Comparison

Global Surface Winds vs Mistral Weather

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

Head to head
About

Global Surface Winds

Visualize global wind patterns with this interactive mapping application. It transforms data from the USDOC into an easy-to-use mobile tool for understanding wind conditions worldwide.

Highlights
  • Interactive wind mapping
  • Global wind data visualization
  • USDOC data integration
  • Mobile application interface
  • Ease of use
Features
Read full description

The Global Surface Winds App takes data from the USDOC and turns it into an interactive mobile mapping application for ease of use.

About

Mistral Weather

Get detailed current weather, hour-by-hour, and 7-day forecasts with animated radar maps. Explore historical weather data for any date and save multiple locations. An optional AI feature provides natural language summaries of the forecast.

Highlights
  • Current conditions and 7-day forecast
  • Animated precipitation radar map
  • Sun and moon times
  • Historical weather data ('On This Day')
  • Save multiple locations
  • Home Screen widgets
  • AI-powered forecast summaries
Features
Read full description

Mistral Weather is a modern weather app for iPhone and iPad. Open it and see current conditions, hour-by-hour and 7-day forecast, sun and moon times, humidity, UV, wind, and pressure at a glance. A layered weather map shows animated precipitation radar, temperature, and wind. "On This Day" surfaces historical weather for today's date from the last 40+ years — a fun way to see how today stacks up. All forecast data comes from Open-Meteo, and no account or sign-in is required. Launch the app and grant location access to get a localized forecast, or skip it and use the search to add any place on Earth. Save multiple locations and switch between them with a tap. Pick your favorite layer on the map — temperature, radar, or wind — and watch weather systems move in real time. Home Screen widgets show the current forecast in small, medium, and large sizes, plus an "On This Day" widget in small and medium. Background refresh keeps widget data current without draining battery. Customize units (°F / °C, mph / km/h), adjust map defaults, and manage Remove Ads and Mistral Weather AI from Settings. Upgrade to Mistral Weather AI for a natural-language summary of today's forecast on the main Weather tab. One quick read covers what's happening right now, what's coming in the next few hours, and what to wear or plan for — refreshed each hour, powered by OpenAI behind our server. Subscribers also have banner ads removed automatically. The subscription is $6.99/month or $59.99/year, which renews until canceled in Settings. All forecasts, locations, and preferences are stored on your device. Coordinates are sent to Open-Meteo only when fetching weather; nothing else is transmitted. The app is free with a single banner ad at the bottom of the main surfaces — purchase Remove Ads for a one-time fee to remove it permanently, or let a Mistral Weather AI subscription remove ads automatically while it's active. Mistral Weather uses Google AdMob and asks for App Tracking Transparency so ads can be personalized; declining is fully supported. Mistral Weather is an independent project and is not affiliated with Open-Meteo, Apple, or Google. Privacy Policy: https://mistralweather.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Global Surface Winds3 screens
Mistral Weather4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mistral Weather at 100% against Global Surface Winds's 0%. Mistral Weather also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 20 months). Global Surface Winds's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, ads 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. Mistral Weather sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Global Surface Winds asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mistral Weather holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Global Surface Winds has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Global Surface Winds's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mistral Weather's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Global Surface Winds ships an update every 20 months, Mistral Weather fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Global Surface Winds versus Mistral Weather: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGlobal Surface WindsMistral Weather
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developercorey hoggardClarved Inc.

Customer experience

Global Surface Winds

All ratings6 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Mistral Weather

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Global Surface Winds

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Mistral Weather

Subscriptions2
  • Mistral Weather AI (Monthly)$6.991 Month
  • Mistral Weather AI (Yearly)$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99

Questions

Is Global Surface Winds free?
Global Surface Winds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mistral Weather free?
Mistral Weather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Global Surface Winds or Mistral Weather?
Mistral Weather is rated higher. Global Surface Winds averages 1.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Mistral Weather averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Global Surface Winds or Mistral Weather have ads?
Both Global Surface Winds and Mistral Weather show ads.
Which is updated more often, Global Surface Winds or Mistral Weather?
Global Surface Winds ships an update every 20 months, and Mistral Weather fortnightly. Most recently, Global Surface Winds was updated on October 29, 2026 and Mistral Weather on October 24, 2026.

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