Pool vs Ecolab Sync
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pool
This app simplifies swimming pool and hot tub chemistry maintenance by performing all necessary calculations. It provides clear instructions on chemical dosages to maintain balanced, clear water, eliminating the need for complex charts and formulas.
- Chemical dosage calculations
- Pool volume calculation
- Chemical effects analysis
- Customizable chemical ranges
- Offline functionality
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Looking for help with calculations for your swimming pool or hot tub chemistry maintenance? The Pool Calculator does all the math for you, making chemical testing and treating your pool or hot tub a breeze. Pool Calculator is easy to use, and tells you exactly how much of each chemical to add to keep your water in balance and crystal clear. No more puzzling over complicated charts and formulas. Bring your iPhone or iPad out to the pool and have all the chemical information and calculations you need right at your fingertips. Pool Calculator works offline and online, so if you have poor internet reception by your pool, you’re still able to get test results. Pool Calculator provides a complete tool kit to make pool care easy. You get: • Chemical Calculator • Pool Volume Calculator • Chemical Effects (What-if) Calculator CHEMICAL CALCULATORS You can use whichever test strip or test kit you prefer for testing your pool or hot tub. Pool Calculator provides calculations for: - Chlorine (FCl) - Raising pH - Lowering pH - Total alkalinity (TA) - Calcium hardness (CH) - Stabilizer (CYA or cyanuric acid) - Salt - Borate (Borax) - Calcium saturation index (CSI, similar to LSI) RECOMMENDED CHEMICAL RANGES- USE OURS OR DECIDE YOUR OWN With Pool Calculator, the recommended ranges for your chemicals are based upon whether you have a pool or hot tub, and the surface material (plaster, vinyl or fiberglass) of your pool or hot tub. You can choose from several pre-defined ranges or customize based on your or your pool pro’s preferences. POOL VOLUME CALCULATOR To keep your swimming pool or hot tub at its best, it’s important that you accurately calculate your water volume. All of the chemical balancing recommendations you receive from the Pool Calculator are based on it. You can calculate the volume of your pool in metric units (liters) or in imperial units (gallons). The Pool Volume Calculator can be used for: • Rectangular Pools and Hot Tubs • Oval Pools and Hot Tubs • Round Pools and Hot Tubs CHEMICAL EFFECTS CALCULATOR “What if” analysis for adding chemicals to your pool or hot tub! Ever want to know the impact of adding a given amount of Chemical has on your swimming pool or hot tub chemistry? The Chemical Effects Calculator calculates the impact adding a specific amount of chemical has on your pool chemistry. It does this not only for the primary purpose of the chemical, but also on the other important measurements for your pool. For example, adding Trichlor not only raises your Free Chlorine, it also increases your Cyanuric Acid, lowers your pH and increases your Salt. Adding Cal Hypo raises Free Chlorine, and also raises Calcium Hardness (CH) and Salt. With the Chemical Effects Calculator, you can measure the effects on pool chemistry of adding a given dose of: • Bleach • Trichlor • Dichlor • Cal-hypo • Lithium Hypochlorite • Chlorine gas • Muriatic Acid • Dry Acid • Washing soda • Soda Ash • Borax • Sodium Tetraborate Pentahydrate • Boric Acid • Caustic Acid (lye) • Baking Soda • Calcium Chloride • Calcium Chloride dihydrate • Stabilizer • Liquid Stabilizer • Salt PoolCalculator can be used for in ground or above ground pools, spas and hot tubs, chlorine or salt pools, and a broad range of surfaces. Running into problems? Let us know at support@poolcalculator.com!
Ecolab Sync
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Ecolab Sync by Sutro is the simple, safe, and seamless way to manage your Pool (or Spa) water with measurements that make sense and monitoring that is automatic. The app works with the Sutro Smart Monitor to measure your pool or spa’s pH, free chlorine (ppm), alkalinity, and temperature without you having to do anything.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ecolab Sync at Free against Pool's $4.99. Ecolab Sync also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On update cadence, 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
Ecolab Sync is free to download; Pool costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pool ships an update every 5 weeks, Ecolab Sync every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pool | Ecolab Sync |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (629 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 21.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 629 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pool and Spa Resources, LLC | Sutro Connect Inc |
Bugs and requests
Pool
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes on launch for many users
- Keyboard issues preventing data entry
- Incorrect chemical effect information (e.g. soda ash)
- Volume calculation not updating properly
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to save and track test history
- Support for multiple pools/spas
- Metric-only unit support
- More detailed chemical dosage information (e.g. weight-based)
Ecolab Sync
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pool
No in-app purchases
Ecolab Sync
No in-app purchases









