Comparison

pctapp vs Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

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

Head to head
About

pctapp

Control PAL lighting range LEDs. Adjust colors, brightness, and effects for your lighting setup. Designed for users of PAL lighting products.

Highlights
  • LED control
  • Color adjustment
  • Brightness control
  • Effect customization
  • PAL lighting compatibility
Features
Read full description

LED Controller for PAL lighting range.

About

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

Easily manage your swimming pool's water chemistry by tracking key levels like chlorine and pH. This app calculates the precise amounts of chemicals needed to maintain clear, algae-free water, offering a cost-effective alternative to pool store advice.

Highlights
  • Chemical level calculators (pH, Chlorine, Alkalinity, etc.)
  • Track pool maintenance tasks
  • Log chemical additions
  • Weather condition tracking
  • Chemical addition effect calculations
  • Bleach price comparison
  • Data backup and export
Features
Read full description

PoolMath makes swimming pool care, maintenance and management easy by tracking chlorine, pH, alkalinity and other levels to help calculate how much salt, bleach and other chemicals to add. Keep swimming in your TroubleFreePool with Pool Math. Crystal clear algae free pool water is what Trouble Free Pool Math is committed to. Pool Math performs all the calculations you need to keep your chlorine, pH, calcium, alkalinity, and stabilizer levels balanced. Why choose Pool Math over the others? Other apps claim to make testing easy by using test strips and your phone's camera. Unfortunately, this is simply too good to be true. Test strips are notoriously inaccurate and end up costing you much more money in both chemicals and the tests themselves in the long run. Trouble Free Pool believes using a proper test kit is much easier, effective, and economical in the long run. By following these calculations the pool owner achieves and maintains crystal clear water without reliance on the often unproductive advice and unneeded expense from pool stores. Pool Math's great features include: • Calculators for pH, Free Chlorine, Calcium Hardness, Salt, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Borates, CSI • Track Maintenance: Backwashing, Vacuuming, Filter Cleaning, Filter Pressure, SWG Cell %, Flow Rate • Track Chemical Additions • Track Weather conditions with your logs • Calculate the Effects of Adding chemicals to your pool • Bleach Price Calculator - Find the best deals on bleach easily • Summary page to see an overview of test results and chemical additions • Data backup / Export Premium Subscribers get access to these additional features: • Unlimited Test Log History Storage • Maintenance Reminders • Cloud Sync/Backup • Sync across multiple devices • Unlimited Pool / Spa Configurations • Test Log CSV Import / Export Pool Math Premium Subscription details: • Auto-renewable subscription • 1 year for $7.99 USD • Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration of 1 year) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Current subscription may not be cancelled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: http://poolmathapp.com/privacy/

Screenshots

pctapp1 screens
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pool Math by TroubleFreePool at 3.7 against pctapp's 2.2. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 61 months) and ratings volume (272 vs 9). pctapp's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pool Math by TroubleFreePool sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per year. pctapp asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pool Math by TroubleFreePool has 272 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of pctapp's written reviews are positive against 63% of Pool Math by TroubleFreePool's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

pctapp ships an update every 61 months, Pool Math by TroubleFreePool fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
pctapp versus Pool Math by TroubleFreePool: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpctappPool Math by TroubleFreePool
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.2 (9 ratings)3.7 (272 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews63.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9272 — better
Update frequencyEvery 61 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB314 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPAL LightingTroubleFreePool

Customer experience

pctapp

All ratings9 ratings
Positive22.2%
Neutral22.2%
Negative55.6%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative33.3%

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

All ratings262 ratings
Positive66.0%
Neutral7.3%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews123 reviews
Positive63.4%
Neutral11.4%
Negative25.2%

Bugs and requests

pctapp

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Subscription issues and inability to restore purchases
  • App crashes and freezes on certain actions
  • Incorrect chemical recommendations and calculations
  • Disappearing historical data after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Custom target ranges and alerts
  • Ability to log non-standard chemical additions
  • Export options for data analysis
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Improved user guidance and on-boarding

In-app purchases

None

pctapp

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pool Math by TroubleFreePool

Subscriptions1
  • Pool Math Premium Subscription$7.991 Year

Questions

Is pctapp free?
pctapp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pool Math by TroubleFreePool free?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, pctapp or Pool Math by TroubleFreePool?
Pool Math by TroubleFreePool is rated higher. pctapp averages 2.2 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Pool Math by TroubleFreePool averages 3.7 from 272 ratings.
Do pctapp or Pool Math by TroubleFreePool have ads?
Neither pctapp nor Pool Math by TroubleFreePool shows ads.
Which is updated more often, pctapp or Pool Math by TroubleFreePool?
pctapp ships an update every 61 months, and Pool Math by TroubleFreePool fortnightly. Most recently, pctapp was updated on September 22, 2026 and Pool Math by TroubleFreePool on October 7, 2026.

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