Comparison

Pocket Marine vs NextUpReef

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Marine

Manage all your aquarium data in one place. Track water parameters, inhabitants, dosing, and maintenance with detailed logs and reminders. Access an extensive library of marine species to make informed decisions about new additions.

Highlights
  • Marine species encyclopedia (800+)
  • Water parameter testing journal
  • Inhabitant and dosing logs
  • Maintenance and water change journals
  • Species compatibility guide
  • Useful calculators
  • Customizable reminders
Features
Read full description

A handy tool to keep track of all of the vital information related to your aquarium together with an in-depth library of species to ensure you never get caught short for an impulse buy. Main features - • An encyclopaedia of over 800 species of marine fish, invertebrates and coral • Testing journal to keep track of over 30 of the most vital parameters • Trends to plot graphs and visualise how stable each parameter is over time • Inhabitants diary to keep track of your latest additions including information such as how long you've had it, was it feeding in store beforehand, where was it purchased from and much more. • Dosing log top keep track of any chemical additions to your tanks to help keep up to date on doses and keep stability where it should be • Reminders with device notifications so you never miss an important event • Water change journal to keep a detailed log such as when, how much, salinity etc. of your water changes performed • Maintenance log to remind you of your last maintenance actions completed per tank • Compatibility of species - A simple, brief run down of what species are typically safe, tolerant or not safe to be housed with others • A simple set of useful calculators such as alkalinity conversions, Celsius to Fahrenheit or gallons to litres and more. Keeping track of our aquariums can ultimately be one of the most important parts to the 'reef keeping' hobby. Maintaining husbandry tasks, testing, stability, water changes, inhabitant stats etc. are all vital to keeping successful aquariums. Pocket Marine was designed to make inputting, storing and keeping all information with you at ease. Often, any issues that we have with our aquariums can be linked to actions that were performed a short time beforehand. For this reason, a log of changes made, actions performed or additions can be vital when trying to decipher a problem that may be in play. Pen and paper has always been a great way to keep this information at hand but, Pocket Marine offers a place to store this somewhere that, this day and age, is with us at all times. Not just for tracking events. Pocket Marine is a great way to help you log your inhabitants into specific tanks, record your latest water change for your mixed reef tank or simply log your latest maintenance action performed on the fish only office tank. Recording your information couldnt be easier and keeping it on your mobile device saves on that frantic search incase of needing the information at a later date. Help with that last second impulse buy at the store. With an in depth library of over 800 species of fish, invertebrates and coral and being added to daily, you will always have the information on hand that you need to make that informed decision on a purchase. We hope you enjoy using the app and that we can help with your success in the hobby and welcome any feature requests you may have. Happy Reefing!

About

NextUpReef

This app helps reef tank hobbyists manage their aquarium's health and equipment. It offers AI-powered analysis, parameter logging, smart outlet control, and community insights to optimize tank conditions and simplify maintenance.

Highlights
  • AI Reef Advisor for tank analysis
  • Parameter logging and trend charting
  • Smart outlet control for equipment
  • Neptune Apex integration
  • Tank setup and livestock tracking
  • Smart reminders for maintenance
  • Reef community insights
Features
Read full description

