Soil Explorer vs FaultKin Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Soil Explorer
Discover detailed soil property and landscape maps for U.S. states and global soil distributions. Understand how map features relate to real-world observations. This educational tool uses data from USDA and USGS to illustrate complex soil-landscape relationships.
- Detailed soil property maps
- Landscape visualizations
- Global soil distribution maps
- Field observation correlation
- USDA NRCS data integration
- USGS data integration
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Explore detailed maps of soil properties and landscapes for various U.S. states, as well as small-scale maps of soil distributions for the world. Examine the details for a specific area, but also see the overview for a large area. Learn how features shown on the maps correspond to what you observe in the field. Soil Explorer utilizes detailed soil survey data from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and data and maps from the U. S. Geological Survey and other sources to produce informative, highly engaging maps. These maps are designed to show the complex interrelationships between soil properties and the landscapes in which soils occur.
FaultKin Mobile
This app allows geologists to collect, visualize, and analyze fault slip data directly from their mobile device. It offers both automatic data entry using device orientation and manual input options, with features for grouping data and performing basic calculations.
- Automatic data entry via device orientation
- Manual data entry via stereonet or text fields
- Group faults with custom tags
- Perform basic calculations (rotations, unfolding)
- Plot P and T axes, moment tensor axes
- View plots from any orientation
- Stamp entries with time, date, and location
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FaultKin Mobile is designed to help you collect, visualize, and analyze fault slip data on the go. It is a companion to my FaultKin program for desktop computers, but it can also be used to measure faults on the outcrop. The app has the following features: - Provide automatic data entry as a geologist's compass by reading the iOS device orientation and converting it to strike and dip of planes and/or trend and plunge of lines. - Provide manual data entry via either tapping and dragging on the stereonet or by typing values into text fields. - Groups of faults can be assigned different tags. You will probably want to do this based on location or other criteria. For example, you may want to have a tag labeled "Corral Quemado-Older" and anther "Corral Quemado-Younger". - Carry out basic calculations such as: rotations about any axis, unfolding faults around local bedding, or measure angles between lines and between planes. - Plot P and T axes, (unweighted) moment tensor axes, P-T dihedra, fault plane solutions, and contour P and T axes. - View the plots from any orientation, not just looking straight down into the lower hemisphere - Stamp each entry with time date and, if enabled by the user, location. See the location of a datum in the iOS Maps program - Provide basic input and output of data using standard iOS conventions - Work on both iPhones or iPads, both in portrait mode only. The desktop version of FaultKin will soon be updated so that it can read and write FaultKin Mobile files, which are simple tab separated text files. Use it at your own risk. In particular, recall that your iOS device is very sensitive to magnetic fields and the compass bearings can easily be off by 10-20°! This program should not be used as a sole source of navigation data. The author assumes no responsibility for incorrect results, unanticipated behaviors, loss resulting from results provided by the program, or any other anticipated or unanticipated event related to the program.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: FaultKin Mobile at 5.0 against Soil Explorer's 4.1. FaultKin Mobile also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.7). Soil Explorer's advantage is ratings volume (9 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
FaultKin Mobile holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 2 respectively.
Soil Explorer ships an update every 11 months, FaultKin Mobile every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Soil Explorer | FaultKin Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (9 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.7 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 172 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Purdue University | Richard Allmendinger |
Customer experience
Soil Explorer
FaultKin Mobile
In-app purchases
Soil Explorer
No in-app purchases
FaultKin Mobile
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Soil Explorer free?
Is FaultKin Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, Soil Explorer or FaultKin Mobile?
Do Soil Explorer or FaultKin Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, Soil Explorer or FaultKin Mobile?
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