microBIOMETER® Reader vs SOILHEALTH
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
microBIOMETER® Reader
This application offers a rapid, on-site soil testing solution to assess microbial biomass and fungal-to-bacterial ratios. It helps users understand soil health, track the effectiveness of management practices, and support sustainable farming by monitoring changes in soil biology and carbon storage.
- On-site soil testing
- Microbial biomass analysis
- Fungal to bacterial ratio
- Track management practice effectiveness
- Monitor soil biology changes
- Cloud portal data export
- Custom project creation
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microBIOMETER® is a low cost, 20-minute on-site soil test for microbial biomass and fungal to bacterial ratio that allows you to quickly determine the health of your soil using smartphone technology. Frequent retesting will provide you with the data necessary to identify if your soil management practices are working. Quickly assess how amendments impact soil microbial biomass, ensuring your management practices are effective. Monitor changes in soil biology, increase carbon storage, and support sustainable farming practices. View, edit, and export data to Excel using our Cloud Portal. Create custom projects with our Project Management feature and share soil test results with team members.
SOILHEALTH
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The app was funded by the Australian National Landcare Programme Smart Farms Small Grants Round 2 to provide essential information about complex aspects of soil health in a digital format. The app includes an eBook (SOILS ARE ALIVE) which is a summary of key points about soil health. Podcasts on the SOILHEALTH app expand on the key points summarised in the eBook. The SOILHEALTH app also includes 7 professionally produced animated videos, each targeting a key area of biological components of soil health. Communication and use of the resources is an ongoing collaboration between The University of Western Australia and South West Catchments Council. Special thanks to Cheryl Rimmer for coordinating the SOILHEALTH app project. In particular Cheryl’s contributions to production of the eBook, the podcasts and to app development are greatly appreciated. Southwest Catchment Council collaborated in delivering the SOILHEALTH app. Peter Clifton’s contribution to this is gratefully acknowledged. Lush Digital produced the 7 SOILHEALTH animations for the SOILHEALTH app. Dotsquares programmed the SOILHEALTH app. Angela Rossen, Paul Rigby and UWA Farm staff Richard and Cathy McKenna made valuable contributions to the eBook. I thank the farming community for inspiration in delivering this resource and The University of Western Australia for underpinning the development of this soil health knowledge base through support of my teaching and research activities over decades. © Lynette K Abbott
Screenshots
Verdict
microBIOMETER® Reader and SOILHEALTH are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
microBIOMETER® Reader ships an update every 5 weeks, SOILHEALTH every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 2, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | microBIOMETER® Reader | SOILHEALTH |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 20.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 106 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Prolific Earth Sciences Corporation | Cheryl Rimmer |
In-app purchases
microBIOMETER® Reader
No in-app purchases
SOILHEALTH
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is microBIOMETER® Reader free?
Is SOILHEALTH free?
Do microBIOMETER® Reader or SOILHEALTH have ads?
Which is updated more often, microBIOMETER® Reader or SOILHEALTH?
Other comparisons
