Comparison

Biome vs HDF5 Viewer · File Reader

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

Head to head
About

Biome

This app uses your phone's Lidar and AI to quickly measure tree diameter, height, and identify species. It's designed for efficient data collection in forestry and carbon projects, eliminating the need for manual tools and notes. Supports offline use for remote fieldwork.

Highlights
  • Lidar-based DBH and height measurement
  • AI-powered tree species identification
  • GPS-stamped plot data
  • Offline mode for remote fieldwork
  • Export raw measurements for carbon MRV
Read full description

Biome is a mobile app that turns your phone into a powerful field tool for measuring trees. Use Lidar and AI to measure diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height, and identify species. No tape, no clinometer, no manual notes! Designed for smallholders, researchers, and carbon project developers, Biome helps you collect accurate, verifiable field data 10× faster. Features: • Lidar-based DBH and height measurement • Tree segmentation using AI (TreeSeg) • GPS-stamped plot data • Offline mode for remote fieldwork • Export raw measurements for carbon MRV workflows Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Tested and validated in real reforestation projects. *Requires device with LIDAR sensor (e.g. iPhone 12 Pro+)

About

HDF5 Viewer · File Reader

Features
Read full description

HDF5 Explorer is a high performance offline HDF5 file reader, HDF5 file viewer, and dataset inspector designed for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Quickly inspect, analyze, and convert complex scientific and engineering data structures without sending any files off your device. HIERARCHICAL TREE & DATASET INSPECTION Navigate large group trees, inspect dataset dimensions, dtypes, and attributes, and explore tabular data with fast virtualized pagination and search. VISUAL DATA EXPLORER • 2D Heatmaps with customizable color palettes (Viridis, Magma, Plasma, Inferno) • 1D Line plots with adaptive LTTB downsampling for smooth rendering of large series • 3D spatial heightmesh projection for volumetric previews HYPERSLAB SLICING & FILTERING Specify offset, count, and stride to extract and view exact numerical sub-windows from high-dimensional datasets. CODE GENERATOR & INTEGRATION Generate instant code snippets to read HDF5 file in Python using h5py dataset calls, MATLAB HDF5 tutorial syntax, Julia, or JavaScript HDF5 libraries. Whether you need a Python HDF5 example, a guide on how to view H5 file structures, or read HDF5 file Python code for your data pipeline, copy ready-to-run code in one tap. VERSATILE DATASETS & FORMATS Inspect any HDF5 dataset, multi-dimensional HDF5 datasets, HDF5 image dataset, or scientific HDF5 database. Open HDF5 files (.h5, .hdf5, .he5, .nc) from local storage, cloud services, or HDF5 S3 endpoints. Perform HDF5 to NetCDF conversions or export filtered hyperslabs to CSV and JSON formats. EXPERT TOOL & FILE RECOVERY Whether you are working with NetCDF4 HDF5 archives, HDF5 in Python projects, HDF5 LabVIEW recordings, or DLL outputs, HDF5 Explorer delivers a complete HDF5 file viewer, HDF5 reader, and HDF5 converter experience. Includes a diagnostic byte scanner to analyze corrupted archives. PRIVATE BY DESIGN All file parsing and data processing take place locally on your device. HDF5 Explorer requires no account creation, collects no telemetry on file contents, and never uploads your scientific data. Privacy Policy: https://rush.tools/privacy Terms of Use: https://rush.tools/terms

Screenshots

Biome4 screens
HDF5 Viewer · File Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Biome at none against HDF5 Viewer · File Reader's 2. HDF5 Viewer · File Reader's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and device support (4 vs 1). On price, 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. HDF5 Viewer · File Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Biome asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Biome ships an update every 2 months, HDF5 Viewer · File Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Biome versus HDF5 Viewer · File Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBiomeHDF5 Viewer · File Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size192 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEarthshot LabsRush Tools LLC

In-app purchases

None

Biome

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

HDF5 Viewer · File Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Pro Annual$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Biome free?
Biome is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HDF5 Viewer · File Reader free?
HDF5 Viewer · File Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Biome or HDF5 Viewer · File Reader have ads?
Neither Biome nor HDF5 Viewer · File Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Biome or HDF5 Viewer · File Reader?
Biome ships an update every 2 months, and HDF5 Viewer · File Reader weekly. Most recently, Biome was updated on October 24, 2026 and HDF5 Viewer · File Reader on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons