Comparison

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool vs RUN

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

RUN

Control and optimize your automated chicken coop door. Set custom timers or sync with sunrise for automatic opening and closing. Monitor door status for flock safety and convenience.

Highlights
  • Configure door opening/closing
  • Set custom timers
  • Sync with sunrise
  • Built-in GPS feature
  • Overview of door statuses
  • User-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

Enhance the functionality of your RUN-CHICKEN door with our sophisticated mobile app, designed for discerning poultry keepers. This application grants users the ability to configure the door’s opening and closing mechanisms, either by setting specific timers or synchronizing with natural events such as sunrise, with a built-in GPS Feature. In addition, the app provides overview of door statuses. With a secure connection and user-friendly interface, the RUN-CHICKEN Door Controller App ensures both optimal performance and the utmost safety for your flock. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool4 screens
RUN4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pool Math by TroubleFreePool at 63% against RUN's 21%. RUN's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.7) and monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 and RUN sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RUN holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 272 and 968 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Pool Math by TroubleFreePool's written reviews are positive against 21% of RUN's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool ships an update fortnightly, RUN every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool versus RUN: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPool Math by TroubleFreePoolRUN
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (272 ratings)4.2 (968 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.4% of reviews — better20.9% of reviews
Number of ratings272968 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size314 MB116 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTroubleFreePoolRUN-TIGER

Customer experience

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

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

RUN

All ratings968 ratings
Positive78.3%
Neutral3.6%
Negative18.1%
Written reviews115 reviews
Positive20.9%
Neutral7.0%
Negative72.2%

User reviews

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

From 272 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Excellent for maintaining a clean, balanced pool
  • 🔍 Comprehensive tracking of test results and chemical additions
  • 🧠 Helpful recommendations for chemical adjustments
  • ⚙️ Useful features like SLAM mode and timeline
  • 🤖 Automatic weather data logging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with data syncing and backup
  • 🤔 Unintuitive interface and navigation
  • 💰 Subscription model and lack of one-time purchase
  • 🚫 Limited support for non-chlorine sanitizers and spa-specific options
  • 🔄 Bugs with chemical addition logging and target value retention

RUN

From 968 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy installation and setup (for some)
  • 👍 Reliable operation (for some)
  • 👍 Keeps chickens safe at night
  • 👍 Convenient automatic open/close
  • 👍 Works with older models (with workaround)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App connectivity issues
  • 🐛 Bluetooth connection problems
  • 🐛 App updates breaking functionality
  • 🐛 Incompatibility with older/non-Bluetooth models
  • 🐛 Loss of manual control/buttons

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

RUN

Reported bugs

27 issues
  • Bluetooth not connecting
  • App not detecting doors after update
  • Door resets and stays open after update
  • Non-Bluetooth doors incompatible with new app
  • App locks up and doesn't respond
Show 22 more
  • Door doesn't close automatically
  • App requires Bluetooth for non-Bluetooth models
  • Door closing in the middle of the day
  • App not taking chosen settings
  • App unusable for older doors after update
  • Forcing Bluetooth for T50, disabling light sensor programming
  • Cannot program timer after battery replacement
  • App crashes on opening
  • Door malfunctions after app installation
  • App disconnects from Bluetooth frequently
  • App requires email/account login
  • New app doesn't have same functionality as old app
  • GPS mode not working, door opens randomly at night
  • App doesn't show door status
  • Cannot manually open/close door via app
  • App doesn't work to change settings
  • App doesn't work with iOS 26
  • Door stops working
  • App requires phone to be next to device for function
  • Firmware updates break door
  • App sends ads despite being turned off
  • Newer models lack physical buttons for manual operation

Requested features

12 requests
  • Bring back physical buttons
  • Allow programming without internet
  • Add remote open/close functionality
  • Show door status (open/closed/stuck)
  • Improve app stability
Show 7 more
  • Add dark mode
  • Allow programming older models easily
  • Add option to delay closing
  • Remove ads from app
  • Improve customer support responsiveness
  • Add WiFi connectivity option
  • Allow programming from website

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

Subscriptions1
  • Pool Math Premium Subscription$7.991 Year
2 purchases

RUN

Subscriptions2
  • Premium - Monthly1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • Premium - Yearly1 Month trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Pool Math by TroubleFreePool free?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RUN free?
RUN is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or RUN?
RUN is rated higher. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool averages 3.7 out of 5 from 272 ratings, while RUN averages 4.2 from 968 ratings.
Do Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or RUN have ads?
Neither Pool Math by TroubleFreePool nor RUN shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or RUN?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool ships an update fortnightly, and RUN every 3 weeks. Most recently, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool was updated on September 29, 2026 and RUN on October 1, 2026.

Other comparisons