Buoyancy Calc vs Surface Air Consumption
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Buoyancy Calc
Calculate the optimal weight for scuba diving based on environmental factors. Input your weight, water type, tank, and exposure suit to get a suggested weight for neutral buoyancy.
- Calculate suggested diving weight
- Adjust for water type
- Adjust for tank type
- Adjust for exposure suit
- Supports pounds and kilograms
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Quickly find out the suggested weight you should add when scuba diving in different environments. Based on PADI's Peak Performance Buoyancy basic weighting guideline*. Enter your weight in pounds or kilograms, and additionally set the type of water, tank, and exposure suit to dial in a suggested amount of weight to help keep you neutrally buoyant. *Note that this app and the developer are not officially a representative of PADI. This app will give the user a good estimate of the weight needed for the environment selected, but there are always adjustments needed to achieve peak performance, based on gender, physique, exposure suit age, accessories, etc.
Surface Air Consumption
This utility calculates surface air consumption (SAC) rates and air needs at depth using only user-provided dive profile data. It does not compute nitrogen absorption or decompression limits. Always prioritize safety and consult official decompression tables.
- Calculates SAC Rate
- Estimates air requirements at depth
- User input based calculations
- Dive profile analysis
- Focuses solely on air consumption
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This software calculates Surface Air Consumption (SAC Rate) and air requirements at depth based on user input data ONLY. This software DOES NOT calculate nitrogen absorption and/or decompression limits. Please see US Navy decompression tables for that information. This software only calculates how much air is required based on user entered data and dive profile. Know your limits and dive within them. Always error on the side of safety. Leridian Dynamics, Inc. assumes no liability for the use and/or misuse of this software.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Surface Air Consumption at 100% against Buoyancy Calc's 40%. Surface Air Consumption also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.1) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Buoyancy Calc's advantage is ratings volume (25 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Surface Air Consumption holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buoyancy Calc has 25 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Buoyancy Calc's written reviews are positive against 100% of Surface Air Consumption's.
Buoyancy Calc ships an update every 3 months, Surface Air Consumption weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Buoyancy Calc | Surface Air Consumption |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (25 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Eric Hamiter | Leridian Dynamics, Inc. |
Customer experience
Buoyancy Calc
Surface Air Consumption
In-app purchases
Buoyancy Calc
No in-app purchases
Surface Air Consumption
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Buoyancy Calc free?
Is Surface Air Consumption free?
Which has better reviews, Buoyancy Calc or Surface Air Consumption?
Do Buoyancy Calc or Surface Air Consumption have ads?
Which is updated more often, Buoyancy Calc or Surface Air Consumption?
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