Comparison

Buffers vs Lab Mate

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

Head to head
About

Buffers

This tool helps design buffer solutions for pH control in research. It offers a calculator for accurate recipes and a reference for common buffering agents, supporting various parameters like pH, concentration, and temperature.

Highlights
  • 42 common buffering agents
  • Accurate recipe generation
  • Broad pH, concentration, temperature ranges
  • Detailed buffer system information
  • Shareable recipes (email, text, copy, print)
  • Sophisticated calculation algorithm
Features
Read full description

Buffers is a tool for designing buffer solutions for pH control. Buffers is useful both as a handy reference of available buffering agents and as an accurate, portable buffer calculator for chemical, biochemical and biological research. With Buffers you can: - Select from 42 commonly used buffering agents - Generate accurate recipes covering broad pH, concentration and temperature ranges - Access detailed information about each available buffer system - E-mail, text, copy or print recipes To use Buffers, just choose a buffering agent and target pH along with the desired solution volume, temperature and buffer concentration. The recipe is calculated with the push of a button. Buffers uses a sophisticated algorithm that is more versatile and potentially more accurate than simple calculations based on the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. An information page for each buffering agent lists the pKa, appropriate pH range, and temperature dependence, along with molecular weights and CAS numbers for the acid and base forms and other pertinent information. Bring your buffer calculations into the lab where you need them!

About

Lab Mate

This application simplifies complex chemistry calculations for molarity, dilutions, and mixtures. It offers a universal purchase for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with features like chemical search, custom chemical saving, and a dedicated numeric keyboard for efficient data entry. Users can also customize decimal places and print their calculation history.

Highlights
  • Molarity, dilution, and mixture calculators
  • Percent dilution calculator
  • Chemical search and molecular weight lookup
  • Custom chemical saving
  • Dedicated numeric keyboard
  • Printable calculation history
  • Light and Dark Mode support
Features
Read full description

Lab Mate is an intuitive calculator for molarity, dilutions, and mixtures. A universal app—one purchase works on iPhone, iPad, and macOS. Key Features - Multiple calculators for molarity, dilutions, and mixtures - Percent (%) dilution calculator - Search chemicals by name or formula, including molecular weight lookup - Add and save your own custom chemicals - Dedicated numeric keyboard for fast data entry - Simple and flexible unit selection - Instant calculations with live result updates - Choose how many decimal places to display - Print your calculation history - Native support for Light Mode and Dark Mode Localization Now fully localized for: - English - French - German - Spanish - German - Italian - Portugese - Chinese (Simplified) - Chinese (Traditional) - Japanese - Korean - Russian Important note - In no event shall the developers or any third party providers be liable to anyone for any damages as a result of using the app.

Screenshots

Buffers4 screens
Lab Mate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Buffers at Free against Lab Mate's $6.99. Buffers also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 0%) and iOS requirement (14.1 vs 26.0). Lab Mate's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 13 months). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Buffers is free to download; Lab Mate costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Buffers ships an update every 13 months, Lab Mate every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Buffers versus Lab Mate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuffersLab Mate
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating—5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—6 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS14.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size0 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAkkyra SystemsMarcus Griffiths

Customer experience

Buffers

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Lab Mate

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Buffers

No in-app purchases

None

Lab Mate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Buffers free?
Buffers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lab Mate free?
Lab Mate costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Buffers or Lab Mate have ads?
Neither Buffers nor Lab Mate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Buffers or Lab Mate?
Buffers ships an update every 13 months, and Lab Mate every 5 months. Most recently, Buffers was updated on June 11, 2026 and Lab Mate on August 27, 2026.

Other comparisons