyan
- App pricing: Free
- App rating: 3.7 *
This BJJ app is intended to be an easy-to-use log for iOS users. Once you register, you simply open the training log after training or competition and enter your details. Most of the basics come pre-filled and you mostly have to click and scroll rather than input too much text. This is definitely a boon for those post-training shaky fingers!
Features include a logbook, precise stats (gi, no-gi training, competition results, open mat logs, etc.), and a home tab that helps with easy navigation. The app has cloud-based storage.
Visually, the app is compelling and streamlined for ease of use.
Best Apps for BJJ Techniques
BJJ Roadmap by Stephan Kesting (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 721 MB
- Developer: Grapplearts Enterprises Inc
- App pricing: Free & Paid versions
- App rating: 4.3 *
BJJ roadmap is one of the most popular BJJ apps out there and is definitely a leader among BJJ techniques apps. It is a library of BJJ technique videos, mostly aimed at beginners and organized in a very logical and progressive way.
The free version of the app allows you to watch breakdowns of the major BJJ positions in relation to each other. There are also very detailed instructions on guards, mostly referring to the closed and half guard from both top and bottom.
The paid version ($13.99) gives you access to every video in the library, including positions like side mount, knee on belly, and turtle. There are also instructions on how to avoid some of the biggest mistakes beginners make.
The app is easy to navigate and all videos are high-quality.
Great Grappling (Google Play)
- App size: 2.7 MB
- Developer: Great Grappling
- App pricing: Free (contains ads)
- App rating: 4.6 *
A great BJJ app that is linked to a YouTube channel, so the content is free, and the size of the app is small. The app itself provides structure to the YouTube videos, organizing them by position and by category.
The app also displays the written descriptions of the videos and tracks which videos have been watched.
The interface is pretty straightforward, with the categories of techniques presented as a list. Every click opens up new sub-list categories, allowing for easy browsing and orientation.
BJJ Blue Belt Requirements 2.0 (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 1.3 GB
- Developer: ROYDEAN.TV
- App pricing: Paid ($99.99)
- App rating: 4.8 *
As the name suggests, this BJJ app is intended for white belts. The technique videos are 4K quality and arranged in chapters for ease of access. There are a total of 77 Jiu Jitsu technique videos available through this app.
The app is easy to navigate, with the videos organized in a list, maximizing the viewing area when searching. It is a good choice for any white belt.
The app seems to be paid only for Android but features a free version for iOS (apparently, the iOS paid version is also cheaper than the Android one available at $49.99).
BJJ Fanatics (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 11MB
- Developer: Fanatic LLC
- App pricing: Free (with in-app purchases)
- App rating: 3.1 *
This is an app that allows you easy access to anything you’ve purchased through BJJ Fanatics. A great feature is that you can download the videos and watch them offline. The app is basically a shortcut to their page, neatly arranging videos into categories such favorites, new releases, trending, by instructors, by subject, and more.
The app is easy to navigate and has endless content, given that the BJJ fanatics collection grows each week. You will have to register a BJJ fanatics profile (easily done through the app) to access the content.
Some users have reported that the app is a bit buggy and that the screen on their phone times out while watching videos. This seems like a relatively easy fix and hopefully future updates will remedy this shortcoming.
Best Apps for BJJ Stretching / Yoga
Yoga for BJJ (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 55 MB
- Developer: Yoga for BJJ
- App pricing: Free to download (in-app purchases of subscription plans)
- App rating: 4.5 *
This BJJ app allows you to explore Yoga routines put together specifically for grapplers. Follow-along video lessons are categorized for ease of access in beginner, intermediate and advanced categories. There is also an option to access routines designed to stretch or rehab particular joints.
You can download the app for free but will need to choose a monthly, annual, or bi-annual subscription plan to access the videos. All videos are downloadable and you can manage your library. There’s also access to the Yoga For BJJ blog posts through the app.
Best Apps for BJJ Gyms and Coaches
Strive (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 17MB
- Developer: Stefano Saitta
- App pricing: Free (offers in-app purchases)
- App rating:4.6 *
This BJJ app is intended for academy managers/owners, or those brave enough to organize their own BJJ camp.
For BJJ gym owners, the app allows you to add your academy’s schedule for two upcoming weeks. The app automatically rolls the schedule over if you don’t change the description of the classes.
Your students can download the app and then register for any class they want. As a coach you can verify their attendance in the app after the class ends, or by swiping left you can identify those who missed class.
The paid version of the app allows gym owners to handle monthly billing within the app, making it an all-in-one app for academy management.
Best BJJ Mobile Game
BeJJ: Jiu Jitsu Game (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 400 MB
- Developer: Smash Mountain Studio
- App pricing: Free (offers in-app purchases)
- App rating: 4.1 *
This BJJ app is the first of its kind – a full-fledged Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game. It offers the chance to create and customize your avatar, before going on to test yourself against Jiu-Jitsu fighters from around the world.
The way the game functions is like a card game. You pick your cards, which depict realistic BJJ moves, and use them strategically against other players to climb the rankings. More cards (moves) become available as you get a better ranking.
The interface is easy to use and the game is good looking with fairly realistic depictions of BJJ.
The game is currently in development and is perhaps a bit slow-paced at times, but it shows a lot of promise for the future.
Best Nutrition App
Eat 2 Win (Google Play / Apple Store)
- App size: 58 MB
- Developer: My Sports Dietitian
- App pricing: Free and Premium
- App rating: 4.4 *
While not specifically a BJJ app, this app will help you achieve your nutrition goals. Intended for athletes, the app offers a fully customizable meal plan setup based on your needs and goals.
After signing in, you enter your weight, height, goal, activity level, etc, and the app calculates your daily calorie intake. It also provides a full meal plan based on your eating habits, with meals fitting the calorie requirements of your goals. There are dozens of recipes for each meal, with exact amounts of ingredients to use.
The app also offers access to blog posts and podcasts. With the premium version, you get more trackers like Sleep, Wellness, and Fluid Intake.
Best Multipurpose App
Jiu Jitsu Five-O (Google Play)
- App size: 9.1 MB
- Developer: Jiu Jitsu Five-O
- App pricing: Free (with in-app subscription)
- App rating: 3.7*
An all-in-one BJJ app that provides access to techniques, strength and conditioning workouts, stretching routines, and nutrition plans, as well as an option to attend a virtual BJJ classroom.
Everything is categorized for ease of use, and there’s the option of adding videos to your activity log for quick access.
The app is free to download but requires a hefty monthly or yearly subscription for access to the videos. There is a free 7-day trial that is useful to research the app.
Conclusion
There is certainly more than enough in terms of choices in the BJJ apps department. Whether you want to learn techniques, get more flexible, gain or drop some weight, or log every aspect of your training, there is an app for that.
There are also options for academy owners that can help them keep track of attendance and payment, provide easy-to-use round timers, and/or complete point counting systems for matches, and even apps that help design brackets for tournaments.
Which is your favorite BJJ app?
Ogi is a black belt that does Jiu Jitsu full time and is very passionate about anything grappling-related.
He is also the head coach of Enso Jiu Jitsu in Macedonia and an aspiring Globetrotter.