Comparison

Shooting Diary vs LoadNode

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

Head to head
About

Shooting Diary

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Shooting Diary is designed simply to keep track of everything shooting related! Whether you're applying for your FAC and require a record of when, where & what you shot, or if you're looking to keep track of your reloading. There's also a section to keep track of which firearms you currently own. All sections can be exported to CSV format and emailed easily to whomever requires that information.

About

LoadNode

Features
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LoadNode is a precision reloading companion: bench to target. Track every load you develop, enter chronograph velocities with live SD/ES, measure your groups from a photo, and compare your charges with honest uncertainty. FREE • Log rifles, recipes, and load jobs • Charge weight, seating depth and tuner position tests, with live SD and extreme spread • Offline bullet / powder / primer / brass component search • Measure a group from a target photo (size and MOA) • Session conditions with density altitude, entered from your meter or computed • Password-encrypted backup and restore PRO: one-time, yours forever (no subscription) • Unlimited firearms and multi-barrel profiles • Garmin Xero chronograph sync • Velocity and group-vs-charge charts, plus charge comparison with honest uncertainty • Composite analysis: pool groups into 20 to 50-shot statistics • Full target-cam: firing order, on-photo data box, share cards • Neck-tension and shoulder-bump tracking • AI group analysis, with chronograph velocity correlation and observation-based suggestions (technique and environment only, never load advice) • Cost and ROI tracking: per-round cost and return vs factory ammo • Cloud sync and cloud photo backup across your devices • Personal records, medals and a season recap • Recipe versions, reports and the Load Book PDF • Throat-erosion tracking, saved groups, advanced metrics (mean radius, point of impact, scope clicks) and annotated image export An account is optional. Logging, the calculations, group measurement and component search all work offline. Weather autofill, sign-in, purchases, AI analysis and cloud sync need a connection. Handloading is an adult activity. LoadNode is a logbook, not load data: it never tells you what powder or charge to use. Always use current published data and work up safely.

Screenshots

Shooting Diary4 screens
LoadNode4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LoadNode at Free against Shooting Diary's $4.99. LoadNode also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.5). Shooting Diary's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On 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

LoadNode is free to download; Shooting Diary costs $4.99 up front. LoadNode sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Shooting Diary asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shooting Diary ships an update monthly, LoadNode every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 2 level
Shooting Diary versus LoadNode: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShooting DiaryLoadNode
Price$4.99Free — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.516.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB75 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperSean MaguireLoadNode Inc.

In-app purchases

None

Shooting Diary

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

LoadNode

One-time3
  • 50 AI analyses$7.99
  • 110 AI analyses$14.99
  • LoadNode Pro$29.99

Questions

Is Shooting Diary free?
Shooting Diary costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LoadNode free?
LoadNode is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Shooting Diary or LoadNode have ads?
Neither Shooting Diary nor LoadNode shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shooting Diary or LoadNode?
Shooting Diary ships an update monthly, and LoadNode every 3 days. Most recently, Shooting Diary was updated on October 7, 2026 and LoadNode on October 3, 2026.

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