Comparison

Dorsal Shark Reports vs Flowstate

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

Head to head
About

Dorsal Shark Reports

This app provides real-time shark sighting and attack alerts to beachgoers and authorities. It aggregates reports from official channels, the public, aerial surveillance, and media outlets, offering a community-based safety solution for coastal areas.

Highlights
  • Real-time shark alerts
  • Community-based reporting
  • Official and public reports
  • Aerial surveillance data
  • Submit own sightings
  • Location-based notifications
Read full description

Dorsal is the worlds most advanced shark reporting and alerts solution. It is a free community based shark alert solution that allows beachgoers and authorities to immediately alert others to shark sightings or attacks in their area. Currently used by over 250,000 people, the Dorsal solution features reports from official channels, the public, Dorsal aerial surveillance partners and over 100 media outlets. Dorsal is now available in Australia, the USA and Hawaii. Key features: Choose from Australia, USA, Hawaii, Réunion Search your local area to see if there have been any shark sightings in the last 12 hours Search Around You, via Map or List view Submit your own sightings to warn others, including video and image uploading In addition to the free service, there is also a subscription service for $9.99/year that removes the in app ads and allows you to receive automatic push notifications of sightings within your GPS location or favourite locations. The amount will be charged to your iTunes account and may vary by country and you will see the total price before completing payment. To avoid renewal, you must turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before your subscription ends which you can do by turning off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings. Note: Dorsal app can track your location while in the background, so you can continue to use your iPhone for other tasks (Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life). For more information, please do not hesitate to get in contact via info@dorsalwatch.com Terms of Service: https://www.dorsalwatch.com/termcondition Privacy Policy: https://www.dorsalwatch.com/privacy

About

Flowstate

Transform your iPhone into an action sports camera to capture and analyze your performance. Automatically detect key moments in surfing, snowboarding, and skiing, then track your progress with AI-powered insights. Share highlights and connect with a global community of athletes.

Highlights
  • Action sports camera functionality
  • AI-powered move detection
  • Session performance analysis
  • Progress tracking dashboard
  • Competition management
  • Clip sharing
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone into a surf camera. Capture your sessions, analyse your performance with AI, and keep every wave in one place — at the surf park or in the ocean. Flowstate helps surfers capture every wave, review their sessions, and improve faster. Film Yourself Surf, While You Surf: Set up your phone and let Flowstate do the work. Turn your iPhone into a powerful surf camera Capture your entire session from the beach. Automatically detect and clip your waves and moves — snap, barrel, and more Never miss your best wave again Fast-Track Your Progression: See what's working and where to improve. AI-powered move detection Verified stats — turns, snaps, combos and more Compare sessions side-by-side Progress faster with real data from every session Keep Every Wave In One Place: Your personal surf library. Review every session inside your Zone Build a library of your best clips and photos Track goals and improvements over time Share highlights with friends and coaches Connect With A Coach: Elite feedback, after every session. Move-by-move coaching notes Personalised feedback on your technique Know exactly what to work on next Built For Surfing: Flowstate works wherever you surf. Surf parks & wave pools Ocean sessions Your Surf Zone: Capture your session Track your progression Download Flowstate to get in the Zone. Terms of Use: This app uses Apple's standard End User License Agreement (EULA): This can be found at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Dorsal Shark Reports4 screens
Flowstate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dorsal Shark Reports at 4.4 against Flowstate's 2.7. Dorsal Shark Reports also leads on ratings volume (104 vs 3). Flowstate's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Dorsal Shark Reports sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year and Flowstate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dorsal Shark Reports holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dorsal Shark Reports has 104 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Dorsal Shark Reports's written reviews are positive against 83% of Flowstate's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dorsal Shark Reports ships an update every 2 months, Flowstate fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Dorsal Shark Reports versus Flowstate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDorsal Shark ReportsFlowstate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (104 ratings) — better2.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews73.0% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings104 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB171 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBluebottle Digital Pty. Ltd.Flowstate Zone

Customer experience

Dorsal Shark Reports

All ratings104 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral2.9%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive73.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative23.6%

Flowstate

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

Dorsal Shark Reports

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Cannot see pictures/videos without subscription
  • Facebook login returns server error
  • New user registration doesn't send email codes
  • Unable to reset password
Show 10 more
  • App opens then flashes back to sign-in page
  • Unable to log in
  • Reset password doesn't work
  • Set up new account says account exists
  • Crashed after first update
  • Super buggy after most recent update
  • App crashes after update
  • Scrolls back to top of list after viewing sighting
  • Can't log back in after update
  • No option to reset password

Requested features

10 requests
  • More people to post sightings
  • More reports from QLD
  • Allow users to sponsor/name sharks
  • Show size of sharks detected
  • Immediate update from aerial surveillance
Show 5 more
  • Update for iPhoneX
  • Extreme alarm feature
  • World-wide coverage
  • Better Florida access
  • Dark mode option

Flowstate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Dorsal Shark Reports

Subscriptions1
  • Dorsal Pro (Yearly)$9.991 Year
2 purchases

Flowstate

Subscriptions2
  • Flowstate Pro monthly subscription$14.991 Month
  • Flowstate Pro Annual Subscription$109.001 Year

Questions

Is Dorsal Shark Reports free?
Dorsal Shark Reports is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flowstate free?
Flowstate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dorsal Shark Reports or Flowstate?
Dorsal Shark Reports is rated higher. Dorsal Shark Reports averages 4.4 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while Flowstate averages 2.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Dorsal Shark Reports or Flowstate have ads?
Dorsal Shark Reports shows ads; Flowstate does not.
Which is updated more often, Dorsal Shark Reports or Flowstate?
Dorsal Shark Reports ships an update every 2 months, and Flowstate fortnightly. Most recently, Dorsal Shark Reports was updated on October 26, 2026 and Flowstate on October 27, 2026.

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