What They Have in Common
Both use special marked balls for accurate spin data. Neither has a built-in screen — you're running everything through a phone, tablet, or PC. Both are portable units with USB-C charging. Neither requires club face stickers. That's roughly where the overlap ends.
Where They Differ
Technology & How Each One Works
The MLM1 is a Doppler radar unit that pairs with your iPhone camera to layer in visual data alongside the radar readings. The fusion approach is why it can work outdoors — radar tracks ball flight even when there's no enclosure to stop the ball. The Square Golf Original is a photometric, camera-based unit that sits beside the ball and captures club and ball data at the moment of impact using high-speed machine vision.
The practical difference: radar is your friend at the range, photometric is your friend in a sim bay. The Square Golf Original is indoor-only — that's not a knock, that's just what it's designed for. If you try to use it outside, it won't work.
What You're Paying For (and Paying Ongoing)
This is where the math gets interesting.
MLM1: $249.99 upfront. If you want shot tracer, slow-motion video, and the R-Speed metric, you'll need MLM1 Premium at $99.99/year. Over three years: $549.96. Over five years: $749.94.
Square Golf Original: $699 upfront. No subscription. Over three years: $699. Over five years: $699.
The crossover point is somewhere around year three — by then you've basically paid the same total if you're on the MLM1 Premium plan. If you only pay for a year or two of Premium and then let it lapse, the MLM1 stays cheaper. If you're a committed sim golfer who wants the full software experience ongoing, the Square Golf Original actually costs less at the five-year mark.
Data Depth and Club Data
The Square Golf Original tracks swing path, face angle, dynamic loft, and angle of attack in addition to the standard ball flight metrics. The MLM1 tracks carry, total distance, ball speed, club speed, launch angle, direction, smash factor, side carry, apex, and spin rate — but does not capture club data like face angle or swing path.
If you're using this for swing analysis alongside sim play, the Square Golf Original gives you more to work with on the club side.
Sim Software and Course Access
The Square Golf Original includes 10 courses out of the box and connects to GSPro — one of the more popular third-party simulation platforms. If you already have a GSPro license or want to build a sim bay on a budget, that integration is genuinely useful.
The MLM1 has no simulator compatibility. It has a virtual range in the app, which is fine for data review, but there's no course play. If sim golf is the goal, the MLM1 isn't the right tool regardless of price.
Setup, iOS Lock-In, and Android
The MLM1 is iOS only. No Android support — that's a hard stop for anyone not on an iPhone. The Square Golf Original connects via Bluetooth to phone, tablet, or PC with no platform restriction mentioned in the spec data, which gives it more flexibility on the device side.
Battery Life
The Square Golf Original runs 8 hours and uses a removable battery — if you're running long sim sessions with friends, you can swap packs. The MLM1 gets about 4 hours. At a weekend range session that might be fine; for a full sim day it's cutting it close.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the Rapsodo MLM1 if...
- You want a range tool more than a sim tool — the MLM1 works outdoors and the Square Golf Original doesn't.
- You're on iPhone and want the lowest entry price into launch monitor tech.
- You practice primarily on a real range and want data on your actual sessions.
- You're okay with upgrading later; start at $249.99, see if you actually use it, and go from there.
- You're a casual player who doesn't care about swing path and club face angle — ball flight metrics are probably enough.
Buy the Square Golf Original if...
- You're building or already have an indoor sim setup and want no monthly overhead.
- You want club data — face angle, swing path, dynamic loft — not just ball flight.
- You're already paying for GSPro or planning to, and need a launch monitor that connects without another subscription layered on top.
- You hit the range zero times a year and all your golf happens in a dedicated indoor space.
- You want a 2-year warranty (the MLM1 covers only 1 year).
The Bottom Line
If you're buying a launch monitor for range use, outdoor sessions, or general ball flight awareness on a budget, the MLM1 is the pick and it's not particularly close — the price difference alone nearly covers a year of range balls. But the Square Golf Original is a legitimate product solving a different problem: indoor sim use with no subscription, real club data, and course play included. The five-year total cost of ownership actually favors the Square Golf Original if you plan to pay for MLM1 Premium every year.
Know what you're buying it for before you click anything. One of these is a range companion. The other is a sim room component.
Get the Rapsodo MLM1.