Comparison

Practical Fishkeeping vs ShopNotes Magazine

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

ShopNotes Magazine

This digital publication is for woodworking enthusiasts, offering insights into techniques, shop projects, and tools. Explore the heart of woodworking with detailed articles and guides.

Highlights
  • Woodworking techniques
  • Shop projects
  • Tool reviews
  • Jigs and guides
  • Digital magazine format
Features
Read full description

Dedicated to those who love spending time in the workshop. It’s all about techniques, jigs, shop projects, and tools — the heart of woodworking. Here are the details of ShopNotes Magazine subscription offer: Annual subscription : $20 Single Issue: $7.99 The subscription will include the current issue if you do not already own it and subsequently published future issues. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. This Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period, your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. The cost of the renewal will match the initial subscription price. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. You may turn off auto-renewing subscriptions by going to your user’s Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during your active subscription period. Privacy Policy and Terms of Service URLs: https://www.aimmedia.com/privacy-policy/ https://www.aimmedia.com/terms-of-service//

Screenshots

Practical Fishkeeping4 screens
ShopNotes Magazine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Practical Fishkeeping at free with in-app purchases against ShopNotes Magazine's subscription. Practical Fishkeeping also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3). ShopNotes Magazine's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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 ShopNotes Magazine sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Practical Fishkeeping holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 23 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 33% and 33% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Practical Fishkeeping ships an update every 5 months, ShopNotes Magazine every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Practical Fishkeeping versus ShopNotes Magazine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPractical FishkeepingShopNotes Magazine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (31 ratings) — better4.3 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings31 — better23
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB100 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWarners Group Publications PLCActive Interest Media, Inc

Customer experience

Practical Fishkeeping

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

ShopNotes Magazine

All ratings23 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral4.3%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

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
15 purchases

ShopNotes Magazine

Subscriptions1
  • Subscription 1 year$19.991 Year
One-time14
  • Issue #135$7.99
  • Issue Nr. 135$7.99
  • Issue Nr. 136$7.99
Show 11 more
  • Issue #136$7.99
  • Issue #137$7.99
  • Issue #141$7.99
  • Issue #140$7.99
  • Issue #142$7.99
  • Issue #138$7.99
  • Issue #139$7.99
  • Issue 154$7.99
  • Issue 150$7.99
  • Issue 145$7.99
  • Issue 144$7.99

Questions

Is Practical Fishkeeping free?
Practical Fishkeeping is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShopNotes Magazine free?
ShopNotes Magazine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Practical Fishkeeping or ShopNotes Magazine?
Practical Fishkeeping is rated higher. Practical Fishkeeping averages 4.8 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while ShopNotes Magazine averages 4.3 from 23 ratings.
Do Practical Fishkeeping or ShopNotes Magazine have ads?
Neither Practical Fishkeeping nor ShopNotes Magazine shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Practical Fishkeeping or ShopNotes Magazine?
Practical Fishkeeping ships an update every 5 months, and ShopNotes Magazine every 4 months. Most recently, Practical Fishkeeping was updated on October 18, 2026 and ShopNotes Magazine on October 13, 2026.

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