Comparison

Dive Diary vs Buddy

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

Head to head
About

Dive Diary

This app serves as a digital logbook for scuba divers, allowing users to record their dives with a visually appealing, customizable interface. It supports unlimited photo and video attachments, cloud backup, and easy sharing of dive logs.

Highlights
  • Customizable logbook design
  • Unlimited photo/video attachments
  • Cloud backup and restore
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Social media sharing
  • Import Suunto dive computer logs
  • Export logs to CSV
Features
Read full description

Dive Diary is a scuba diving log book application that looks like a real paper-based log book. Create your own stylish and emotional log book that is easy to use. Features • Full-view screen design and easy-to-use interface. • Provision of beautiful ocean scenery and moving fish images for designing your own log book. • You can attach an unlimited number of pictures/videos for each log. • You can very easily backup your log data to our server and restore it just with one touch. • You can keep same logs on all your iOS devices. • You can change the design of your logbook. Dive Diary support 6 color skins, 19 wallpapers, 17 diary inner pages. • You can share screenshot of your logbook to social network service like Facebook, Twitter and so on. • You can import logs in your dive computer through File Sharing of the iTunes. Currently, you can import only Suunto dive computer's logs that are exported as XML file through Suunto DM5. • You can export logs to a CSV format file.

About

Buddy

This app is a comprehensive companion for divers, offering features to log dives, manage gear, and connect with a community of ocean enthusiasts. It provides tools for both free and premium users to enhance their underwater adventures and discover new diving experiences.

Highlights
  • Dive Log recording and validation
  • Buddy network and activity feed
  • Gear management
  • Offline access to certifications
  • Buddy Radar for finding dive buddies
  • Discover feed for underwater content
Features
Read full description

Dive into adventure with Buddy, the ultimate companion for divers of all levels! Buddy makes diving accessible, exciting, and safe with both free and premium features that transform your underwater experiences. FREE FEATURES Dive Log: Record dives, validate them with instructors, add buddies, businesses, and share your adventure! Buddy Discover Activity: Build a network of divers, by viewing their dive log activity in the homepage diver feed of content. Gear Management: Add your gear to your profile and link it to dive logs. Offline Mode: Access certifications and log basic dive details, even offline. Discover Feed: Explore a live feed of Buddy activity and inspiring underwater content. PREMIUM FEATURES Buddy Radar: Meet dive buddies near you or at trip destinations for only $2.99/month or $29.99/year. Color-Correction Filters (Coming Soon): Enhance your underwater photos with professional-quality filters. COMING IN 2025 Dive Computer Integration (Coming Soon): Sync your dives directly to your Buddy profile. Book activities with verified dive shops worldwide through Buddy. Join the Buddy community and take your diving adventures to the next level!

Screenshots

Dive Diary4 screens
Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dive Diary at none against Buddy's 2. Dive Diary also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 77%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). Buddy's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, 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

Both are free to download. Buddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Dive Diary asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Buddy holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 49 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 90% of Dive Diary's written reviews are positive against 77% of Buddy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dive Diary ships an update every 2 months, Buddy monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and August 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Dive Diary versus Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDive DiaryBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (19 ratings)4.3 (49 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better76.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1949 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB117 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGoanmook ChoiDive with Buddy, Inc.

Customer experience

Dive Diary

All ratings19 ratings
Positive78.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative3.3%

Buddy

All ratings49 ratings
Positive75.5%
Neutral10.2%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral7.7%
Negative15.4%

In-app purchases

None

Dive Diary

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Buddy

Subscriptions2
  • Buddy Radar: Monthly1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • Buddy Radar: Annual1 Month trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Dive Diary free?
Dive Diary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Buddy free?
Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dive Diary or Buddy?
Buddy is rated higher. Dive Diary averages 4.0 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Buddy averages 4.3 from 49 ratings.
Do Dive Diary or Buddy have ads?
Neither Dive Diary nor Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dive Diary or Buddy?
Dive Diary ships an update every 2 months, and Buddy monthly. Most recently, Dive Diary was updated on September 18, 2026 and Buddy on August 24, 2026.

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