Comparison

Freediver vs U

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

Head to head
About

Freediver

Features
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RUN YOUR TRAINING ON YOUR WRIST Plan pool, static and dry apnea sessions in the Freediver iOS app (or have your coach assign them). Workouts sync to your Apple Watch, ready to run rep by rep before you're even in the water — with a full breakdown of exercises, sets, and rest. VOICE CUES THROUGH YOUR REST Spoken cues carry you through rest between reps, in CMAS or AIDA cadence — set your standard once in Settings and your watch calls it out every time. For static holds, it also marks key moments in each table — or keep it open-ended and just breathe up and go. ALWAYS-ON DISPLAY Timers keep running in Always-On mode for the whole session — check your time at a glance, no need to raise your wrist. OFFICIAL TOP COUNTDOWN Dial the time with the Digital Crown and go — spoken cues call you down to your top, even with the screen off. YOUR RESULTS, EVERYWHERE Finish a session and it syncs back automatically — see it in the Freediver app and on freediver.club, with full history and progress over time.

About

U

Features
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U-Dive is an Apple Watch companion for freediving and snorkel training. Put on your watch, get in the water — it handles the rest. ◆ On Apple Watch • Automatic submersion & dive detection — recording starts hands-free • Live depth and water temperature (depth display capped at 6 m in this release) • Continuous heart-rate recording during dives — watch your mammalian dive reflex • Surface-interval timer with haptic surfacing alert • Custom depth alerts with haptic feedback • Personal max-depth record notifications • GPS entry/exit coordinates for every dive • Action Button support: start a session, flag a dive, review history • Auto Water Lock — long-press the crown to end & save • Built-in dive simulator to try the full flow on dry land ◆ On iPhone • Dive-spot map with favorites, notes and custom icons • Import Google My Maps layers (KML) • Paste a Google Maps share link to create a spot • Full dive log: depth profile, heart rate, duration and coordinates • Share and export your dives ◆ About Lite This release uses Apple's shallow-depth API: depth display is capped at 6 m, while time, heart rate and GPS keep recording beyond it. A full-depth version is in progress. ◆ Requirements • Depth and auto dive detection require an Apple Watch Ultra (depth gauge) • Other Apple Watch models work in manual mode (HR, GPS, timers, log) • The iPhone app manages spots and logs; the watch app runs independently ◆ Safety This app is not a dive computer and must not be used for dive safety or decompression decisions. Not for scuba diving. Freediving is dangerous — never dive alone, follow one-up-one-down, and get certified training.

Screenshots

U3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: U at every 2 weeks against Freediver's every 6 weeks. Freediver's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Freediver ships an update every 6 weeks, U every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Freediver versus U: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFreediverU
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB10 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBartosz JakubowiakYao YungTai

In-app purchases

None

Freediver

No in-app purchases

None

U

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Freediver free?
Freediver is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is U free?
U is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Freediver or U have ads?
Neither Freediver nor U shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Freediver or U?
Freediver ships an update every 6 weeks, and U every 2 weeks. Most recently, Freediver was updated on October 31, 2026 and U on October 29, 2026.

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