Comparison

Practical Fishkeeping vs Improve Your Coarse Fishing

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

Head to head
About

Practical Fishkeeping

Access expert advice on keeping tropical, marine, and freshwater fish. Discover the latest aquarium equipment reviews, fish species guides, and aquascaping tips. This app provides comprehensive resources for both aspiring and experienced fishkeepers.

Highlights
  • Expert fishkeeping advice
  • Aquarium equipment reviews
  • Fish species guides
  • Tropical marine tank advice
  • Freshwater and cold water tank advice
  • Aquascaping tips
Features
Read full description

Practical Fishkeeping (PFK) magazine is the world’s leading authority on keeping, or aspiring to keep, fish – covering tropical, marine, cold water and fresh water fish. All our features are written by experts in their fields, ensuring you get the best advice possible on fishkeeping and fish species, as well as creating and maintaining fantastic aquatic environments for them to live in. Inside you’ll find: • The latest aquarium equipment reviewed • Tips on how to look after and keep your fish • Expert guides to global fish species • Advice on tropical marine tanks • Advice on freshwater: tropical and cold water tanks • Expert advice on aquascaping PFK is published 13 times a year and is Britain's biggest-selling fish-keeping magazine. ---------------------------------------------- This is a free app download. Within the app users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Subscriptions are also available within the application. A subscription will start from the latest issue. -The subscription will renew automatically unless cancelled more than 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, for the same duration and at the current subscription rate for the product. -You may turn off the auto-renewal of subscriptions through your Account Settings, however you are not able to cancel the current subscription during its active period. -Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription to that publication is purchased. -If a subscription offers a free trial, at the end of the trial period, you will be charged the full price of the subscription. You may cancel a subscription during its free trial period via the subscription settings on your iTunes account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Users can register for/ login to a pocketmags account in-app. This will protect their issues in the case of a lost device and allow browsing of purchases on multiple platforms. Existing pocketmags users can retrieve their purchases by logging into their account. We recommend loading the app for the first time in a wi-fi area so that all issue data is retrieved. If your app will not load past the splash page after a first install or an update, please delete and reinstall the app from the App Store Help and frequently asked questions can be accessed in-app and on pocketmags. If you have any problems at all please do not hesitate to contact us: help@pocketmags.com -------------------- You can find our privacy policy here: http://www.pocketmags.com/privacy.aspx You can find our terms and conditions here: http://www.pocketmags.com/terms.aspx

About

Improve Your Coarse Fishing

This app provides expert advice, techniques, and inspiration for anglers of all skill levels. Access a vast archive of articles, rig diagrams, and tackle reviews to enhance your fishing experience. Enjoy customizable reading modes and audio options.

Highlights
  • Expert fishing tactics and bait advice
  • Concise rig diagrams
  • Columns from top anglers
  • Honest tackle reviews
  • Full archive access
  • Customizable digital view
  • Audio options
Features
Read full description

Improve Your Coarse Fishing is the go-to resource for anglers of all levels. Whether you're new to the sport or have been fishing for years, you'll find clear, easy-to-follow advice and expert instruction to help you catch more fish. Stunning photography is backed up with a friendly writing style and all the inspiration and practical help you need to really enjoy your time on the bank. Covering pole, waggler and feeder tactics on a range of different venues, there's something for all anglers of all abilities. In each issue of Improve Your Coarse Fishing magazine, you will find: · Expert advice on tactics, baits, and techniques for all the popular coarse fish species. · Concise and clear rig diagrams. · Monthly columns from top anglers such as Des Shipp and Bob Roberts. · Stunning photography from the best fisheries. · Honest tackle reviews to ensure you get the very best kit for your cash. · The home of Daiwa Mission – achieve all 16 and collect all the badges An Improve Your Coarse Fishing membership offers: - Full access to Improve Your Coarse Fishing archives, so you can read inspiring articles from previous issues - Search for topics on articles to read and bookmark the articles to save for later - Access to member-only rewards we know you'll love - Receive extra content sent directly from Editor by email - Choose from 3 different voices with our new audio options - Select your preferred reading style: flip through pages with the traditional magazine view, or use our new 'Digital View' to adjust text size, switch between day and night mode, and even listen to articles Download Improve Your Coarse Fishing today! Please Note: This app is optimised for iOS 14and up. If you're using an iPad 1 or 2, iPad Mini 1 or iPhone 5 (or before) you may struggle to run this app smoothly. Your subscription will automatically renew each billing period, and you will be charged through your iTunes account within 24-hours prior to the end of the current cycle. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings up until 24-hours before the end of the current period, but refunds will not be provided for any unused portion of the term. Please visit our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for more information: Terms of use: https://www.bauerlegal.co.uk Privacy policy: https://www.bauerdatapromise.co.uk

Screenshots

Practical Fishkeeping4 screens
Improve Your Coarse Fishing4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Improve Your Coarse Fishing at 62% against Practical Fishkeeping's 33%. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Practical Fishkeeping sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Improve Your Coarse Fishing sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Practical Fishkeeping versus Improve Your Coarse Fishing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPractical FishkeepingImprove Your Coarse Fishing
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (31 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews61.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings31 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB79 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWarners Group Publications PLCBauer Media

Customer experience

Practical Fishkeeping

All ratings31 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative64.6%

Improve Your Coarse Fishing

Written reviews13 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative30.8%

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Practical Fishkeeping

Subscriptions7
  • PFK 1M Auto-Renewable Sub$3.991 Month
  • Practical Fishkeeping Subscription$7.992 Months
  • Practical Fishkeeping Subscription7 Days trial$17.993 Months
Show 4 more
  • Practical Fishkeeping Subscription$24.996 Months
  • Practical Fishkeeping Summer Sale Subscription$31.991 Year
  • PFK - Annual Backissues$38.991 Year
  • PFK 12M Auto-Renewable Sub1 Month trial$69.991 Year
One-time5
  • PFK: Practical Fishkeeping4 variants$3.99
  • March 2025 (pp:1110457)$5.99
  • February 2026 (pp:1136699)$5.99
Show 2 more
  • August 2023 (id:704742)$5.99
  • April 2023 (id:823926)$5.99
8 purchases

Improve Your Coarse Fishing

Subscriptions4
  • Free trial - 1 Month1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • IYCF Subscriptions$11.993 Months
  • Annual Subscription$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • IYCF Subscriptions1 Month trial$42.991 Year
One-time4
  • IYCF 2015 issue 297$2.99
  • IYCF 2015 issue 298$2.99
  • Improve Your Coarse Fishing Magazine 2016 Issue 319$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Improve Your Coarse Fishing3 variants$2.99

Questions

Is Practical Fishkeeping free?
Practical Fishkeeping is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Improve Your Coarse Fishing free?
Improve Your Coarse Fishing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Practical Fishkeeping or Improve Your Coarse Fishing have ads?
Neither Practical Fishkeeping nor Improve Your Coarse Fishing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Practical Fishkeeping or Improve Your Coarse Fishing?
Practical Fishkeeping ships an update every 5 months, and Improve Your Coarse Fishing every 5 months. Most recently, Practical Fishkeeping was updated on September 25, 2026 and Improve Your Coarse Fishing on September 21, 2026.

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