Comparison

Subsurface vs Shearwater Cloud

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head

Subsurface

Your dive list on the go

Free

⚽ Sports

★ 4.548 ratingsView app →

Shearwater Cloud

Free

⚽ Sports

★ 2.6104 ratingsView app →

About

Subsurface

This application allows divers to manage their dive logs on their mobile devices. It supports editing dive data and downloading new information from compatible dive computers. Optional cloud synchronization is available for seamless data transfer with desktop versions.

Highlights

Mobile dive log management
Edit dive data
Download from Bluetooth LE dive computers
Optional cloud synchronization
Open-source and free

Read full description

Subsurface-mobile is an iOS dive log application based on Subsurface, the best free open source dive log application available on Windows, Mac and Linux. Subsurface-mobile allows you to access your dive log on your tablet or phone, edit the data and even download new dive information from many Bluetooth LE enabled dive computers. Using a free Subsurface Cloud Storage account you can synchronize your dive data with the Subsurface desktop application (while significantly increasing the usefulness, the cloud account is not required to use Subsurface-mobile). To get support from the developers, please use the in-app menu entry "Ask for support" Please check out the Subsurface-mobile user manual: https://subsurface-divelog.org/documentation/subsurface-mobile-v3-user-manual (also available from within the app) Subsurface-mobile is free and open source. No ads, no commercial anything. And it comes with free cloud storage (if you decide to use that - it's optional). Your data aren't used for anything, nothing gets monetized.

About

Shearwater Cloud

Connect your mobile device to your dive computer to download, manage, and analyze dive logs. Update firmware and utilize cloud storage for accessible and secure dive data across multiple devices.

Highlights

Download dive logs via Bluetooth LE
Analyze depth, decompression, and temperature
Cloud storage for dive logs
Firmware updates for dive computers
Cross-device accessibility

Features

Read full description

Shearwater Cloud links your mobile device to your Shearwater dive computer. It allows you to download and manage your dive logs, update your dive computer firmware, and use cloud storage. Using Bluetooth LE technology, you can quickly and easily download your dive logs to Shearwater Cloud. Once your logs are downloaded, you can analyze your depth, decompression profile, temperature, and much more. The defining feature of Shearwater Cloud is the ability to store your dives via the cloud. Cloud storage provides accessibility to your dives on any mobile device with an internet connection. In addition, dive logs can be recovered should the dive logs be lost on a local storage. Shearwater Cloud is compatible with Tern, Peregrine, Teric, Perdix 2, Perdix AI, Perdix, NERD 2, Petrel 3, and Petrel 2.

Screenshots

Subsurface4 screens

Shearwater Cloud1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Subsurface at 4.5 against Shearwater Cloud's 2.6. Subsurface also leads on review sentiment (63% vs 26%). Shearwater Cloud's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Subsurface holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 48 and 104 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Subsurface's written reviews are positive against 26% of Shearwater Cloud's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Subsurface ships an update every 2 months, Shearwater Cloud every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level

Subsurface versus Shearwater Cloud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter	Subsurface	Shearwater Cloud
Price	Free	Free
Rating	4.5 (48 ratings) — better	2.6 (104 ratings)
Positive reviews	63.3% of reviews — better	25.8% of reviews
Number of ratings	48	104 — better
Update frequency	Every 2 months	Every 5 weeks — better
Ads	No	No
In-app purchases	No	No
Monetization	Free	Free
Devices	iPhone, iPad	iPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS	17	13.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size	52 MB	333 MB
Age rating	4+	4+
Developer	Dirk Hohndel	Shearwater Research

Customer experience

Subsurface

All ratings48 ratings

Positive89.6%

Neutral2.1%

Negative8.3%

Written reviews30 reviews

Positive63.3%

Neutral6.7%

Negative30.0%

Shearwater Cloud

All ratings104 ratings

Positive29.8%

Neutral19.2%

Negative51.0%

Written reviews151 reviews

Positive25.8%

Neutral21.9%

Negative52.3%

Bugs and requests

Subsurface

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Shearwater Cloud

Reported bugs

18 issues

App crashes on startup with latest iOS versions
Bluetooth connection causes app to freeze or crash
Dives fail to download or sync completely
Dive numbers display incorrectly compared to computer
Data loss when updating app or firmware

Show 13 more

Graph freezes when viewing in landscape mode
Cloud account requirement blocks app access
Slow download speeds (8+ minutes per dive)
Dropdown menus and UI elements unresponsive
Surface interval and end dive time removed in updates
Temperature unit conversion failures
SAC rate calculation errors
Auto-download toggle cannot be disabled
Checkboxes for filtering data removed
iPad version displays iPhone layout only
German/Italian translation mix-up
Unable to connect to specific computer models
Scrolling triggers accidental field selection

Requested features

20 requests

Modern, native-looking user interface redesign
GPS/geolocation integration for dive sites
Ability to manually add or import dives
Photo attachment capability for dives
Dive planner functionality

Show 15 more

Map view of dive locations
Landscape mode optimization for iPad
Ability to copy/paste information between dives
Filter dives by mode (recreational, technical, etc.)
Average SAC rate statistics across all dives
Buddy management and sharing features
Equipment tracking and reuse
Dive profile zoom capability
PDF export of dive logs
Support for more tank configurations
GFSurf information on graphs
Smart notifications/SNS integration
Dive date format customization
Full-screen graph in landscape orientation
Selective dive download options

In-app purchases

None

Subsurface

No in-app purchases

None

Shearwater Cloud

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Subsurface free?

Subsurface is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Is Shearwater Cloud free?

Shearwater Cloud is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Which has better reviews, Subsurface or Shearwater Cloud?

Subsurface is rated higher. Subsurface averages 4.5 out of 5 from 48 ratings, while Shearwater Cloud averages 2.6 from 104 ratings.

Do Subsurface or Shearwater Cloud have ads?

Neither Subsurface nor Shearwater Cloud shows ads.

Which is updated more often, Subsurface or Shearwater Cloud?

Subsurface ships an update every 2 months, and Shearwater Cloud every 5 weeks. Most recently, Subsurface was updated on September 18, 2026 and Shearwater Cloud on September 2, 2026.