SoilWeb vs Nature's Notebook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SoilWeb
Access detailed soil survey information based on your current location. View soil profile sketches, estimated proportions, and geomorphic positions. Get aggregate data like water holding capacity and links to official soil descriptions.
- Soil profile sketches and geomorphic position
- Map unit aggregate data (e.g., water holding capacity)
- Soil survey area scale and publication date
- Detailed component soil properties and ratings
- Links to Official Series Descriptions (OSDs)
- Location accuracy and auto-refresh settings
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The SoilWeb for iOS application accesses soil survey information (the SSURGO dataset, published by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) at your current location. This app was designed to be a lightweight version of the SoilWeb GMap web application. SoilWeb GMap features an interactive map for viewing and querying individual map units, while this app does not. However, SoilWeb for iOS conveniently provides a link to the SoilWeb GMap web app. SoilWeb GMap is available at https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/ More information about SSURGO is available at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/geo/?cid=nrcs142p2_053627 Features of SoilWeb for iOS include: - Soil profile sketches, estimated proportions, and geomorphic position of soil components associated with the SSURGO "map unit" identified at your current location. - Map unit aggregate data such as estimated water holding capacity. - Soil survey area scale and publication date. - Component details: soil taxonomy, soil property depth profiles, land classification ratings, hydraulic and erosion ratings, forest productivity, soil suitability ratings. - Links to Official Series Descriptions (OSDs) generated automatically. - Component links to related web apps: Series Extent Explorer (SEE) and Soil Data Explorer (SDE). - Link to the SoilWeb GMap web application at your current location. - Location accuracy setting allows you to select between standard accuracy (less accurate, uses less battery power) and high accuracy (more accurate, but may use more battery power). - Location auto-refresh feature allows you to continually look up soil data at a specified time interval.
Nature's Notebook
Record observations of plant and animal life cycles, such as flowering and migration. Mark observation sites, create species lists, and log seasonal changes in nature.
- Record plant and animal life cycle events
- Mark observation sites
- Create species lists
- Log seasonal observations
- Citizen science program
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Nature's Notebook is a program for observing and recording plant and animal life cycle events, like flowering and bird migration. Use this app to mark your sites, create a list of plants and animals, and going into the field to record observations throughout the seasons. Find out more at www.usanpn.org/nn/guidelines.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Nature's Notebook at every 3 weeks against SoilWeb's every 8 months. SoilWeb's advantage is rating (3.5 vs 3.1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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.
SoilWeb holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 26 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of SoilWeb's written reviews are positive against 40% of Nature's Notebook's.
SoilWeb ships an update every 8 months, Nature's Notebook every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SoilWeb | Nature's Notebook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (14 ratings) — better | 3.1 (26 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.0% of reviews — better | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14 | 26 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | University of California, Davis | National Phenology Network |
Customer experience
SoilWeb
Nature's Notebook
Bugs and requests
SoilWeb
Reported bugs
9 issues- App crashes on opening
- App doesn't open
- App not compatible with iOS 11/14
- Map gives soil data for wrong area
- Soil series name font color is white, hard to read
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- OSD links do not always work
- Broken links
- App not functional for updated Apple platforms
- Response Error: 502 Bad Gateway
Requested features
8 requests- Allow "view map" feature like desktop version
- Change soil series font color
- Add map view for nearby soil types
- Allow manual input of locations
- Data export options
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- iPad version
- Log data points and notes on iPad
- Print reports from iPad app
Nature's Notebook
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SoilWeb
No in-app purchases
Nature's Notebook
No in-app purchases









