Comparison

Reef Buddy vs Stablereef

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

Head to head
About

Reef Buddy

Easily log, monitor, and analyze your saltwater aquarium's critical parameters. Get smart insights and personalized advice to maintain a healthy reef tank. Syncs across devices and offers guidance for manual test results.

Highlights
  • Log critical aquarium parameters
  • Monitor KH, salinity, pH, Ca, Mg, and more
  • Analyze data with automated insights
  • Sync data across iPhone and iPad
  • Guidance for manual test kit results
  • Personalized advice with premium subscription
Features
Read full description

Reef Buddy – Track Your Reef Tank With Confidence Reef Buddy is the reef tracker and water test log built for saltwater tank and saltwater aquarium keepers. Log water tests, monitor parameter trends, and understand what is changing in your reef before small swings become real problems. Track Every Essential Reef Parameter Record KH, salinity, pH, Ca, Mg, NO₂, NO₃, PO₄, SiO₂, temperature, and more. Keep a clear aquarium log with visual trends for the values reef keepers watch most. Smart Insights for Saltwater Aquariums Get automated insights from your measurements so you can react earlier, keep your reef tank stable, and make better maintenance decisions. Sync Across Devices All your data is safely stored and automatically synced across your iPhone and iPad. Manual Test Help Enter results from your favorite test kits faster with guided steps designed for reef routines, regular water tests, and day-to-day reef journaling. Unlock Premium with Shrimpy Shrimpy, your reef assistant, unlocks powerful features: • Expert analysis of your tank data • Personalized advice • Photo analysis of your aquarium • Start and continue conversations with Shrimpy for personalized reefing tips Why Reef Keepers Choose Reef Buddy • Built for reef tanks and saltwater aquariums • Clean tracking without unnecessary clutter • Compatible with major test kits, including Red Sea, Salifert, Hanna, and more Subscription Info Shrimpy Premium is available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage your subscription anytime in your Apple account settings. Terms & Privacy Policy: https://reef-buddy.app

About

Stablereef

Features
Read full description

Stablereef is a fast reef tank tracker and water test log for saltwater aquariums. Log a full test in one quick session, catch a rapid Alk swing on the spot, and enter the units your test kit shows. Unlimited logging, CSV import and export — no account, no cloud, and no paywall in your core loop. LOG A FULL WATER TEST IN ONE SESSION Tap "Log a test session" and move through every parameter with a big number pad. Each step shows your last reading, only a rapid change stops you, and the rest lands in one summary where you can undo any single reading. Logging just one value? Tap its card and your last value is prefilled. Pin the parameters you test most and hide the ones you don't. No spreadsheet. THE ANTI-SWING WARNING Corals don't crash on a number; they crash on the swing. When you save a reading, Stablereef compares it to your last value — allowing for the time since that test — and flags a rapid change, like "Alk +1.3 dKH rapid change." Out-of-range readings are flagged too, using safe ranges re-checked against published reef guidance. You catch the risky move while you're still at the tank. (Reference only — bands are tunable and husbandry calls are yours.) ENTER THE NUMBER YOUR TEST KIT SHOWS Track Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Nitrate, Phosphate, Salinity, pH and Temperature — plus Ammonia, Nitrite and Silicate when you need them — in the units your kit actually reads: dKH, meq/L or ppm (as CaCO3) for alkalinity; ppm PO4 or ppb P for phosphate (ppb P is what a Hanna HI736 shows); °C or °F; ppt or specific gravity. No converting in your head. CYCLING A NEW SALTWATER TANK? Turn on "This tank is still cycling" and Ammonia and Nitrite move to the front. While the tank cycles, high ammonia and nitrite readings get a calm "this is expected" note instead of an alarm, and Stablereef tells you when your readings suggest the cycle looks done. SWITCHING APPS? BRING YOUR REEF LOG WITH YOU Moving from another aquarium app or a spreadsheet? Import your history from any CSV, right from the first screen: automatic column detection, unit conversion (dKH, meq/L or ppm alkalinity; ppm or ppb phosphate; °F/°C; SG/ppt), a prompt when a column's unit is unclear, a preview before anything is written, and a clear report of exactly what came in. Import is free. TRENDS, NOT JUST NUMBERS 7 / 30 / 90-day graphs with a shaded stability band let you separate real drift from noise and act before a small slip becomes a tank crash. YOUR DATA IS YOURS • CSV & JSON export, anytime — never behind a paywall • Automatic local backups • Works 100% offline — no account, no cloud, no sign-up Want your years of history out? One tap. We don't hold your data hostage. REMINDERS Local notifications for dosing and testing keep you on schedule on the days you'd otherwise forget. LOG AS OFTEN AS YOU TEST Unlimited logging, anti-swing warnings, trends, reminders, import and export are free. No subscription, no monthly cap on readings, and no paywall in the middle of your core loop — ever. THE "LESS" PHILOSOPHY No livestock encyclopedia. No marketplace. No social feed. Stablereef does one thing — protect your reef tank's stability — and aims to do it better than apps juggling ten. PRIVACY No account. No cloud. No ads, no cross-app tracking. Your reef data stays on your device — the only thing we collect is anonymous usage counts (on iPhone, also whether you came from an App Store search ad), with no account, no personal data and no IP address, and you can switch that off in Settings. WHO IT'S FOR Reef keepers who want a focused saltwater aquarium log instead of a do-everything app: an alkalinity tracker that flags swings, a water test log that matches your test kit, and a simple way to track ammonia and nitrite while a new tank cycles. If you keep a spreadsheet today, we built this for you. Reference tool only — not veterinary or husbandry advice. Stability bands are general references; care decisions are the keeper's responsibility. From Sloth Lab Inc.

Screenshots

Reef Buddy4 screens
Stablereef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Stablereef at none against Reef Buddy's 4. Stablereef also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Reef Buddy sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Stablereef asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reef Buddy ships an update fortnightly, Stablereef every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Reef Buddy versus Stablereef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReef BuddyStablereef
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (20 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings20 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developermaxime marinelSloth Lab Inc.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Reef Buddy

Subscriptions4
  • Reef Buddy Pro Weekly$0.997 Days
  • Reef Buddy Pro3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Reef buddy pro month$3.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Reef buddy pro annual3 Days trial$44.991 Year
None

Stablereef

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Reef Buddy free?
Reef Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stablereef free?
Stablereef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Reef Buddy or Stablereef have ads?
Neither Reef Buddy nor Stablereef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reef Buddy or Stablereef?
Reef Buddy ships an update fortnightly, and Stablereef every 9 days. Most recently, Reef Buddy was updated on November 3, 2026 and Stablereef on November 5, 2026.

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