Comparison

Shearwater Cloud vs DiveBuddy

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

Head to head
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.

About

DiveBuddy

Connect with fellow scuba divers, find dive buddies, and discover new dive sites. This app offers essential scuba calculators, a digital dive log, and a platform to store certifications and share underwater photos. Engage in community forums and discussions to enhance your diving experience.

Highlights
  • Find dive buddies
  • Scuba calculators
  • Digital dive log
  • Community dive sites
  • Store certifications
  • Share underwater photos
  • Scuba forums
Features
Read full description

Core features of the Dive Buddy app: - Find dive buddies near you or near a dive destination. - Scuba calculators - Weight, SAC, MOD, EAD, and more. - Maintain your dive log, with option to import, export, and attach photos. - Search our community-maintained dive sites with ratings & comments. - Store digital copies of your scuba certifications or C-cards. - View and share underwater photos with other scuba divers. - Participate in scuba-related forum discussions and ask questions. - Send private messages and comment on community content. Apple Family Sharing: Share a single DiveBuddy Pro subscription with up to five family members. Dive Buddy is the essential social community for scuba divers only, trusted by tens of thousands of members globally since 1998. As a fully independent platform, we are not affiliated with any specific certification agency, we proudly welcome and support divers from all training backgrounds. The platform is built to handle the real-world needs of the scuba community. Whether you are planning your next local shore dive, a weekend boat trip, or a dream destination adventure, DiveBuddy helps you connect with other divers, discover new places to explore, and keep your diving life organized in one easy-to-use app. Learn more at www.divebuddy.com.

Screenshots

Shearwater Cloud1 screens
DiveBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DiveBuddy at 100% against Shearwater Cloud's 26%. DiveBuddy also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.6) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 weeks). Shearwater Cloud's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (104 vs 3). On price, ads and device support 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. DiveBuddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Shearwater Cloud asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DiveBuddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shearwater Cloud has 104 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Shearwater Cloud's written reviews are positive against 100% of DiveBuddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shearwater Cloud ships an update every 5 weeks, DiveBuddy daily. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Shearwater Cloud versus DiveBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShearwater CloudDiveBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (104 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings104 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size333 MB82 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperShearwater ResearchDive Buddy LLC

Customer experience

Shearwater Cloud

All ratings104 ratings
Positive29.8%
Neutral19.2%
Negative51.0%
Written reviews151 reviews
Positive25.8%
Neutral21.9%
Negative52.3%

DiveBuddy

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and 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

DiveBuddy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Shearwater Cloud

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

DiveBuddy

Subscriptions2
  • DiveBuddy Pro - Monthly$2.991 Month
  • DiveBuddy Pro - Annually$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Shearwater Cloud free?
Shearwater Cloud is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DiveBuddy free?
DiveBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shearwater Cloud or DiveBuddy?
DiveBuddy is rated higher. Shearwater Cloud averages 2.6 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while DiveBuddy averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Shearwater Cloud or DiveBuddy have ads?
Neither Shearwater Cloud nor DiveBuddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shearwater Cloud or DiveBuddy?
Shearwater Cloud ships an update every 5 weeks, and DiveBuddy daily. Most recently, Shearwater Cloud was updated on October 13, 2026 and DiveBuddy on October 8, 2026.

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