Comparison

AquaticLog vs Smart Reef

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

Head to head
About

AquaticLog

Manage your aquarium with this comprehensive platform. Track water parameters, schedule maintenance, log livestock, and document your tank's progress with photos and videos. Connect controllers for automatic data import and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Water parameter tracking
  • Smart reminders for maintenance
  • Livestock management
  • Equipment and dosing logs
  • Controller integration
  • Photo and video diary
  • Community features
Features
Read full description

AquaticLog keeps water parameters, livestock, equipment and care routines together for every freshwater tank and reef. ONE ACCOUNT, EVERY DEVICE Your log lives in your AquaticLog account, not on your phone. Sign in on a new iPhone, an iPad or the web at aquaticlog.com and everything is already there. Aquarists have trusted AquaticLog with their records for over 13 years. Keep your tanks on the iPhone Home Screen with widgets. WATER PARAMETERS Log pH, temperature, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, salinity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and more. Clear trend charts let you catch a swing before it reaches your fish or corals. Connect a Neptune Apex, Hydros, AquaWiz or Seneye for hourly readings, including Seneye NH3 and NH4. Delete bad readings in batches and schedule retests for out-of-range results. LIVESTOCK AND PLANTS Build a detailed record of every fish, coral, invertebrate, plant and amphibian you own. Add a photo as you add a new fish or coral. Track sex, temperament, diet, difficulty and reef-safety, and move inhabitants between tanks as your collection grows. Tank birthdays and gotcha days share a card you can dismiss. MAINTENANCE MADE SIMPLE Schedule water changes, dosing, feeding, testing and equipment cleaning. Smart reminders make sure nothing slips. Check off a task and it lands with a haptic; once nothing is due, your tank shows what's next. A daily streak beside Reminders rewards showing up. End a repeating schedule on a date or after a set count, and see your maintenance time per week. Service accounts can start client visits and finish them with notes and next-visit plans. DOSING AND FEEDING Track dosing and feeding with a precise history. Log feeding every 48 hours or at another fixed interval. Re-dose additives, repeat feedings and repeat water changes in one tap, prefilled with your last amounts. Repeated doses and feedings fold into one row per day. FISH ROOM AND WATER CHANGES Set up RO/DI with SpectraPure, BRS and Waterbox presets. Track filter changes and TDS for each membrane and DI stage. Manage supplies and spending in Fish Room, with INR support. PHOTO TIMELINE Track growth and coloration. Then vs Now slides between your first photo and your latest, with dates and tank age. Pinch to zoom. Start a build thread for your tank on the community forum and post what changed as it grows. ADVANCED TESTING Log ICP analyses and PAR readings. ICP warnings stay grouped; dismiss individual results and restore them anytime. Share test-kit reagents across tanks in Fish Room: logged tests count supplies down, with fill levels and days left. EQUIPMENT Track pumps, lights and filters, with ratings and reviews. Browse products by category or brand, see which tanks use them, and add them to your tank or shopping list. A spending report totals what you've paid per store, filterable by tank and date range (Pro). EXPLORE AND CONNECT Search public tanks by what lives in them — look for a torch coral in the 15-30 gallon range and see how other nano reefs are scaped. Filter by style (mixed reef, SPS, LPS, soft coral, planted, macro algae, fish only), size, water type and activity, then open any tank to see its photos, parameters, gear and livestock. Find Today, Aquariums, Species, Products and News together in Explore. Read reviews, like photos and earn achievements. Make your tank public to share its link, or copy a snapshot of its parameters, livestock and gear to ask for advice. Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Brazilian Portuguese. Start for free — new accounts log water parameters without limits for 30 days — then upgrade to Pro for advanced tracking and tools. The yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. Get daily AI suggestions based on tank data and see when each was generated. Privacy Policy: https://www.aquaticlog.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Smart Reef

Manage your marine aquarium with this app. It provides device management, alerts for issues, and detailed historical data. A central dashboard offers a clear overview of your aquarium's status and device operations.

Highlights
  • Device management
  • Aquarium alerts
  • Measurement history
  • Operational status dashboard
  • Planned job journal
  • Preset sharing
Features
Read full description

Functionality: • device management • alerts when any problems occur in the aquarium • presentation of measurements and the operational status of devices • device operation and measurements history • clear, collective dashboard with information on device operation • modern table of parameters measured in the aquarium • unique journal of planned jobs and aquarium task history integrated with devices Devices may be connected via a Wi-Fi network and your home router. Dashboard sharing, loading and sharing of presets with other users and many more useful features. Supported devices: • Thermo control - temperature controller • Thermo view - temperature monitor • TDS meter - reverse osmosis water monitor • Salinity guardian - salinity monitor • pH meter - pH monitor • Level sensor - water/liquid level meter • Level keeper - automatic water refill system • Smart pump - dosing pump • Power switcher - timing programmer / device switch • Reef flare - smart LED lamp • Smart roller • Smart tester • Dosing pumps • kH keeper

Screenshots

AquaticLog4 screens
Smart Reef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: AquaticLog at 70% against Smart Reef's 4%. AquaticLog also leads on rating (4.2 vs 1.5) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months). Smart Reef's advantage is iOS requirement (14.6 vs 18.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. AquaticLog sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Smart Reef sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AquaticLog holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AquaticLog has 408 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of AquaticLog's written reviews are positive against 4% of Smart Reef's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AquaticLog ships an update every 10 days, Smart Reef every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
AquaticLog versus Smart Reef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAquaticLogSmart Reef
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (408 ratings) — better1.5 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews70.1% of reviews — better3.8% of reviews
Number of ratings408 — better23
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.114.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLonnex IncReef Factory sp. z o.o.

Customer experience

AquaticLog

All ratings406 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews224 reviews
Positive70.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative24.6%

Smart Reef

All ratings19 ratings
Positive10.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative84.2%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive3.8%
Neutral11.5%
Negative84.6%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

AquaticLog

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly Membership7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime Membership$149.99
7 purchases

Smart Reef

One-time7
  • Warranty 3 years$12.99
  • Warranty 3 years$19.99
  • Warranty 3 years2 variants$24.99
Show 4 more
  • Warranty 3 years$29.99
  • Warranty 3 years2 variants$34.99
  • Warranty 3 years2 variants$39.99
  • Warranty 3 years$49.99

Questions

Is AquaticLog free?
AquaticLog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Smart Reef free?
Smart Reef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AquaticLog or Smart Reef?
AquaticLog is rated higher. AquaticLog averages 4.2 out of 5 from 408 ratings, while Smart Reef averages 1.5 from 23 ratings.
Do AquaticLog or Smart Reef have ads?
Neither AquaticLog nor Smart Reef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AquaticLog or Smart Reef?
AquaticLog ships an update every 10 days, and Smart Reef every 3 months. Most recently, AquaticLog was updated on November 6, 2026 and Smart Reef on November 3, 2026.

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