Comparison

SoilWeb vs Soil Explorer

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Soil Explorer

Discover detailed soil property and landscape maps for U.S. states and global soil distributions. Understand how map features relate to real-world observations. This educational tool uses data from USDA and USGS to illustrate complex soil-landscape relationships.

Highlights
  • Detailed soil property maps
  • Landscape visualizations
  • Global soil distribution maps
  • Field observation correlation
  • USDA NRCS data integration
  • USGS data integration
Features
Read full description

Explore detailed maps of soil properties and landscapes for various U.S. states, as well as small-scale maps of soil distributions for the world. Examine the details for a specific area, but also see the overview for a large area. Learn how features shown on the maps correspond to what you observe in the field. Soil Explorer utilizes detailed soil survey data from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and data and maps from the U. S. Geological Survey and other sources to produce informative, highly engaging maps. These maps are designed to show the complex interrelationships between soil properties and the landscapes in which soils occur.

Screenshots

SoilWeb4 screens
Soil Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SoilWeb at 47% against Soil Explorer's 0%. SoilWeb also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.7). Soil Explorer's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Soil Explorer holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 9 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of SoilWeb's written reviews are positive against 0% of Soil Explorer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SoilWeb ships an update every 8 months, Soil Explorer every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SoilWeb versus Soil Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoilWebSoil Explorer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (14 ratings)4.1 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews47.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 8 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.7
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUniversity of California, DavisPurdue University

Customer experience

SoilWeb

All ratings14 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative35.7%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive47.0%
Neutral21.2%
Negative31.8%

Soil Explorer

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%

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
Show 4 more
  • 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
Show 3 more
  • iPad version
  • Log data points and notes on iPad
  • Print reports from iPad app

Soil Explorer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

SoilWeb

No in-app purchases

None

Soil Explorer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoilWeb free?
SoilWeb is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Soil Explorer free?
Soil Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SoilWeb or Soil Explorer?
Soil Explorer is rated higher. SoilWeb averages 3.5 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Soil Explorer averages 4.1 from 9 ratings.
Do SoilWeb or Soil Explorer have ads?
Neither SoilWeb nor Soil Explorer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SoilWeb or Soil Explorer?
SoilWeb ships an update every 8 months, and Soil Explorer every 11 months. Most recently, SoilWeb was updated on October 4, 2026 and Soil Explorer on September 27, 2026.

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