Skimmer runs a whole pool service company: routes, invoicing, online payments and a customer portal, billed per pool. Pool Calc does the part that happens at the pool: readings, the dose plan, the visit log and the report, on one phone, for a flat price per person. If you are one tech with one truck, here is how they compare.
Prices, features and ratings checked on 28 October 2026. App Store rating as shown on 28 October 2026: 4.6 stars from 3.8K ratings on the US App Store.
The short answer
Skimmer is business software for pool companies, and it is priced like it. Pool Calc is for the tech who mostly needs the chemistry right, a log per client and a clean report, without per-pool fees. If you invoice from QuickBooks, Square or Venmo already and service your own route, Pool Calc covers the work at the pool for $79.99 a year. If you need the office side too, Skimmer is built for that.
At a glance
From each app's own App Store page and website, checked on 28 October 2026. "Not listed" means we found no mention of it there, not that the feature is missing.
Feature
Pool Calc
Skimmer
How you pay
Per person: Free, Plus or Pro
Per serviced location, with a monthly minimum
Lowest paid price
$1.99/month or $14.99/year (Plus, up to 5 pools)
$49/month minimum (Getting Started)
Per-pool fees
None
$1 or $2 per location per month
Dosing calculator
YesDose plan for your own products, every plan
YesLSI & Dosing Calculator (Scaling Up plan)
Water balance index
YesCSI gauge, every plan
YesLSI (Scaling Up plan)
Clients and service locations
YesPlus and Pro
YesUnlimited customers and locations
Route
YesYour own order per service day, open in Maps
YesRoute builder
Route optimization
No
YesScaling Up
Photos per visit
YesFrom camera or library
Yes5 (Getting Started), 20 (Scaling Up)
Service report to the customer
YesPDF with your logo, sent from your phone
YesService reports and emails
Invoicing and online payments
NoBill in your own tool
Yes
Customer portal
No
Yes
Several techs sharing one account
No
YesUnlimited techs and admins
Works offline
YesEverything
YesOffline use with cloud sync (App Store listing)
Account to sign up for
None
Skimmer account
Export your data
YesCSV of every visit, reading and chemical
Not listed
Platforms
iPhone (iOS 18 or later)
iPhone and iPad (App Store), Android (Google Play)
Pricing
Our app
Pool Calc
Free$0Every feature for one pool and its attached spa.
Plus$1.99 a month, $14.99 a year or $39.99 onceUp to 5 pools plus the pro tools. 1-week free trial on the yearly plan.
Pro$9.99 a month or $79.99 a yearUnlimited pools plus the pro tools. 1-month free trial on the yearly plan.
Prices on the App Store at launch. Pricing is per person, not per pool.
Pool service software
Skimmer
Getting Started$1 per location per month, $49 monthly minimum (covers 49 locations)Unlimited techs, route builder, invoicing and online payments, service reports and emails, customer portal, 5 photos per visit.
Scaling Up$2 per location per month, $98 monthly minimum (covers 49 locations)Adds the LSI & Dosing Calculator powered by Orenda, LaMotte integration, route optimization, quotes, 20 photos per visit and live phone support. First month free through Skimmer's promo link.
EnterpriseCustomFor more than 1,000 pools a month.
Billed per serviced location per month. The app is free to download; the account is paid.
The two price models point in different directions. Skimmer's bill grows with the number of pools you service. Pool Calc's doesn't: Pro is the same $79.99 a year at 20 pools or 200. Skimmer includes far more business software for that money, so the right comparison is with what you would actually use.
Dosing math without the upper tier
Skimmer's pricing page lists the LSI & Dosing Calculator, powered by Orenda, under Scaling Up, which starts at $98 a month. On Getting Started you log readings but don't get that calculator. In Pool Calc, the full dose plan and the CSI gauge come with every plan, including the free one. You enter the readings once and get each dose in order, for the products on your own shelf at the strength on their labels, with large doses split into smaller additions.
