Dr. Dish vs The Gun

Choose a Dr. Dish if you want app-controlled drills, shot stats and guided workouts on your phone. Choose Shoot-A-Way’s The Gun Home Edition if you want a simpler touchpad machine that needs no phone, app or Wi-Fi. On October 17, 2026, the Dr. Dish Home was $2,995 (plus an optional membership), the Dr. Dish Home3 was $4,495 and The Gun Home Edition was $4,295 on sale. One owner of both brands reports that reliability mattered as much as features. For costs and five owner reports, see Is a Dr. Dish worth it?

We haven’t hands-on tested these machines. Specs and prices below come from each maker’s own pages on October 17, 2026, and owner reports are linked to the original posts. See how we get the data.

The home machines side by side

Model	Passing	Phone, app and Wi-Fi	Weight	Price as shown (Oct 17, 2026)	Source
Dr. Dish Home	180°, 5 passing distances; up to 3 players tracked at once	Controlled by the Dr. Dish Player app; membership optional but “crucial”, per Dr. Dish (see below)	270 lb	$2,995 (shown against a $3,495 list price) + membership from $39/mo	Dr. Dish Home, store page
Dr. Dish Home3	180°, 5 passing distances; unlimited player profiles; up to 1,200 shots per hour (Dr. Dish’s claim)	App-connected; “No Membership Required”; Wi-Fi needed for full functionality	270 lb	$4,495	Home3 store page
The Gun Home Edition	Rotates automatically to the spots you choose; works with 9 ft or 10 ft rims	Touchpad on the machine; “no phone or app required” and no Wi-Fi needed	247 lb	$4,295 on sale (shown against $4,795)	The Gun Home Edition
The Gun 10K	Up to 1,800 shots per hour (Shoot-A-Way’s claim); touchscreen drills	Free Shoot-A-Way app over Bluetooth, “No Subscriptions”	358 lb	New: “Request Pricing”. Remanufactured: $6,200 (shown against $8,400)	The Gun 10K, 10K Remanufactured

Prices change often and both makers run sales. Dr. Dish lists curbside delivery at $424 to $474 (porch or garage $504 to $554) in the continental US, with assembly not included. Dr. Dish gives a 2-year warranty on parts, remote diagnostics and parts shipping. Shoot-A-Way’s Home Edition page mentions a commercial-grade warranty but gave no term.

Both makers publish their own head-to-head pages (Shoot-A-Way’s and Dr. Dish’s). They’re sales pages, so we treat their claims as claims.

Does Dr. Dish need a membership?

Dr. Dish says two things. Its membership page says the membership “is not required to use your machine, though you only have access to complete 7 drills without it.” Its store page says “A Membership is crucial to having the best experience” and unlocks up to 5 player profiles, custom drills and a library of 250+ drills. Membership on October 17, 2026: $39 a month, $522 every 18 months, or $995 lifetime (shown against $2,000). The Home3 is sold without a membership.

The apps

The table below compares the two companion apps from our directory. Dr. Dish Player runs a Dr. Dish Home from your phone and tracks makes and misses. The Shoot-A-Way app works with The Gun 10K and 12K. The Gun Home Edition doesn’t use an app at all.

What owners report

Dr. Dish

• It lasted a decade. A family that bought a Dr. Dish about ten years ago still uses it for one-on-one and off-season shooting, but says it doesn’t copy game passes and needs a lot of space.
• Daily volume. One player shoots on a Dr. Dish every day, gets hundreds of shots up quickly, and can take the machine down alone.
• Family use. A dad says his son gets about 150 shots in 20 minutes, and shooting contests with other dads keep it fun.
• A school purchase. A school board member says their high school bought a Dr. Dish to help short-staffed coaches, picked for its price and customizable drills.
• Repairs. An owner of a Gun, a Dr. Dish and a Grind machine says they were constantly fixing the Dr. Dish and the Grind. Others in the same thread recommended Dr. Dish.

The Gun

That same three-machine owner recommends the Gun, while admitting it could be personal preference. It’s the only Gun report we have so far. Know a post from a Gun owner? Send it through the submit form.

Where GRIND fits

GRIND is another shooting machine that comes up in “vs” searches, and the three-machine owner above had one. It isn’t in our directory: we list apps, and we didn’t find a GRIND companion app. GRIND’s own blog posts about Dr. Dish come from a competitor, so read them that way.

A facility or a cheaper machine instead

• Shoot 360. Its facilities have rebounding machines and shot tracking. One parent says their daughter gets far more quality shots there without buying a machine. The Shoot 360 app needs an active facility membership.
• Other machines with apps. LUMISTAR (CARRY) is an AI quad-camera training machine, and Hoopfit programs pass locations on its own shooting machine. Both apps are free; the hardware is sold separately.
• Dr. Dish IC3. Dr. Dish’s store listed the IC3 Shot Trainer at $499.99 (35 lb) on October 17, 2026. It’s a different, much smaller product, so check what it does before treating it as a substitute.

FAQ

Is Dr. Dish or The Gun better for home use? It depends on what you want. A Dr. Dish Home or Home3 is built around an app with drills, stats and leaderboards. The Gun Home Edition runs from a touchpad with no phone, app or Wi-Fi and is the lighter machine at 247 lb. One owner of both brands preferred the Gun for reliability; other owners report years of use from a Dr. Dish.

Does The Gun need an app or Wi-Fi? The Gun Home Edition doesn’t: Shoot-A-Way says everything runs from the machine, with no phone, app or Wi-Fi needed. The Gun 10K and 12K work with the free Shoot-A-Way app, with no subscription.

How much does a Dr. Dish Home cost? On October 17, 2026, Dr. Dish listed the Dr. Dish Home at $2,995 (against a $3,495 list price), with an optional membership at $39 a month, $522 every 18 months or $995 lifetime. The Dr. Dish Home3 was $4,495 with no membership. Delivery is extra.

How much does The Gun cost? On October 17, 2026, Shoot-A-Way listed The Gun Home Edition at $4,295 on sale (against $4,795) and a remanufactured Gun 10K at $6,200. New 10K and 12K machines are “Request Pricing”.

Which shooting machine is easier to move? By weight, The Gun Home Edition (247 lb) is lighter than the Dr. Dish Home and Home3 (270 lb each) and The Gun 10K and 12K (358 lb). Dr. Dish lists locking wheels and says its machines fit through a standard doorway; check your space against each maker’s listed dimensions.

Is a shooting machine worth it for a high schooler? It’s worth it if they’ll shoot hundreds of balls several times a week. Owners report big rep counts, but one family found groups of three better for older players because they also practice passing and rebounding. See Is a Dr. Dish worth it? for costs and five owner reports.