Quick answer
AquaticLog is a defensible choice for reef keepers who value its long history, parameter logging, ICP workflows, widgets, web access, and advertised AI and controller-import features.
Reef Trak is a different fit for keepers who want parameters, PAR Map, expense tracking with Receipt Scan Assist, widgets, monitoring integrations, and portable TrakAI exports together with a one-time $9.99 Premium purchase.
Competitive information last verified: August 31, 2026.
Changes from the earlier comparison
| Field | Verified change |
|---|---|
| Monthly price | ↑ $0.70 $4.29 → $4.99 |
| Annual price | ↓ $6.00 $45.99 → $39.99 |
| Lifetime price | ↑ $15.00 $134.99 → $149.99 |
| Controller imports | ↑ Added “No” → read-only Apex, Seneye, AquaWiz, and HYDROS |
| AI | ↑ Added “No AI” → AI insights and photo animation advertised |
Feature comparison
| Capability | Reef Trak | AquaticLog |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 55+ incl. trace elements | 50+ parameters incl. trace elements |
| ICP test imports | 9 providers: Aquaforest, ATI, Fauna Marin, Modern Reef, Oceamo / Reef Moonshiner, Reef Labs, Reef Zlements, Triton, Tropic Marin | 4 advertised imports: Oceamo, Fauna Marin, Triton, ReefLabs |
| Controller imports | Read-only Apex + HYDROS; Alkatronic, Mastertronic, and AquaWiz where available; optional Home Assistant monitoring | Read-only Apex, Seneye, AquaWiz, and HYDROS |
| Dosing logs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Livestock catalog | 1,800+ species built-in | ✓ |
| Equipment records | ✓ | ✓ |
| Maintenance scheduling | Yes, custom intervals incl. yearly | ✓ |
| PAR Map | ✓ | ✗ |
| Expense tracking + Receipt Scan | ✓ | ✗ |
| Home-screen widgets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Product search | ReefDock multi-retailer product search | Community product catalog and reviews |
| AI approach | TrakAI: export to the user's chosen AI | AI insights and photo animation |
| Web Portal | Yes (reeftrak.com) | ✓ |
| Pricing | Free core + $9.99 lifetime Premium | $4.99/mo, $39.99/yr, or $149.99 lifetime |
| Platforms | iOS + Android + Web Portal | iOS + Android + Web |
The pricing math
Run the numbers on a tank you plan to keep for five years.
AquaticLog: $149.99 if you pay lifetime up front. $39.99 per year times five is $199.95. $4.99 per month times sixty months is $299.40. Lifetime is the lowest of those five-year totals.
Reef Trak: $9.99 once. That is the whole bill, forever.
AquaticLog lifetime is about fifteen times Reef Trak's $9.99 Premium lifetime price. Its five-year annual total is about twenty times Reef Trak Premium.
Where AquaticLog still has an edge
Thirteen years of history is not nothing. For a tank you intend to keep running for a long time, AquaticLog's established release history and long-running parameter workflow are meaningful advantages.
Its current public materials also document widgets, AI-related features, and read-only controller imports. Those capabilities were missing from the earlier version of this page and are now represented directly.
Where Reef Trak takes a different approach
These are specific Reef Trak capabilities; they are not category-wide claims about what AquaticLog or every other product can never offer:
- PAR Map for reef lighting analysis with photo overlay and per-fixture mapping.
- Receipt Scan Assist that turns paper receipts into structured expense entries with line-item categorization.
- Read-only Apex and HYDROS imports, Alkatronic, Mastertronic, and AquaWiz paths where available, plus optional Home Assistant monitoring.
- TrakAI bring-your-own-AI exports that work with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any AI engine you trust.
- ReefDock multi-retailer product search.
- A one-time $9.99 lifetime unlock instead of a subscription that keeps billing over the multi-year life of a reef tank.
Switching from AquaticLog to Reef Trak
Reef Trak supports CSV import for parameter history. If you have years of AquaticLog data, the parameter side is portable. Livestock and equipment records currently need manual setup, but with the species and equipment catalogs built in, most entries are a tap rather than a typing exercise.
A cautious migration can keep both apps in parallel until the imported parameter history and new logging workflow have been reviewed.