DTDL Dive Log  ·  Version 5.7.2  ·  July 2026

The most complete
dive log on the planet.

A feature-by-feature comparison against the eight most widely used dive log platforms. Every claim is verified against production code and current competitor products.

100+ Features compared
8 Competitors analysed
10 Dimensions where DTDL leads
60 In-app help topics
New in v5.7.2

Six major additions since v5.7.1

All features are live in production. DTDL does not list roadmap items — if it is listed here, it works.

Industry First 📧

Email Notification System

Seven automated notification types — gear service, hydrostatic test, VIP inspection, regulator component service, cert expiry, storage quota, and admin announcements. Three configurable reminder tiers (60/30/15 days gear, 90/60/30 days certs). Admin hierarchy overrides user preferences. 48-hour tokenised quick-update link in every email. One-click per-type unsubscribe without logging in.

Industry First 🔧

Regulator Rig & Component Tracking

Define named regulator rigs and assign individual components — first stage, second stage, SPG, backup. Each component tracks brand, model, serial number, service interval in months, and last service date. Due dates auto-calculated. Service reminders delivered by email at three configurable intervals.

Industry First 🎒

Gear Set Management

Configure named dive kit presets — “Recreational Warm Water”, “Technical Sidemount”, “Cave Configuration”. Bundle gear items and regulator rigs per set. Apply an entire configured kit to a new dive in a single action, pre-filling all equipment fields instantly.

New 📌

Inline Dive Preview Strip

Single-click any dive row to expand a pinnable preview beneath it — up to 6 data tiles from 16 available sections including depth, gas, conditions, equipment, notes, and photos. Drag-resize tile widths. All preferences saved in localStorage. Double-click still opens the full dive form.

New 🎨

Theme Customiser

Six named presets: Ocean Cyan, Bioluminescent Green, Coral Pink, Amber Gold, Deep Purple, Lava Red. Custom colour picker auto-derives gradient and tint. Background depth (Deep/Mid/Shallow/Night) and row density (Compact/Comfortable/Spacious) independently configurable. All settings persist instantly in localStorage.

New 📥

DL7 / ZXU Import

Import DAN DL7 format files (.zxu, .zxl, .dl7) from DiverLog+ (iOS), DiveCloud, Diving Log 6.0, and Aqualung-family computers. The widest-compatibility dive computer exchange format — reaching hardware that UDDF does not. Depth profiles, gas mix, tank pressure, temperature, site names, notes. Duplicate detection built in.

Feature Matrix

Every significant feature. Every competitor.

Scroll horizontally to see all platforms. Use the category buttons to focus on what matters to you.

DTDL unique or leading advantage
Yes — feature present
Partial — limited implementation
No — feature absent
Not applicable
Feature DTDL
v5.7.2
Shearwater Garmin Suunto DiverLog+ Subsurface MacDive DivingLog
6.0
Core Logging & Gas Analysis
Dive profile recording
Gas mix — Air / Nitrox / Trimix
SAC rate calculation
Avg-depth + max-depth SAC (dual, colour-coded)
RMV calculation
Dive computer import — UDDF / CSV
DL7 / ZXU import (DiverLog+, DiveCloud, Aqualung)
Chunked UDDF import (bypasses proxy limits)
Full CSV export — 80+ columns, itemised
Per-dive UDDF ZIP (dive + photos bundled)
Autocomplete from dive history (8 fields)
Equipment Lifecycle Management
Gear item tracking with service dates
Gear items linked to individual dives
Gear photo uploads — multiple per item
Regulator rig definition (named assemblies)
Regulator component tracking per rig
Component service interval & auto due date
Gear set / kit configuration presets
One-action gear set apply to dive
In-app service due / overdue alerts
Email Notification System — New in v5.7.2
Automated email service reminders
7 notification types (gear / cert / quota)
3-tier reminder cadence (60 / 30 / 15 days)
Admin master switch overrides all users
Per-user per-type notification controls
48-hr tokenised quick-update link in email
One-click per-type unsubscribe in email
Custom SMTP + wp_mail / SMTP plugin fallback
Cert expiry tiers — 90 / 60 / 30 days
Certification Tracking
Certification record keeping
Certification expiry tracking
Cert expiry email reminders (3 tiers)
Cert card photos — front & back slots
Photos & Media
Photo attachment to dives
Staged upload (no save-first required)
Gear item photo uploads (multi per item)
Photo tagged to specific dive profile point
Image auto-resize & quality on upload
Privacy & Sharing
Per-section privacy (16 sections)
Per-dive share link with revoke
Portfolio share link (browsable public log)
Share link expiry — 90-day lifecycle
Post-dive symptoms / health notes
Would Dive Again / Post-dive Feeling field
Trip & Travel Ecosystem
Trip management with dive assignment
Full travel itinerary (flights, hotels)
Trip insurance policies — full detail
CBP Form 4457 guidance built-in
Auto-import-to-trip by date range
Personal Analytics & Dashboard
Personal dashboard with lifetime stats
Milestone badges (12 auto-awarded)
Activity heatmap — 52-week calendar
Dive streak tracking (current + longest)
Buddy Tracker — shared dive history
Species Life List — lifetime sightings
Dive Site Notebook — conditions + ratings log
Graphs — 5 chart types, 11 metrics
World map — geocoded dive sites
Inline dive preview strip (16 pinnable tiles)
UI & Experience
Dark mode UI
Theme customiser — 6 presets + custom colour
Row density — compact / comfortable / spacious
60-topic built-in step-by-step help system
Quick Log — 4-field instant draft entry
Duplicate dive — one-click full copy
Direct Device Sync
Bluetooth sync — Shearwater & OSTC (no app)
USB / cable sync — 8 brands
No companion app required — browser native
Dive enrichment on re-import
Deleted dive restore via re-import
Dive Planner & Calculator
Dive planner — 5-algorithm NDL comparison
Gradient Factor controls (GF Lo / Hi)
SAC rate auto-filled from log history
Save planner as draft → pre-fills dive form
Scuba Calculator opens pre-filled from planner
Cave & Cavern Documentation — DTDL Unique
Cave / Cavern dive type + dedicated panel
8-tab cave panel (overview → team → map)
Dive team roster — 6 assigned roles
Navigation segments — compass, bearing, depth
Jump documentation — spool, markers, type
Stage bottle logging & turn pressure
Dead-reckoning cave map + compass rose
PNG cave map download
Saved routes — named, versioned, reusable
Post-dive team debrief & incident report
Admin & Platform
Admin storage quota per user
Admin maintenance announcement banner
Admin live-refresh nudge (no page reload)
CDN resilience handlers — user-facing retry
Where DTDL leads

