Nextbase vs Dropwise
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Nextbase
Manage and control compatible dash cams to record, download, and share footage. Features include automatic parking recording, voice commands, and emergency SOS alerts. Secure cloud storage is also available.
- Video playback and sharing
- Smart parking recording
- Voice control
- Guardian Mode for speed/location alerts
- Witness Mode for trusted contact alerts
- Emergency SOS with location sharing
- Cloud storage for recordings
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The Nextbase app is only compatible with Nextbase Piqo, 385GW and 385GWX Dash Cam models. We’ve got your back. The Nextbase app is designed to help you effortlessly prove you're not at fault or share a breathtaking drive. Trusted by millions of drivers worldwide, Nextbase Dash Cams lead the world. Compatible Nextbase Dash Cams will have access to the below features in the Nextbase app: Video Playback Download & share videos from your Dash Cam using the Nextbase app. Smart Parking Triggers recording automatically when your car is knocked. *Pro Install Cable or Quick Connect Cable required. Voice Control Nextbase native voice control gives you hassle-free direct command of your Dash Cam. Guardian Mode Stay in control with Guardian Mode. Set speed and location limitations on your Dash Cam and get a notification if your car breaks them. Witness Mode Never face danger alone again. Simply use voice commands to control your Dash Cam anytime you feel on edge, in a road rage incident, or if you’re pulled over and it will inform your trusted contact so they can step in and help. Emergency SOS Get instant life-saving help. If you, or whoever is driving are unresponsive after an accident, your Dash Cam will share location and key medical details and dispatch the emergency services. Cloud Storage Store your Dash Cam recordings on the Nextbase secure server making it easier to share with friends, family and your insurance company. Nextbase Skins Apply visual effects and overlays to your Dash Cam videos! Personalise your videos with real time speed, GPS and G-force data. Some of these features can be utilised with activation of a paid subscriptions via the Nextbase app. For your own safety do not operate Nextbase app whilst driving.
Dropwise
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Dropwise runs your liquid test kit session with you. Getting the number is the easy part. The fiddly part is everything before it: the tube, the drops, the shaking, the five minutes of waiting, and the sinking feeling that you have lost count at drop six. Dropwise puts one instruction on screen at a time — fill to the 5 ml line, add eight drops from bottle one, cap and shake for five seconds — and holds the timers for you. When a test needs five minutes to develop, it starts that timer in the background and moves you straight to the next test, so a full round that would take twenty minutes one after another takes about seven. Each test tells you the moment it is ready, even with the device face-down on the worktop. WHAT IT DOES • Guided sessions for the kits people own — a five-test freshwater liquid kit, a six-test freshwater kit, and a GH & KH drop-count pair • A kit builder for anything else — saltwater, pond, or a brand we have never seen: your tests, your drop counts, your waiting times, your scale values • A drop counter with undo, for the tests where the count is the reading • Overlapping timers with a tray, so the waiting collapses instead of stacking • Numbers, not colour swatches — the printed scale that came with your kit is the only honest reference for colour, and the app says so on every reading • A log of every reading, and hand-drawn trend charts that show the shape of a cycle across ammonia, nitrite and nitrate • Target ranges you set yourself, per tank, from sensible starting points • Cycle-stage reading, free-ammonia chemistry from pH and temperature, and dilution and volume calculators that show their working • Reminders you set yourself • Twelve plain-English articles: what each parameter actually is, the nitrogen cycle, and taking a reading you can trust • Your maintenance log: water changes, filter cleans, livestock, anything WHAT IT WILL NOT DO Dropwise tells you what your numbers are — not what to do about them. It does not prescribe treatments, identify disease, or name products. It cannot see your tank, and decisions about your livestock should be yours. FREE, AND PAID Free forever: one tank, three complete guided sessions, manual logging, your full history, the trends, the insights and calculators, the articles — and the complete JSON backup and restore. Your readings are yours whether you pay or not. One payment unlocks: unlimited guided sessions, unlimited tanks, the kit builder, reminders, custom parameters, CSV export of your readings, and export of your journal for any period. No subscription. Nothing further to pay. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No analytics. No network connection of any kind — the app has no online mode to fall back on, because it has no server. Everything you enter is one file on your own device, and you can export it whenever you like. Dropwise is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or connected to any test kit manufacturer. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used only to describe which physical kits these procedures match.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nextbase at none against Dropwise's 1. Dropwise's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Dropwise sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Nextbase asks for nothing beyond the download.
Nextbase ships an update every 4 weeks, Dropwise fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Nextbase | Dropwise |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (587 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 19.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 587 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 230 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NEXTBASE UK | Robert Deacock |
In-app purchases
Nextbase
No in-app purchases
Dropwise
- Unlimited guided tests & tanks$4.99
Questions
Is Nextbase free?
Is Dropwise free?
Do Nextbase or Dropwise have ads?
Which is updated more often, Nextbase or Dropwise?
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