Soil Explorer vs LeafByte
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
LeafByte
This application allows users to quickly and accurately measure leaf area and herbivory by taking photos. It supports various leaf types and conditions, and saves data to spreadsheets. Features include freehand drawing for reconstruction and automatic skew correction.
- Measure leaf area and herbivory
- Save data to spreadsheets
- Analyze leaves of any size
- Reconstruct missing leaf margins
- Measure dark or light plant material
- Read barcodes
- Correct photo skew
Read full descriptionHide full description
LeafByte measures leaf area and herbivory quickly and accurately. Take a picture of a leaf and a scale to measure total leaf area and leaf area consumed. - Saves your data in a convenient spreadsheet on your phone or in Google Drive - Analyzes leaves of almost any size or shape - Uses freehand drawing to reconstruct missing leaf margins - Can measure dark plant material (such as leaves) on a white background or light plant material (such as petals) on a dark background - Reads and records all major barcodes - Automatically corrects skew in photos taken at an angle
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: LeafByte at 100% against Soil Explorer's 0%. LeafByte also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 11 months). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
LeafByte holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 13 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Soil Explorer's written reviews are positive against 100% of LeafByte's.
Soil Explorer ships an update every 11 months, LeafByte every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Soil Explorer | LeafByte |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (9 ratings) | 4.8 (13 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 13 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 5 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.7 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 172 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Purdue University | Abigail Getman-Pickering |
Customer experience
Soil Explorer
LeafByte
In-app purchases
Soil Explorer
No in-app purchases
LeafByte
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Soil Explorer free?
Is LeafByte free?
Which has better reviews, Soil Explorer or LeafByte?
Do Soil Explorer or LeafByte have ads?
Which is updated more often, Soil Explorer or LeafByte?
Other comparisons















