# Soil Explorer vs USDA PPRL

The clearest difference is review sentiment: USDA PPRL at 100% against Soil Explorer's 0%. USDA PPRL also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

USDA PPRL holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Soil Explorer's written reviews are positive against 100% of USDA PPRL's.

Soil Explorer ships an update every 11 months, USDA PPRL every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Soil Explorer | USDA PPRL |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soil-explorer/id996159565/reviews) | **[4.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/usda-pprl/id6444455958/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 172 MB | 42 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.7** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Purdue University](https://appshunter.io/developer/371741257) | [Utah State University](https://appshunter.io/developer/408732147) |

## What reviewers say

### Soil Explorer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soil-explorer/id996159565)

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.

**Highlights:** Detailed soil property maps, Landscape visualizations, Global soil distribution maps, Field observation correlation, USDA NRCS data integration, USGS data integration

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### USDA PPRL

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/usda-pprl/id6444455958)

This app helps livestock owners identify poisonous plants to prevent animal loss. It provides a searchable database of toxic flora and allows users to report livestock poisonings to the research lab.

**Highlights:** Identify poisonous plants, Searchable plant database, Prevent livestock loss, Report livestock poisonings, Awareness of toxic flora

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Soil Explorer free?

Soil Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is USDA PPRL free?

USDA PPRL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Soil Explorer or USDA PPRL?

USDA PPRL is rated higher. Soil Explorer averages 4.1 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while USDA PPRL averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.

### Do Soil Explorer or USDA PPRL have ads?

Neither Soil Explorer nor USDA PPRL shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Soil Explorer or USDA PPRL?

Soil Explorer ships an update every 11 months, and USDA PPRL every 2 months. Most recently, Soil Explorer was updated on September 19, 2026 and USDA PPRL on September 14, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*