Comparison
Free Dive Log Apps: What You Actually Get
Almost every dive log app is free to download. That is not the question. The question is what you can do before something stops you, and whether you can take your dives with you when it does. Here is the honest version, app by app. Yes, we make one of them.
| App | Free without paying | Where the wall is | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
 SeaLog | Free account, then log, import and browse with the full depth profiles | An unlimited logbook and the whole species list are the paid part; export never is | UDDF, CSV, PDF |
 PADI | Unlimited manual logging, free account | eCards and courses are paid, and there is no logbook export at all | No logbook export |
 MySSI | Free with SSI training, unlimited manual logging | Import is limited to Mares computers and custom dive sites are restricted | No |
 Oceanic+ | Basic logging free with an Apple Watch Ultra | The dive computer features that are the point need a subscription | Apple Health only |
 Garmin Dive | Entirely free | Only useful if you own a Garmin Descent, and it will not export | No direct export |
 Shearwater Cloud | Entirely free, and it exports UDDF | Reads Shearwater computers only, and the interface shows its age | UDDF |
 DiverLog+ | Nothing: the app is paid up front | Export sits behind a further in-app purchase on top of that | Behind an extra purchase |
 Subsurface | Entirely free and open source, forever | Built for the desktop, and the mobile app inherits the learning curve | Many formats |
Free tiers move. This table reflects what the apps offered in 2026, and the one column that has never changed for any of them is the last one: whether you can get your own dives back out.
Free is not the same as yours
- Free because you bought the hardware. Garmin Dive, Shearwater Cloud and the rest cost nothing because the computer did. They also only read that one brand, so the logbook does not survive changing gear.
- Free because you are the training pipeline. Agency apps log dives for nothing and sell you cards and courses. Divers in their reviews mostly ask for two things: computer import, and an export button.
- Free because it is open source. Subsurface owes nobody anything and behaves like it. If you are comfortable on a desktop, it is the most capable free tool in diving.
- Free until the export. The one pattern worth refusing: an app that logs your dives happily and then charges to let you take them elsewhere.
Questions
Is there a completely free dive log app?
Subsurface, and it is genuinely free forever because it is open source and nobody is trying to sell you anything. The trade is that it was built for the desktop, and the mobile app carries that history with it. Shearwater Cloud is also free, but only reads Shearwater computers.
Why do hardware companion apps cost nothing?
Because you already paid, in the eight hundred euro computer on your wrist. That is a fine deal until you change brand, at which point the logbook you built stays behind. It is the strongest argument for keeping your dives in something that reads every brand and exports to UDDF.
What should a free tier let me do?
Import from your own dive computer, keep the depth profile, work offline, and export everything back out. An app that charges for export is not offering a free tier, it is holding your logbook.
What is free in SeaLog?
SeaLog is free to download and free to sign up for, with in-app purchases. You can import from your computer, keep the full depth profiles, browse the dive site catalog and start your species life list without paying. Pro lifts the limits on the logbook and opens the whole species list. Export to UDDF, CSV and PDF is free at every tier, deliberately.
Related: the best dive log apps compared, getting your dives off your computer, and what UDDF is and why it matters.