Comparison

Surf Buddy Wave Height vs Surf Captain

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

Head to head
About

Surf Buddy Wave Height

Access global wave height and direction data on an interactive map. This tool helps surfers track swells and find optimal surf spots worldwide.

Highlights
  • Global wave height data
  • Wave direction tracking
  • Interactive map interface
  • Swell tracking for surfers
  • Find best surf spots
Features
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The Surf Buddy Wave Height app provides global wave height and direction data in the form of an interactive map, which is a great tool for surfers for tracking swells and hitting the best surf spots.

About

Surf Captain

Get detailed 16-day surf forecasts with swell, wind, and tide information. Plan your surf sessions with custom alerts and access hundreds of locations. Integrates with AI assistants for easy condition checks.

Highlights
  • 16-day surf forecast
  • Swell, wind, and tide timeline
  • Swell breakdown
  • Favorite surf spots
  • Custom surf alerts
  • Hundreds of locations
Features
Currently charting
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Surf Forecasts Made Awesome! Surf Captain gives you 16-day surf forecasts in an app that's fast and simple to read. WHAT YOU GET • 16-day surf forecast, so you can plan your surf week • Surf height, swell, wind and tide together in one timeline • Swell breakdown showing the individual swells behind the surf, with height, period and direction • Favorites for the spots you check every day • Surf alerts that notify you when a spot is forecast to hit the conditions you set • Hundreds of locations across the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean, with more regions on the way FORECASTS BUILT FOR THE BREAK Surf Captain doesn't just show open-ocean numbers. Our own wave model is tuned for each location, so the surf forecast reflects what reaches the beach: swell direction, wind, tide and nearby buoy data. FREE AND PRO The free app gives you the 5 day forecast for any spot. Surf Captain Pro unlocks the full 16 days, surf alerts and more for only $1.67 per month. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and you can manage them in your account settings. Also works with your AI assistant: connect Surf Captain to Claude to ask about surf conditions in plain language. Questions or feedback? Use Contact inside the app. We read everything. Terms: https://surfcaptain.com/terms Privacy: https://surfcaptain.com/privacy Terms Of Use: https://surfcaptain.com/terms Privacy policy: https://surfcaptain.com/privacy

Screenshots

Surf Buddy Wave Height3 screens
Surf Captain4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Surf Captain at 80% against Surf Buddy Wave Height's 0%. Surf Captain also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and update cadence (weekly vs every 20 months). Surf Buddy Wave Height's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Surf Captain sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Surf Buddy Wave Height asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Surf Captain holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surf Captain has 1.3K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Surf Buddy Wave Height's written reviews are positive against 80% of Surf Captain's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surf Buddy Wave Height ships an update every 20 months, Surf Captain weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Surf Buddy Wave Height versus Surf Captain: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurf Buddy Wave HeightSurf Captain
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.8 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews80.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#136 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developercorey hoggardWeather Captain

Customer experience

Surf Buddy Wave Height

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Surf Captain

All ratings1,285 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive80.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative19.5%

In-app purchases

None

Surf Buddy Wave Height

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Surf Captain

Subscriptions3
  • Surf Captain Pro14 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • Surf Captain Pro Annual14 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Surf Captain Pro Plus Annual14 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Surf Buddy Wave Height free?
Surf Buddy Wave Height is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Surf Captain free?
Surf Captain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Surf Buddy Wave Height or Surf Captain?
Surf Captain is rated higher. Surf Buddy Wave Height averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Surf Captain averages 4.8 from 1.3K ratings.
Do Surf Buddy Wave Height or Surf Captain have ads?
Both Surf Buddy Wave Height and Surf Captain show ads.
Which is updated more often, Surf Buddy Wave Height or Surf Captain?
Surf Buddy Wave Height ships an update every 20 months, and Surf Captain weekly. Most recently, Surf Buddy Wave Height was updated on November 5, 2026 and Surf Captain on November 11, 2026.

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