Comparison

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool vs Pool Notes

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

Pool Notes

This app simplifies pool maintenance by converting water test readings into precise chemical dosage instructions. It automatically adjusts targets based on stabilizer levels and offers guided algae treatment. All data is stored locally on your device for privacy.

Highlights
  • Precise chemical dosage instructions
  • Automatic chlorine target adjustment
  • Trend tracking over time
  • Test reminders
  • Guided algae treatment
  • Local data storage
Features
Read full description

Pool Notes turns a water test into plain instructions: log your readings and get exact doses in the units of the chemicals you actually own — "add 42 fl oz of 12.5% liquid chlorine," not vague advice. Chlorine targets adjust to your stabilizer level automatically. Watch trends over time, get test reminders, and when the water goes green, sound the Mayday: a guided rescue that walks you through knocking out algae step by step. Everything stays on your phone — no accounts, no cloud, no nonsense.

Screenshots

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool4 screens
Pool Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pool Notes at 5.0 against Pool Math by TroubleFreePool's 3.6. Pool Notes also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 63%) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Pool Math by TroubleFreePool's advantage is ratings volume (287 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per year. Pool Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pool Notes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pool Math by TroubleFreePool has 287 ratings behind it against 1, 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 100% of Pool Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool versus Pool Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPool Math by TroubleFreePoolPool Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (287 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings287 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size314 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTroubleFreePoolJONATHON TIMOTHY MORTON

Customer experience

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

All ratings262 ratings
Positive66.0%
Neutral7.3%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive63.3%
Neutral10.9%
Negative25.8%

Pool Notes

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Pool Notes

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

Pool Notes

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 Pool Notes free?
Pool Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or Pool Notes?
Pool Notes is rated higher. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool averages 3.6 out of 5 from 287 ratings, while Pool Notes averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or Pool Notes have ads?
Neither Pool Math by TroubleFreePool nor Pool Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool or Pool Notes?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool ships an update fortnightly, and Pool Notes fortnightly. Most recently, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool was updated on November 4, 2026 and Pool Notes on October 31, 2026.

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