PoolFu vs Pooli

Your family swims in this water. Accuracy matters.

A fact-based comparison for pool owners who want chemistry they can trust.

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2,700+
Chemical Products
Precise dosing for every formula from 180+ brands.
1,721
Hot Tub Models
Every spec entered by hand. Yes, all of them.
0
Product Affiliates
No affiliate deals. Just unbiased advice.
Chemistry Intelligence

Seven resolvers. One plan.

PoolFu's Unity Framework coordinates seven specialized resolvers, so every recommendation works with every other. Raise pH for water balance? The system checks chlorine effectiveness first. Add calcium for CSI? Surface limits are enforced automatically.

Most pool apps evaluate parameters in isolation. PoolFu treats your water as one integrated system.

Feature Comparison

What you get with each.

Chemistry Intelligence

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Unity Framework coordination Every recommendation is checked against every other. pH changes consider chlorine effectiveness. Calcium targets respect surface limits. No contradictions.
Dynamic FC/CYA targeting Both apps adjust chlorine targets based on stabilizer level. A pool with CYA 70 needs different chlorine than CYA 30.
Temperature-aware water balance CSI targets shift with water temperature. Hot spas target slightly negative to prevent scaling. Cold pools get adjusted thresholds.
Surface-aware calcium targets Vinyl, fiberglass, and plaster surfaces have different calcium needs. PoolFu prevents recommendations that could damage your finish.
Equipment-first SWG logic For saltwater pools: adjust SWG output first, extend run time second, add chemicals only as a last resort.
Pattern detection After 6+ tests, identifies recurring issues: pH drift, rising CYA, calcium creep, SWG output problems.
Anomaly detection Validates readings against historical patterns. Catches data entry errors and flags unexpected values before they affect recommendations.
Borate calculation Full borate support for pH buffering and algae resistance.

AI Assistant

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Context-aware conversational AI Splash knows your pool's equipment, surface, volume, test history, chemical products, current weather, and active alerts. It answers YOUR questions about YOUR pool.
Equipment-specific advice Ask about your Pentair SWG and Splash knows the model, salt requirements, and output settings.
Weather-correlated insights "Why did my salt drop?" Splash sees the 3 inches of rain this week and explains dilution.
Natural language troubleshooting Describe symptoms and get explanations: "pH keeps rising after I adjust it" leads to root cause analysis, not just another dose.
Health score At-a-glance pool health with winterization awareness and data freshness tracking.
Effects of adding (simulation) Both apps let you preview the impact of adding a chemical before committing.
Community forum with AI moderator 'Ask Pooli' is a community forum where an AI moderator surfaces old discussions. You're not talking to an AI that knows your pool. You're searching a forum.

Equipment Databases

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Salt water generator database PoolFu: 616 models from 129 manufacturers with model-specific salt PPM requirements and full specs. Pooli has SWG tracking but no product database with manufacturer specifications.
Hot tub/spa database 1,721 models from 167 brands. Water capacity, jet count, heater specs auto-populated.
Bromine support Both apps support bromine for pools and spas. Essential for hot tub owners who prefer bromine over chlorine.
MPS (non-chlorine shock) support Native support for MPS (potassium monopersulfate) for spa maintenance. No workarounds needed.
Chemical product database PoolFu: 2,700+ products from 180+ brands with active ingredients, dosing formulas, and sanitizer compatibility. Pooli has a Chemical Atlas tied to their affiliate store. Product coverage skews toward items they sell or earn commission on.
Test strip camera scanning Requires Pool Club ($108/year). Users report inconsistent results between scans. PoolFu uses manual entry from professional test kits for superior accuracy.
LaMotte device integration ColorQ 2X and SpinTouch Bluetooth sync. Requires Pool Club ($108/year).

Global & Accessibility

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Multilingual support PoolFu: 9 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese Simplified & Traditional, Japanese). Pooli: English only.
Hemisphere-aware seasons December is summer in Australia, winter in Minneapolis. Maintenance guidance adapts automatically.