A flat price for a growing route
For a 40-pool route, Skimmer's minimums work out to $588 a year on Getting Started ($49 × 12) or $1,176 a year on Scaling Up ($98 × 12), at the prices listed on 28 October 2026. Pool Calc Pro is $79.99 a year for unlimited pools, with a 1-month free trial on the yearly plan. Adding pools never changes the price. If a subscription lapses, nothing is deleted: your main pool stays fully usable and the rest become view and export only.
The phone is the whole product
Pool Calc has no web console and no sign-in. Every stop is saved on the phone as you go, so a dead zone or a killed app doesn't lose it: the unfinished stop resumes where you left it. Your clients and visits back up to your own iCloud. The service report is a PDF built on the phone and sent through Messages, Mail or WhatsApp from your own number or address, and Pool Calc marks it sent only when the share sheet says it went.
Using both
Skimmer and Pool Calc don't connect. Some techs keep invoicing and the customer portal where they are and use a separate app for chemistry and visit notes. That works, but you would be keeping two client lists. Most solo techs who look at Pool Calc want to replace a heavier tool, not add to one.
What Skimmer Users Complain About
Paraphrased from public reviews. Each one links to where it was posted and gives the month it was written.
The per-pool price doubled. In a 1-star Capterra review from February 2025, an owner wrote that their "per pool monthly fee is going from $1 to $2" and that the app was slow to update after each entry (Capterra review, February 2025).
Pool Calc approach: one price per person, never per pool. Pro is $79.99 a year whether you service 20 pools or 200, and each stop is saved on the phone the moment you enter it.
Small operators feel priced out. An App Store review from June 2025, titled "Small businesses need not apply," says the per-pool price rose sharply and that moving to the cheaper plan removed features (App Store review, June 2025).
Pool Calc approach: both paid plans include the same pro tools. Plus covers up to 5 pools for $14.99 a year; Pro covers unlimited pools. Nothing is held back for a higher tier.
Customers don't get the emails. A July 2025 App Store review reports a price increase, customers not receiving emails and photos that needed manual syncing (App Store review, July 2025).
Pool Calc approach: the report goes out from your own Messages or Mail through the iPhone share sheet, the same way you send any text or email. There is no server in between.
The app crashed in the field. A 2021 App Store reviewer called the app easy to use but said it kept "constantly crashing" and disliked the per-pool billing (App Store review, July 2021).
Pool Calc approach: a native iPhone app that keeps everything on the device first. If the app is closed mid-stop, the stop is still there when you open it again.
No full export. A long-time user in November 2024 asked to be able to export all data to Excel (App Store review, November 2024).
Pool Calc approach: Export all clients gives you three CSV files (visits, readings, chemicals) that open in Excel or Numbers.
When Skimmer is the better choice
You run more than one truck and need dispatch, shared customer records and unlimited techs and admins.
You want invoicing, online payments, autopay and a customer portal in the same tool.
You want route optimization rather than putting stops in order yourself.
Some of your techs use Android phones.
You want a long track record: Skimmer Pro has 3.8K ratings on the App Store.
Questions people ask
Is there a cheaper alternative to Skimmer for a solo pool tech?
If you need dosing, a client list, a route in your own order and a report for each visit, but not invoicing or a customer portal, Pool Calc Pro is $79.99 a year for unlimited pools on the App Store at launch. Skimmer's lowest plan had a $49 monthly minimum when we checked on 28 October 2026. Skimmer does much more on the business side, so compare what you actually use.
Does Skimmer have a dosing calculator?
Yes. Skimmer's pricing page lists an LSI & Dosing Calculator powered by Orenda on the Scaling Up plan ($2 per location, $98 monthly minimum), checked 28 October 2026. In Pool Calc, the dose plan and the CSI water balance are on every plan, including Free.
Can I use Pool Calc and Skimmer together?
Yes, as two separate apps. They don't connect to each other. Some techs keep billing and the customer portal in their business software and use a separate app for dosing and visit notes. Pool Calc can import clients from a CSV file with name, address, phone, email and gallons columns, or from Contacts.
Skimmer and Skimmer Pro are trademarks of their respective owners. Orenda and LaMotte are trademarks of their respective owners. Pool Calc is not affiliated with them. Information checked on 28 October 2026; prices and features change. Corrections: [email protected]