NAUI vs. PADI Certification: What's the Difference?
Christie Davis Aug 24, 2026
If you’ve looked into getting scuba certified, you’ve probably run into two names more than any other: PADI and NAUI. PADI is the one most people have heard of. NAUI, which is what we teach here at Astoria Scuba, is less of a household name, and we get asked about the difference a lot.
Here’s the honest answer: both get you certified to dive anywhere in the world. The differences are mostly about the organizations behind the card, not what you’ll actually experience in the water.
The organizations themselves
NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) was founded in 1960 and is a nonprofit, recognized as a tax-exempt educational organization by the IRS since 1971, according to Wikipedia. It’s run through a board of directors elected by its own instructor members, and its original mission, dating back to its first instructor course in 1960, was to standardize diver training and reduce diving accidents.
PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) was founded in 1966 and operates as a for-profit company. It’s the largest diver training organization in the world, reporting over 128,000 professional members and 6,600 dive centers as of 2021, per Wikipedia. That scale is exactly why it’s the name most divers recognize.
Does the difference matter to you as a diver?
Not really, once you’re certified. Both agencies are internationally recognized, and dive shops, boats, and instructors around the world accept certification cards from either one. A NAUI Open Water card gets you on a dive boat in Bonaire or the Philippines exactly the same way a PADI card does.
Where you might notice a difference is in how the course itself is structured and paced. PADI’s training is built around a standardized, step-by-step curriculum used the same way at every PADI shop worldwide. NAUI gives individual instructors more latitude in how they teach to the same safety standards, which is part of why NAUI instructors often have a reputation for a more hands-on, personalized teaching style.
Why we teach NAUI
Astoria Scuba is a NAUI Pro-Platinum Instructor Training Facility, which means our instructors are trained to NAUI’s highest standard, not just to teach recreational divers but to train other instructors. We chose NAUI because it fits how we like to teach: real attention to individual students, not a one-size-fits-all script, and instructors who are genuinely invested in you being a competent, confident diver in Pacific Northwest conditions, not just someone who passed a class.
If you’re diving somewhere warm and easy on vacation once a year, the agency behind your card truly won’t matter. If you’re planning to dive Oregon’s cold, low-visibility water regularly, what matters more is finding instructors who know these conditions and will actually prepare you for them. That’s what we focus on regardless of which patch is on the card.
Ready to get certified?
Whether you’re brand new to diving or coming from a PADI background and want to add specialties through NAUI, we’ll walk you through what course makes sense. Check out our Open Water and specialty courses or give us a call at (503) 741-3070.