Weather & Seasonal

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Real-time weather integration PoolFu pulls real-time conditions, 7-day history, and 3-day forecast automatically. Correlates weather with chemistry changes.
Freeze alerts with equipment protection Both apps have weather features. PoolFu's freeze alerts include equipment-specific protection guidance.
Government weather alert integration Official NWS warnings for winter storms, blizzards, ice, tornadoes, and heat advisories. Not just temperature thresholds.
Rain correlation with chemistry PoolFu explains when salt drops or pH shifts correlate with recent rainfall.
Winterization tracking Mark your pool as winterized. Chemistry recommendations pause. Data freshness accounts for covered periods.

Field Reliability

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Offline mode PoolFu saves tests and logs locally, syncing transparently when connectivity returns. Pooli can display cached data offline, but saving new tests may require an active connection.
Cross-device sync Start on your phone, continue on your iPad. All data syncs across devices in real time.

Safety

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Dangerous reading warnings Non-dismissible alerts for zero sanitizer, unsafe pH, and high CYA. Prevents swimming in unsafe conditions.
Chemical handling safety Context-aware instructions for acid handling, pre-dilution, mixing dangers, and PPE reminders.

Trust & Privacy

Feature
PoolFu
Pooli
Zero affiliate revenue PoolFu earns nothing from chemical sales. Recommendations are driven by chemistry, not commissions.
Payments handled by Apple All PoolFu subscriptions, Homeowner and Pro, use Apple's App Store for payments. We never see your credit card or payment information. Pooli processes payments directly.
Your personal data stays private PoolFu never asks for your home address or payment details. Apple handles all billing. Pro subscribers can optionally store customer contact info (addresses, phones, emails) for their service business, but your own data stays private. Pool Club Max requires your physical address for test strip delivery.
Passwordless authentication Sign in with Apple or Magic Link email. No passwords created, stored, or managed. Pooli uses traditional email and password authentication.
No marketing email campaigns You won't receive weeks of upgrade emails after signing up.
CSV data export Pooli supports CSV export for Pool Club members ($108/year). PoolFu data export is coming soon!
Pricing

What it actually costs.

PoolFu Homeowner includes the full chemistry engine, Unity Framework, and Splash AI for $4.50/month (billed annually at $53.99). Pooli's comparable features require Pool Club at $108/year.

PoolFu Homeowner
$4.50/month
Full chemistry engine, Unity Framework, Splash AI (100 messages/month), test history, CSI/LSI analysis, weather intelligence, offline mode. Billed annually at $53.99.
Pooli Free
$0
Basic logging, limited calculations
Pooli Pool Club Plus
$108/year
AI strip scanning, Color Correct Card, LaMotte integration, equipment logging, CSV export
Pooli Pool Club Max
$139/year
Everything in Plus + bi-monthly test strip deliveries

PoolFu at $4.50/month vs Pooli Pool Club at $9/month. Same annual commitment, 50% less cost, better chemistry.

Real Feedback

What Pooli users actually say.

If you follow Pooli's advice, you will get a pool with way too much total alkalinity and your pH will skyrocket. This typically leads the uninformed user to the classic baking soda/acid Yo-Yo game, constantly chasing TA and pH around in circles.

JoyfulNoise, TFP Expert · May 2024

The importance of CYA, and of the FC/CYA relationship, doesn't seem to be understood. The app's minimum FC targets are too low to prevent algae growth.

DrewLG, TFP Gold Supporter · June 2023

If you do multiple scans, you will get huge swings in between each scan, never consistent at all. One minute you will be adding 2 pounds of baking soda, and the next scan will tell you not to.

rhconcepts, App Store · August 2024
Our Honest Take

Why we built PoolFu.

Pooli has great distribution. Their free tier and App Store presence have earned tens of thousands of downloads. That's genuinely impressive.

We built something different.

PoolFu treats pool chemistry as one unified system, not isolated parameters. Every recommendation is checked against every other before you see it. The AI assistant knows your pool, not just pool care in general.

And the incentives are simple. No affiliate commissions on chemical sales. No marketing email campaigns pushing upgrades. No physical shipments that require your home address. Just a subscription that only works if our advice actually works.

Different approaches. Different incentives.

Pooli earns affiliate revenue from chemical purchases and runs email campaigns to convert free users. PoolFu's only revenue is subscriptions, so our only incentive is giving you advice that keeps your pool healthy. The chemistry is research-backed, the AI knows your specific setup, and the price is lower than Pooli's paid tier.

Other comparisons

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