Comparison

Nitrox Tools vs Dive Shearwater

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

Head to head
About

Nitrox Tools

This app provides essential tools for divers to plan and blend enriched air nitrox. It calculates dive parameters like equivalent air depth and maximum operating depth, and supports various blending methods for custom gas mixes. Easily switch between metric and imperial units and save custom settings for frequent use.

Highlights
  • Enriched air nitrox blending
  • Dive planning calculations
  • Equivalent Air Depth (EAD)
  • Partial Pressure of Oxygen (PPO2)
  • Maximum Operating Depth (MOD)
  • Save custom mixes and settings
  • Metric/Imperial unit switching
Features
Read full description

Enriched Air Nitrox blending and planning tools in your hand and available at a touch. You can use these tools at your air station to provide the information you need to fill a Nitrox tank from any existing mix (or empty). Dive Planning tools provide your Equivalent Air Depth, PPO2 at your planned depth, Maximum & Contingency Operating Depth at various oxygen partial pressures and the "best mix" for a planned depth and oxygen partial pressure. You can easily switch between Metric and Imperial/U.S. systems of measurement to adapt to a new fill station. The dive planning tools also support both salt and fresh water calculations. Chances are you regularly work with a specific set of mixes and and common dive situations. Nitrox Tools includes the convenience of saved settings that you can recall at a touch and adjust to a new situation as needed. You can also select mix values using pre-installed default mixes or your own saved custom mixes. When updating one of the mixes for a tool you are offered a list of saved mixes that you can use directly or adjust as needed. You can save the currently displayed mix by clicking the "+" button. Just like with the saved calculations, you can re-arrange or delete any mixes in your saved list. Do you need to share your planning or blending calculations with other divers? All the tools have the ability to share the results of the calculations from within the application. You can set default email addresses and a subject within Nitrox Tool's settings that will be automatically added when you share a result. Nitrox Tools supports a number of blending methods: • Top Up - blend a final mix from starting mix and pressure using 100% oxygen and air or any available topping mix. • Bleed Down - save expensive oxygen and valuable time by easily calculating how much gas to bleed from an existing cylinder to switch to a different mix using air or any available topping mix. • Mix + Mix - make a specific final mix using the remaining gas in the cylinder and mixing that with banked Nitrox (rather than pure oxygen) and air or another topping mix. This enables the blending of Nitrox without the use of pure oxygen for certain combinations of mixes. Avoiding pure oxygen may increase the safety of the blending process and help manage the cost. • Top Off - determine the expected result from topping an existing cylinder with air or some other topping mix. This situation is common when a diver wants to have the blender top the mix remaining from the first dive with air from the boat's compressor. Remember you must always personally analyze your mix before diving it. This application is not a substitute for proper training and should not be used as a substitute for proper dive planning or the primary Nitrox blending and planning methods taught during training. Please do not attempt to handle high pressure oxygen or fill SCUBA cylinders without proper training.

About

Dive Shearwater

This app serves as a digital dive log, allowing divers to meticulously record their underwater adventures. It features interactive maps to track explored locations and integrates with specific hardware to automatically capture dive site coordinates. Designed for simplicity and reliability, it helps divers organize records and plan future dives.

Highlights
  • Interactive dive maps
  • Automatic dive site coordinate capture
  • Streamlined user experience
  • Dive history tracking
  • Gear setup refinement
  • Dive planning tools
Features
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The world is your dive log. Built for simplicity and reliability, Dive Shearwater gives you the tools you need now and the foundation for even more powerful features in the future. More than just another dive log - With an improved user flow and streamlined experience, Dive Shearwater feels intuitive and easy to use. Keep your records organized and focus on the details that matter most to every diver. Track your adventures - Use the interactive dive maps to build your own personal guide of the places you’ve explored. Automatically capture dive site coordinates with the new Swift GPS transmitter on any air integrated Shearwater computer. Whether you're marking new dive sites, refining your gear setup, or simply keeping your dive history pristine, Dive Shearwater delivers a seamless, intuitive experience tailored for divers of all skill levels who value precision and adventure. Together, Shearwater dive computers and the Dive Shearwater app form a complete ecosystem—delivering precision in the water and clarity on land. Dive Shearwater builds on our core principles of being powerful, simple and reliable, while giving you the dive tools you need to track, reflect, and plan your next adventure with confidence.

Screenshots

Nitrox Tools4 screens
Dive Shearwater4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nitrox Tools at 88% against Dive Shearwater's 8%. Nitrox Tools also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.5) and device support (4 vs 2). Dive Shearwater's advantage is price (Free vs $5.99) and update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Dive Shearwater is free to download; Nitrox Tools costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nitrox Tools holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dive Shearwater has 45 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Nitrox Tools's written reviews are positive against 8% of Dive Shearwater's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nitrox Tools ships an update every 5 months, Dive Shearwater monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Nitrox Tools versus Dive Shearwater: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNitrox ToolsDive Shearwater
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better1.5 (45 ratings)
Positive reviews88.5% of reviews — better8.0% of reviews
Number of ratings445 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB103 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperGreg MclaughlinShearwater Research

Customer experience

Nitrox Tools

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive88.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.5%

Dive Shearwater

All ratings45 ratings
Positive4.4%
Neutral8.9%
Negative86.7%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive8.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative84.0%

In-app purchases

None

Nitrox Tools

No in-app purchases

None

Dive Shearwater

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nitrox Tools free?
Nitrox Tools costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dive Shearwater free?
Dive Shearwater is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nitrox Tools or Dive Shearwater?
Nitrox Tools is rated higher. Nitrox Tools averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Dive Shearwater averages 1.5 from 45 ratings.
Do Nitrox Tools or Dive Shearwater have ads?
Neither Nitrox Tools nor Dive Shearwater shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nitrox Tools or Dive Shearwater?
Nitrox Tools ships an update every 5 months, and Dive Shearwater monthly. Most recently, Nitrox Tools was updated on September 28, 2026 and Dive Shearwater on September 19, 2026.

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