Comparison

Wildfire Info vs Firespot

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Wildfire Info

Stay informed about global wildfire and prescribed burn activity. Access real-time data from various sources including satellite imagery, official incident reports, and news feeds. Includes hyper-local weather forecasts for the USA, Canada, and Australia.

Highlights
  • Global wildfire and prescribed burn maps
  • MODIS/VIIRS thermal hotspot data
  • Inciweb & CAL FIRE incident links
  • Hyper-local weather forecasts (USA, Canada, Australia)
  • Wildfire news aggregation
  • Satellite smoke plume animations
  • Map measurement tool
Features
Read full description

Disclaimer: This unofficial app does not represent any government agency and is not affiliated with any government agency. The sources of the data are the publicly accessible sources listed below. Browse current wildfire and prescribed burn activity throughout all of the world. Active Wildfire Perimeter data from NIFC WFIGS. Tagged by state, search by name, and filter by acres burned. WFIGS stands for the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Group. NIFC stands for the National Interagency Fire Center. NIFC WFIGS Source URLs: https://www.nifc.gov/ with data hosted at https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/nifc::wfigs-current-interagency-fire-perimeters/about NASA MODIS and VIIRS satellite instruments data: Thermal hotspot maps by region show wildfire activity in the past 48 hours. See hotspot info including fire radiance power, brightness temperature, and confidence. NASA MODIS/VIIRS Source URL: https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/active_fire/ . MODIS stands for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. VIIRS stands for Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. InciWeb & CAL FIRE active fire maps: hot-link to the corresponding official incident webpage. Inciweb Source URL: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/ , CAL FIRE Source URL: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents CHP (California Highway Patrol): Incidents in the past 3 hours related to fires are filtered out separately, all traffic incidents are included viewable by last 1 or 3 hours.CHP Source URL: https://cad.chp.ca.gov/Traffic.aspx Lookup current hyper-local weather conditions, including temperature, wind and gust conditions, and local forecasts anywhere in the USA, Canada, or Australia using map quick lookup or, for USA, search: Detailed NWS Forecast, Hourly Forecast, Grid Data Forecast, and Summary Forecast. Data is from the NWS, NOAA, Government of Canada, and Government of Australia. NWS/NOAA Source URL: https://forecast.weather.gov/, Government of Canada Weather Source URL: https://weather.gc.ca/, Government of Australia Weather Source URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/ Wildfire Situation Reports section with mirrored PDFs from NIFC. NIFC Source URL: https://www.nifc.gov NESDIS GOES 16/17 Satellite Animations show wildfire smoke plumes, drought conditions, etc. from the satellite's perspective. NESDIS GOES Source URL: https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov. NESDIS stands for National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service. GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite. A Recent Wildfire News section: find news from 1,700+ cited sources quickly on a map or in a table view tagged by state alphabetically. Set up your own custom state feed with the state toggles. Quickly lookup news source homepages near specific fires. Map Measurement Tool added to the Map Tools Side Menu. Measure distance and area. Premium users: View 250m resolution true color images from NASA GIBS (Global Imagery Browse Service). Images are available back to Jan. 1 2007. Worldwide coverage. Premium Users: Lookup a driving route to any fire or hotspot with Google or Apple Maps directions Universal Links. Save your preferred Directions Provider in the App Settings. There is a section for wildfire-related US government Twitter accounts viewable by map by approximate location or sorted into national and state sources in a table view. Twitter Source URLs: https://twitter.com User-Submitted Fire Map feature: map-based wildfire-related chatter. Photos are allowed. Posts and replies are anonymous; no account needed. Information is posted as soon as it becomes available from WFIGS, NIFC, NASA, InciWeb, CAL FIRE, CHP, NESDIS, NOAA, NWS, Government of Canada, and Government of Australia. This app is not affiliated with any government agency. Terms of Use: https://davidgrossapps.com/terms/tos-wildfire-info.html Privacy Policy: https://davidgrossapps.com/privacy-policy.html

About

Firespot

Access real-time wildfire information worldwide with satellite data and detailed agency reports for the US and Canada. Monitor fire perimeters, aircraft, wind, air quality, and warnings. Subscribers receive custom alerts for significant fire events.

Highlights
  • Real-time wildfire maps
  • Satellite data and imagery
  • Aircraft tracking
  • Wind and air quality data
  • Red flag warnings
  • Customizable event alerts
Features
Read full description

Firespot is the most comprehensive source of real-time wildfire data. Satellites provide worldwide coverage. US and Canadian government sources provide hyper-detailed North American coverage. - Perimeters and fire status - Satellite true color imagery for active and historical fires - Satellite infrared imagery to see fire through smoke and clouds - Aircraft tracking - Wind - Air quality - Red flag warnings - Satellite-detected fire hotspots from multiple Earth-observing satellites - Satellite-derived climatological data: vegetation, moisture, etc. Firespot subscribers can activate Alerts to receive notifications on important fire-related events. Set one or multiple areas to monitor, and Firespot will pop an alert on your phone when an important change happens. FREE TIER: Use the map, view all fires and red flag warnings. PAID TIER: Set custom alerts, get notifications on your device, access all satellite images, see real-time firefighting aircraft tracking. Firespot is not meant as a replacement for local evacuation alerts and information. Privacy Policy: https://www.firespotapp.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.firespotapp.com/terms

Screenshots

Wildfire Info4 screens
Firespot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Firespot at 4.7 against Wildfire Info's 3.4. Firespot also leads on ratings volume (6K vs 31). Wildfire Info's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.6). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Wildfire Info sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per year and Firespot sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $29.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Firespot holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Firespot has 6K ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Wildfire Info's written reviews are positive against 42% of Firespot's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wildfire Info ships an update fortnightly, Firespot every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Wildfire Info versus Firespot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWildfire InfoFirespot
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (31 ratings)4.7 (6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews38.9% of reviews41.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings316K — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB21 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperDavid GrossRayner Software LLC

Customer experience

Wildfire Info

All ratings31 ratings
Positive54.8%
Neutral6.5%
Negative38.7%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive38.9%
Neutral8.3%
Negative52.8%

Firespot

All ratings5,972 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral4.5%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive41.9%
Neutral4.8%
Negative53.2%

Bugs and requests

Wildfire Info

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Firespot

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Fires not showing up on the map
  • Subscription issues (unable to cancel, charges not stopping)
  • Accessibility problems (not working with VoiceOver)

Requested features

3 requests
  • More detailed fire information (size, direction, rate of spread)
  • Improved map and visualization features
  • Faster data updates

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Wildfire Info

Subscriptions1
  • Wildfire Info Premium$0.991 Year
1 purchases

Firespot

Subscriptions1
  • Firespot Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Wildfire Info free?
Wildfire Info is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Firespot free?
Firespot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Wildfire Info or Firespot?
Firespot is rated higher. Wildfire Info averages 3.4 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Firespot averages 4.7 from 6K ratings.
Do Wildfire Info or Firespot have ads?
Neither Wildfire Info nor Firespot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wildfire Info or Firespot?
Wildfire Info ships an update fortnightly, and Firespot every 3 weeks. Most recently, Wildfire Info was updated on October 29, 2026 and Firespot on October 29, 2026.

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