Ten dimensions of differentiation

No single competitor matches DTDL across all ten simultaneously.

1

Gas Analysis Depth

SAC rate and RMV calculated at both maximum and average depth simultaneously with colour coding. Only Shearwater and MacDive offer avg-depth SAC — neither combines it with RMV, dual-metric display, and planner integration in the same workflow.

2

Privacy Architecture

Per-section privacy controls across 16 distinct dive form sections. Per-dive share links with revoke. Portfolio share link for a public browsable log. 90-day share token expiry. No competitor offers privacy at this granularity.

3

Equipment Lifecycle Management

Gear items with photos, service scheduling, and dive linking. Named regulator rigs with individual component tracking and auto-calculated due dates. Gear set presets applied to a dive in one action. Cert card photos with front and back slots. The most complete equipment management layer in any dive log.

4

Intelligent Email Notifications

Seven automated notification types covering every equipment service event and certification expiry. Three configurable reminder tiers. Admin hierarchy overrides user preferences. Every email includes a 48-hour quick-update token and one-click per-type unsubscribe. No competitor has built anything comparable.

5

The Trip Ecosystem

No other platform treats a dive trip as a complete life event. DTDL captures every flight leg, hotel stay, insurance policy, local transport arrangement, and CBP Form 4457 guidance. Auto-assignment of imports by date range. Itinerary print and CSV export.

6

Personal Analytics & Engagement

Dashboard, 12 milestone badges, 52-week activity heatmap, dive streaks, Buddy Tracker, Species Life List, Dive Site Notebook, five chart types across eleven metrics, and an inline preview strip with 16 pinnable section tiles. A compelling reason to engage with your log beyond recording numbers.

7

Direct Device Sync Without Middleware

Bluetooth direct sync with Shearwater and OSTC using native browser Web Bluetooth — no app, no file export. USB sync for 8 brands. Chunked UDDF import bypasses proxy upload limits. DL7/ZXU reaches DiverLog+ and Aqualung hardware. Dive enrichment and deleted-dive restore on re-import.

8

Multi-Algorithm Dive Planner

Five decompression algorithms computed simultaneously as a visual comparison. Gradient Factor controls. SAC rate auto-filled from personal log history. Save as Draft pre-fills the dive form. Scuba Calculator opens pre-filled from the planner. A single unified planning workflow.

9

Cave & Cavern Documentation

Eight-tab panel covering team, navigation, gas, markers, stages, deco, and a dead-reckoning canvas map. Compass direction and bearing per segment. PNG cave map export. Jump documentation, marker inventory, stage bottles, turn pressure, deco obligations. Saved routes with versioning and reuse. No competitor addresses this at any level.

10

Platform Reliability & Administration

SQL hardening for MySQL strict-mode servers. CDN resilience with user-facing error messages and auto-retry. Admin storage quota per user. Admin maintenance announcement banner. Admin live-refresh nudge without page reload. Custom SMTP or wp_mail() with any SMTP plugin. A log that fails silently is not a reliable log.

Honest accounting

What competitors do well

Where other platforms offer something DTDL does not — as of July 2026. We list these because accurate comparison is more useful than selective omission.

Shearwater Cloud
Multi-dive graph overlay and drag-range segment analysis · Firmware update from within the app · Swift GPS records dive entry and exit coordinates automatically · Real-time hardware integration unique to Shearwater computers
Garmin Dive
Real-time diver monitoring via Descent S1 buoy · N₂ load and oxygen toxicity data per dive · Surface GPS recorded by hardware on every dive · Community dive site database · Achievement badges tied to hardware milestones
Suunto App
Wellbeing feeling monitor at end of each dive · Integration with Suunto fitness ecosystem · Social share card — photo overlaid with dive stats in one tap
DiverLog+
Pre-dive remote computer configuration via Bluetooth · Airtime Remaining updated at every depth point · Dual decompression algorithm selection per dive · WatchOS companion app
Subsurface
Widest dive computer hardware support — 100+ models via libdivecomputer · Tissue saturation recalculation for historical dives · Multi-computer dive merging · Completely free and open-source on all platforms · VPM-B algorithm (DTDL offers Bühlmann variants only)
MacDive
GPS track recording throughout the dive day (above water) · Photo tagged to a specific point on the dive profile timeline · Dive buddy digital signature capture · Deep Apple ecosystem integration — Shortcuts, Finder tags
Diving Log 6.0
Template dive function · OneDrive and cloud sync built-in · Windows-native desktop application · UDDF 3.2.2 full-schema export
DiveLog+ (iOS)
Clean minimalist iOS-native interface · WatchOS companion app · Offline maps without network connection
DTDL Dive Log v5.7.2  ·  divetalking.com  ·  Competitive analysis current as of July 2026.
Competitor data researched directly from each platform’s live product and documentation.
DTDL does not list roadmap items — all capabilities described are live in production.

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