The best green reading apps in 2026, compared honestly

The best green reading app for a golfer who can't read greens is one that measures the slope along your whole putt, uses the green's speed, and draws the line on the green you're standing on. On an iPhone Pro, that means a scanning app like ProSide, PuttView or our own Plumb Bob; on any other iPhone, Plumb Bob, or Tour Read if you'd rather learn a method that works without the phone.

We make Plumb Bob, so read this with that in mind. To keep it honest, we checked every competitor fact below against its US App Store listing on October 10, 2026, and against its website where the listing left a gap, and we say where other apps beat ours. Prices and features change, so check the listing before you buy.

The short list

All 11 compared

Prices are the in-app purchases the US App Store lists for each app on October 10, 2026. Ratings are the US App Store average and the number of ratings on the same day. None of these apps costs anything to download.

WhyGolf, a GPS app, also has a Green Reader and green slope maps as Pro features (WhyGolf Pro is listed at $14.99/month or $99.99/year). Its Green Reader estimates break from side slope, up or downhill slope, length and green speed.

What makes a green reading app good

Every app above says it shows you the break. Three things decide whether the answer is any use to you.

1. Where the slope number comes from

There are three ways an app can get the slope, and each has a catch:

• Phone as a level (Tour Read, AirBreak). The tilt sensor gives an exact number, but only for the spot where the phone sits. On a putt whose slope changes on the way, one reading isn't the whole story. Tour Read handles this by teaching you where to measure and letting you average several readings.
• Pre-made maps (StrackaLine, GolfLogix, WhyGolf). You see the whole green before you walk on. They only cover mapped courses, and the survey can be older than the green.
• Camera scan (Plumb Bob, ProSide, PuttView, OnePutt, PuttPro, Slopegraide AR). The phone measures the ground on the green you're standing on. LiDAR, on iPhone Pro models from the 12 Pro on, measures depth directly. Most scanners require it. Plumb Bob also works on non-LiDAR iPhones from camera tracking, with rougher reads.

Small slope errors matter. Here's one 10-foot putt at Stimp 10, from Plumb Bob's putt simulator:

Half a percent of error moves the aim about 3 inches. The hole is 4¼ inches wide. An app that gets the slope roughly right is worth far more than one that tells you nothing, but "roughly" still misses putts.

2. Whether it uses green speed

The same slope breaks more on a fast green, because the ball rolls slower for longer near the hole. That 10-foot putt across a 2% slope needs 8.7 inches of aim at Stimp 8 and 13.3 inches at Stimp 12, from the same simulator. That's a difference of more than a hole-width from speed alone. (Full table in do fast greens break more?)

So look for an app that asks for green speed. Tour Read, OnePutt, PuttView, Slopegraide and Plumb Bob all mention green speed or pace in their listings. Plumb Bob can also measure the Stimp from one rolled ball. No app? Here's how to measure green speed without a Stimpmeter.

3. Whether it shows you the answer where you can learn from it

A number on a screen ("aim 11 inches left") helps once. A line drawn on the grass, from your ball to the hole, teaches you what 2% of slope looks like. If your goal is to read greens better without the phone, pick an app that lets you commit to your own read first and then check it. ProSide has a coaching mode that compares your read to its own; Tour Read is built around learning its method; Plumb Bob shows the line and the aim point so you can compare them with your guess.

The apps, one by one

Plumb Bob (ours). Mark your ball, walk to the cup, then hold the phone up behind the ball. It scans the slope along your whole line, rolls simulated putts at your green speed, and draws the line, the aim point and the break in cups on the grass. It also gives a plays-like distance for uphill and downhill putts and a confidence rating for each read. It works on any iPhone; LiDAR models read most precisely. Where others beat it: it's new, so it has no App Store ratings yet; it measures slope, not grain; and there's no Android version or pre-made course maps.

ProSide. The closest match to Plumb Bob. It scans with LiDAR, then shows the read in live AR, as a 2D contour map or as a 3D model, and tracks how your own reads compare with its own. Catch: iPhone Pro and Pro Max only. Its listing calls it "a practice tool, not a tournament aid".

PuttView. From the company behind the indoor AR putting systems. It scans with LiDAR and overlays contour lines, slope arrows, the ideal line and the aim point, indoors or out. Catch: needs LiDAR, and at $79.99 a year it costs more than most of the scanners here.

OnePutt and PuttPro. Both are LiDAR scanners that show a putt line in AR at a lower monthly price. OnePutt's own tips say scanning is most accurate within 3 meters (about 10 feet) and less accurate past 5 meters. Catch: Pro iPhones only.

