Comparison

Subsurface vs SafetyStop

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

Head to head
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

SafetyStop

Features
Read full description

SafetyStop is the dive app I wanted and could not find: quick enough to use on a boat, honest about what it does not know, and built so your dive log is never trapped anywhere. THE LOGBOOK IS THE STAR Log a dive in seconds. Tap Use My Location and SafetyStop names the water you are actually in and sets salt or fresh for you — the two things every other app makes you type twice. Depth, time, gas, buddy, conditions, notes. Imperial or metric, your choice, switchable any time. NITROX, WITHOUT THE GUESSWORK Enter your mix and get MOD, EAD and PPO2 at working and contingency depths, each marked safe, warning or danger against the limit you set. An acronym key explains every term, because "EAD" should not require a textbook. PLAN THE DIVE, FILL THE TANK Dive planning works out your gas, rock bottom and turn pressure. The tank refill calculator tells you what to add for a target mix, and what pressure to stop at on the gauge. READ YOUR DIVES OFF YOUR COMPUTER If you dive a Shearwater, SafetyStop reads your dives straight off it over Bluetooth, depth profile included. Re-importing is safe: dives already in your log are skipped. WORKS OFFLINE, SYNCS WHEN YOU WANT IT TO Your dives are saved on your device and the whole app works with no signal and no account — the logbook, every calculator, dive planning, dive-computer import and export need neither. Cloud sync is optional. SafetyStop Cloud Sync costs $4.99 per year and keeps a backup of your log and syncs it across your devices; the copy on your phone stays exactly where it is. Either way you can export your whole log to a file and import it back, so it is never locked in. WHAT THIS IS NOT SafetyStop shows no-decompression limits from published recreational tables, and it plans your gas. It has no decompression model of its own and it does not replace your dive computer, which tracks your actual profile. Table limits are for a first dive only. Always dive within your certification and follow your computer. Developed by Divers, for Divers. SUBSCRIPTION SafetyStop Cloud Sync — $4.99 per year, auto-renewing. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase and renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://safetystop.cloud/privacy

Screenshots

Subsurface4 screens
SafetyStop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Subsurface at none against SafetyStop's 1. SafetyStop's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. SafetyStop sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. Subsurface asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Subsurface ships an update every 2 months, SafetyStop every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 6, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Subsurface versus SafetyStop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSubsurfaceSafetyStop
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (48 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews63.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings48 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDirk HohndelKevin Ross

In-app purchases

None

Subsurface

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SafetyStop

Subscriptions1
  • Cloud Sync$4.991 Year

Questions

Is Subsurface free?
Subsurface is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SafetyStop free?
SafetyStop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Subsurface or SafetyStop have ads?
Neither Subsurface nor SafetyStop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Subsurface or SafetyStop?
Subsurface ships an update every 2 months, and SafetyStop every 2 weeks. Most recently, Subsurface was updated on October 6, 2026 and SafetyStop on October 6, 2026.

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