Spool Buddy vs SpoolMate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spool Buddy
Effortlessly manage your 3D printing filament inventory. Track brands, colors, and usage with a simple, fast interface. Syncs seamlessly across Apple devices without requiring logins or network calls.
- iCloud syncing
- No logins or network calls
- Track brands, colors, and modifiers
- Search and filter by properties
- Usage and inventory tracking
- Optimized for iOS and macOS
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Filament tracking for 3D printing, without the fuss. Spool Buddy is a simple, fast filament inventory app made for hobbyists who want to know what filament they have, where it is, and how much is left — without accounts, subscriptions, tracking, or complicated setup. Add your filaments, organize them by brand, material, color, location, modifiers, and more. Track usage across one or multiple spools, keep drying logs, attach photos, archive old filament, and export or print your inventory when you need it. Spool Buddy syncs with iCloud, so your filament library stays up to date across iPhone, iPad, and Mac without creating an account. Features include: - Track filament inventory, usage, and remaining amounts - Multi-spool support for filaments - NFC reading and writing - iCloud sync with no logins - Photos for filament entries - Drying logs - Custom brands and materials - Detailed filament information, including colors, polymers, modifiers, fillers, and visual properties - Automatic color names and color family filtering - Support for gradients and complex filament colors - Filter by storage location, brand, color family, modifiers, and polymer - Sort by price, date added, color, brand, and name - Group by brand or material - Usage indicators at a glance - Archive filaments you no longer actively use - Export your inventory to CSV - Print your filament inventory - Optimized for iOS and macOS 26 - Small, fast, and designed to stay out of your way Spool Buddy is completely free to use. There are no subscriptions, no locked features, and no required purchases. In-app purchases are optional tips only, for people who want to support the app’s development. Made by an indie solo developer for people who just want a clean, useful way to manage their filament.
SpoolMate
Track your 3D printing filament inventory with this app. Easily monitor remaining filament, log usage after prints, and receive low-stock notifications to ensure you always have enough material for your projects.
- Track filament levels
- Log filament usage
- Low-stock notifications
- Support for common materials
- Print history per spool
- One-tap reordering
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Never get caught mid-layer with an empty spool again. Before you start a print, check SpoolMate. See exactly how much filament you have left, make sure you have enough for the job, then log what you used when you're done. It takes seconds and saves ruined prints. TRACK YOUR COLLECTION • See every spool at a glance with color-coded fill indicators • Check remaining filament before you start a print • Log filament used after each print in seconds • Full print history per spool • Supports all common materials — PLA, PLA+, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, Nylon, PC, HIPS, and more • Track both 1.75mm and 2.85mm diameter filament NEVER LOSE A SPOOL • Scan QR labels to jump straight to any spool (SpoolMate+) • Print scannable labels for your shelf or storage bins (SpoolMate+) • Low-stock notifications so you can reorder before it's urgent REORDER IN ONE TAP • "Buy More" button on every spool to quickly reorder filament • Searches by brand, material, and color automatically SPOOLMATE+ Upgrade once, own it forever. • Unlimited spools • iCloud sync across all your devices • QR label generation and printing • Full print history (free tier shows last 5) • No ads SpoolMate is built for makers who take their filament seriously. Whether you have 3 spools or 30, SpoolMate keeps your inventory honest.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SpoolMate at 5.0 against Spool Buddy's 4.3. Spool Buddy's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Spool Buddy sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and SpoolMate sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SpoolMate holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spool Buddy | SpoolMate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (9 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 17.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Martian Code Oy | Chris TeSelle |
Customer experience
Spool Buddy
SpoolMate
In-app purchases
Spool Buddy
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
SpoolMate
- Small Tip$1.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
- Large Tip$9.99
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- SpoolMate+$14.99