Slopegraide. A training app with several modes: roll virtual balls in AR, view greens from courses in its database in life size, and "Roll Maps" for distance control, with a tournament mode its maker says conforms to the Rules. Catch: the AR scanning needs LiDAR and the annual plan.

Tour Read. One of the best-known names, now partnered with Odyssey. You lay the phone on your line, about two-thirds of the way to the hole, and it reads the slope and gives break and pace. The real product is the method: you learn to estimate slope yourself, which you can use in competition. It also tracks putting stats such as strokes gained. Catch: a single-spot reading, and a paid subscription after the trial.

AimPoint Golf. Not a green reader: it's the official video course for AimPoint, the feet-and-fingers method used by many tour players (see how pros read greens). Good if you want a skill rather than a device. Catch: the price, and you still don't get feedback on whether a read was right.

StrackaLine, GolfLogix and WhyGolf. Map-based. StrackaLine surveys greens with a laser and shows slope percentages, fall lines and the putt line for any hole location; it says its pin sheet is USGA legal. GolfLogix and WhyGolf are GPS apps with green slope maps and break reads added. Catch: only for courses they've mapped, and the putt line comes from the map, not the green as it is today.

AirBreak. A free slope meter from the makers of a breaking-putt mat. It gives the side slope, up or downhill, and the fall line where the phone sits. It doesn't turn that into an aim point. Good for learning what 1%, 2% and 3% feel like underfoot.

Is there a free green reading app?

AirBreak is free and measures slope. Plumb Bob gives 3 full reads free, with no account, and measuring green speed stays free. GolfLogix lets you try Premium on your first 9 holes, and Tour Read has a 14-day trial. The full scanners all charge for regular use.

Can you use them in a tournament?

No. Rule 4.3 of the Rules of Golf bans devices that measure elevation changes or interpret slope during a round, and that covers every app on this list when it's reading a putt. Green maps are allowed only within the size and scale limits for green-reading materials. Methods you carry in your head and feet, like AimPoint, plumb bobbing or a learned Tour Read routine, are always fine.

That's the real case for these apps: they're practice tools. The golfer who uses one to learn what slope looks like gets something they can take into the club championship. The golfer who relies on it only gets help in friendly rounds.

How to get better with one

Most golfers under-read break, and fast or downhill putts most of all (see why you miss putts on the low side). An app fixes that only if you use it as feedback:

1. Read the putt yourself first. Say it out loud: "right to left, two cups."
2. Check it with the app. Note how far off you were, and which way.
3. Putt both lines. Your read and the app's. Watch which one drops.
4. Keep a tally. After 20 putts you'll know your habit, say half the break on downhill putts. That correction is yours to keep.

Plumb Bob is a green reading app for iPhone. It reads the slope with the camera, most precisely on iPhones with LiDAR, and it works without. It measures slope, not grain, so on Bermuda greens read the grain yourself. Use it on the practice green and in friendly rounds, not in competition. You get 3 free reads, then Plumb Bob Pro is $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a free week for new subscribers.

FAQ

What is the best green reading app?

For learning to read greens, one that measures the slope along your putt, uses green speed and shows the line on the green. On an iPhone Pro, ProSide, PuttView and Plumb Bob all do that. On a non-Pro iPhone, Plumb Bob is the scanner that works; Tour Read is a well-known level-style app.

What is the best free green reading app?

AirBreak is free and gives the slope where you set the phone. Plumb Bob gives 3 full reads free with no account. Most other green readers need a subscription for regular use.

Is there an app that reads golf greens?

Yes. Some scan the green with the camera (Plumb Bob, ProSide, PuttView, OnePutt, PuttPro), some read the slope with the phone lying on the green (Tour Read, AirBreak), and some show pre-made maps of a course's greens (StrackaLine, GolfLogix, WhyGolf).

Do green reading apps need LiDAR?

Most camera scanners do: ProSide, PuttView, OnePutt, PuttPro and Slopegraide's AR mode all need an iPhone Pro with LiDAR. Plumb Bob works without it, with rougher reads. Level-style and map apps don't use the camera at all.

Do green reading apps work on Android?

Plumb Bob is iPhone only, and ProSide needs an iPhone Pro. AirBreak's maker says it's on Google Play too. For the others, check the Google Play store before you count on it.

Are green reading apps accurate?

Nobody has published an independent side-by-side test that we could find. Accuracy depends on the slope measurement and on the green speed you give it: on a 10-foot putt, half a percent of slope error moves the aim about 3 inches, and the wrong Stimp can move it more than a hole-width.

Do green reading apps read grain?

None of the scanning apps here says it does. Grain is the direction the grass grows, which a camera can't see. A two-ball roll test shows it: see how to read grain on greens.