NextUpReef is the reef tank app that keeps your whole system in one place: water chemistry, dosing, equipment, livestock, reminders and AI advice that actually knows your tank. Built for reefers, by a reefer. LOG A FULL TEST IN SECONDS Record alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphate, salinity, pH, temperature, ammonia and nitrite. Your last values pre-fill, and every entry is color-coded against your target range as you type. Pick your tank type (mixed reef, SPS, LPS, softie, nano, ULNS and more) for sensible default targets, or set your own. EVERY TREND, TWO SCORES — REEF PULSE See a chart for every parameter with your target range drawn in and water changes marked. Your Reef Score shows how healthy the tank is today; your Stability Score shows how steadily you keep it that way. Tap either score to see exactly what's helping and what's holding it back. REEF AI ADVISOR (PRO) A full analysis of your tank built from your own data: parameters and trends, water changes, livestock, equipment and dosing. See what's working, what needs attention and what to do next, ranked by urgency. Ask Reef AI Chat anything about your reef, check livestock compatibility with the Stocking Advisor, and log results by snapping a photo of your test kit. EVERY DOSE, ONE CHECKLIST The Dosing screen lists everything due today, whether you dose by hand, with your own pump or automatically. Tap Dosed to log it and watch whether alkalinity, calcium and magnesium are holding steady. Choose from 50+ common products with label strengths built in. Pro adds a dose calculator that dials in your daily dose from your own test trend, and a daily dosing reminder at the time you pick. CONTROL YOUR REEF GEAR (PRO) • Neptune Apex: sync temperature, pH, salinity and Trident alkalinity, calcium and magnesium into your logs; switch outlets; run Feed Mode; set heater temperatures; and schedule dosing with a built-in safety shutoff. • Shelly smart plugs: schedules run on the plug, even with no internet. For dosing pumps, each dose is confirmed by power draw and you're alerted if one is missed. • CoralVue HYDROS (early access): cloud-connected readings and control from anywhere. NEVER MISS A WATER CHANGE Schedule water changes and maintenance like filter socks, carbon and RO/DI filters. Reminders arrive inside the notification hours you choose. EVERYTHING IN YOUR TANK — MY REEF Track fish, corals and inverts with care info, plus equipment, lighting schedules, dosing, salt mix, monthly tank photos and what it all cost. NEW TO REEFING? NEW TANK GUIDE Follow six guided phases from setup through cycling, the ugly phase, first fish and first corals to an established reef, with a checklist for each step. LEARN FROM THE BEST TANKS — COMMUNITY Browse the leaderboard and see inside top-ranked tanks: their parameters, salt, lighting, equipment, dosing and water change habits. Compare your tank with others like it. Your tank stays private unless you choose to share it. ON THE BIG SCREEN Pro members can open the web dashboard at portal.nextupreef.com for full-screen charts and a CSV export of their readings. FREE TO START NextUpReef is free to download and use. NextUpReef Pro unlocks AI features, device control, the dose calculator, unlimited tanks and reminders, the web dashboard and more. Every new account gets a 30-day Pro trial with no payment details required. Privacy Policy: https://nextupreef.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://nextupreef.com/terms Questions or ideas: info@nextupreef.com Neptune Systems and Apex are trademarks of Neptune Systems. CoralVue and HYDROS are trademarks of CoralVue, Inc. Shelly is a trademark of Shelly Group. NextUpReef is independent and not affiliated with these companies.

Screenshots

Pocket Marine4 screens
NextUpReef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NextUpReef at Free against Pocket Marine's $3.99. NextUpReef also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). Pocket Marine's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

NextUpReef is free to download; Pocket Marine costs $3.99 up front. NextUpReef sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Pocket Marine asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pocket Marine holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Marine has 596 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Pocket Marine's written reviews are positive against 50% of NextUpReef's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Marine ships an update fortnightly, NextUpReef every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pocket Marine versus NextUpReef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket MarineNextUpReef
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (596 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews78.8% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings596 — better3
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size213 MB59 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperLiam SalmonsAdam Winstead

Customer experience

Pocket Marine

All ratings596 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive78.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative12.1%

NextUpReef

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Pocket Marine

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when trying to edit targets/ranges
  • Endless scroll to select values
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between Celsius and Fahrenheit
  • Crashes when accessing certain sections like soft corals

Requested features

9 requests
  • Ability to sync data across devices
  • Customizable home screen
  • Tracking for spending on tank supplies
  • Ability to set default parameters
  • Graphs showing multiple parameters together
Show 4 more
  • Export data to Excel
  • Ability to move livestock up/down in list
  • Add more fish and coral species to database
  • Dosing calculator

NextUpReef

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Pocket Marine

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

NextUpReef

Subscriptions2
  • NextUpReef Pro$4.991 Month
  • NextUpReef Pro$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Pocket Marine free?
Pocket Marine costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NextUpReef free?
NextUpReef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Marine or NextUpReef?
Pocket Marine is rated higher. Pocket Marine averages 4.8 out of 5 from 596 ratings, while NextUpReef averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Pocket Marine or NextUpReef have ads?
Neither Pocket Marine nor NextUpReef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Marine or NextUpReef?
Pocket Marine ships an update fortnightly, and NextUpReef every 4 days. Most recently, Pocket Marine was updated on October 15, 2026 and NextUpReef on October 13, 2026.

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