VALD SmartSpeed vs Sprintbrick
VALD sells SmartSpeed gates to teams, colleges and clinics on a subscription. Sprintbrick is a one-time $199 purchase for an athlete or a small group.
How SmartSpeed is sold
SmartSpeed is a wireless timing gate system that plugs into VALD's software for athlete testing. VALD doesn't publish prices. It sells SmartSpeed on a subscription with a three-year term, in Dash and Plus tiers, and you get a quote from its sales team.
How Sprintbrick works
Sprintbrick is a sensor on your lower back and a receiver about 2 m behind the start, with no gates. The receiver measures the distance to you 100 times a second. One rep gives you splits at 10, 20, 30 and 40 yards and every 10 m to 100 m, your top speed and a speed chart. You buy it once, and the app has no subscription.
Side by side with OVR gates, Sprintbrick's segments after the first 10 m all came within 50 ms, 30 out of 30. Times that include the start don't match as closely yet, and we're working on that. The OVR page has the full results.
Side by side
| VALD SmartSpeed | Sprintbrick | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Quote only, three-year subscription | $199 once |
| Splits | One per pair of gates | Every split from one rep |
| Software | VALD's athlete testing platform | iPhone app, records and charts |
| Athletes | Whole rosters | One wearer at a time |
| Drills | Sprints, agility, change of direction | Straight sprints, about 80 m |
VALD pricing model from valdperformance.com, checked October 29, 2026.
Which to choose
SmartSpeed makes sense if your organization already uses VALD's force plates or other testing hardware, because the sprint data lands in the same system as everything else, which helps a performance staff that tests hundreds of athletes.
If you're a parent, an athlete or a private coach, a three-year contract is hard to justify for sprint times. Sprintbrick costs $199 once and gives you more splits per rep than a pair of gates.