Comparison

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool vs H2OCHK Hayward

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

Head to head
About

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

Easily manage your swimming pool's water chemistry by tracking key levels like chlorine and pH. This app calculates the precise amounts of chemicals needed to maintain clear, algae-free water, offering a cost-effective alternative to pool store advice.

Highlights
  • Chemical level calculators (pH, Chlorine, Alkalinity, etc.)
  • Track pool maintenance tasks
  • Log chemical additions
  • Weather condition tracking
  • Chemical addition effect calculations
  • Bleach price comparison
  • Data backup and export
Features
Read full description

PoolMath makes swimming pool care, maintenance and management easy by tracking chlorine, pH, alkalinity and other levels to help calculate how much salt, bleach and other chemicals to add. Keep swimming in your TroubleFreePool with Pool Math. Crystal clear algae free pool water is what Trouble Free Pool Math is committed to. Pool Math performs all the calculations you need to keep your chlorine, pH, calcium, alkalinity, and stabilizer levels balanced. Why choose Pool Math over the others? Other apps claim to make testing easy by using test strips and your phone's camera. Unfortunately, this is simply too good to be true. Test strips are notoriously inaccurate and end up costing you much more money in both chemicals and the tests themselves in the long run. Trouble Free Pool believes using a proper test kit is much easier, effective, and economical in the long run. By following these calculations the pool owner achieves and maintains crystal clear water without reliance on the often unproductive advice and unneeded expense from pool stores. Pool Math's great features include: • Calculators for pH, Free Chlorine, Calcium Hardness, Salt, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Borates, CSI • Track Maintenance: Backwashing, Vacuuming, Filter Cleaning, Filter Pressure, SWG Cell %, Flow Rate • Track Chemical Additions • Track Weather conditions with your logs • Calculate the Effects of Adding chemicals to your pool • Bleach Price Calculator - Find the best deals on bleach easily • Summary page to see an overview of test results and chemical additions • Data backup / Export Premium Subscribers get access to these additional features: • Unlimited Test Log History Storage • Maintenance Reminders • Cloud Sync/Backup • Sync across multiple devices • Unlimited Pool / Spa Configurations • Test Log CSV Import / Export Pool Math Premium Subscription details: • Auto-renewable subscription • 1 year for $7.99 USD • Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration of 1 year) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Current subscription may not be cancelled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: http://poolmathapp.com/privacy/

About

H2OCHK Hayward

Easily measure key water quality parameters for pools and spas, including pH, chlorine, and alkalinity. Get fast, accurate results and receive personalized chemical dosage recommendations for optimal water balance.

Highlights
  • Measures 5 water quality parameters
  • Accurate and fast results
  • Recommends chemical dosages
  • Supports pool and spa water
  • Helps achieve perfect water balance
Read full description

This app allows any pool or spa user to quickly and accurately measure 5 important water quality parameters: pH, Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness and Cyanuric Acid. No guesswork, just fast accurate results every time. Based on pool size, App will recommend chemical dosages for perfect water balance.

Screenshots

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool4 screens
H2OCHK Hayward4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pool Math by TroubleFreePool at 63% against H2OCHK Hayward's 18%. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool also leads on rating (3.6 vs 3.0) and ads (none vs shown). H2OCHK Hayward's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.6 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence 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. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per year. H2OCHK Hayward asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pool Math by TroubleFreePool has 287 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Pool Math by TroubleFreePool's written reviews are positive against 18% of H2OCHK Hayward's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool ships an update fortnightly, H2OCHK Hayward monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool versus H2OCHK Hayward: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPool Math by TroubleFreePoolH2OCHK Hayward
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (287 ratings) — better3.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews63.4% of reviews — better18.2% of reviews
Number of ratings287 — better4
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size314 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTroubleFreePoolDigital Concepts of Missouri, Inc.

Customer experience

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

All ratings262 ratings
Positive66.0%
Neutral7.3%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews123 reviews
Positive63.4%
Neutral11.4%
Negative25.2%

H2OCHK Hayward

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive18.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative81.8%

Bugs and requests

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Subscription issues and inability to restore purchases
  • App crashes and freezes on certain actions
  • Incorrect chemical recommendations and calculations
  • Disappearing historical data after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Custom target ranges and alerts
  • Ability to log non-standard chemical additions
  • Export options for data analysis
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Improved user guidance and on-boarding

H2OCHK Hayward

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

Subscriptions1
  • Pool Math Premium Subscription$7.991 Year
None

H2OCHK Hayward

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pool Math by TroubleFreePool free?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is H2OCHK Hayward free?
H2OCHK Hayward is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or H2OCHK Hayward?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool is rated higher. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool averages 3.6 out of 5 from 287 ratings, while H2OCHK Hayward averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or H2OCHK Hayward have ads?
H2OCHK Hayward shows ads; Pool Math by TroubleFreePool does not.
Which is updated more often, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or H2OCHK Hayward?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool ships an update fortnightly, and H2OCHK Hayward monthly. Most recently, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool was updated on October 29, 2026 and H2OCHK Hayward on October 10, 2026.

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