Comparison

OBX Hurricane Tracker vs Swellwire

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

Head to head
About

OBX Hurricane Tracker

Track hurricanes, tropical storms, and depressions in the Atlantic with detailed mapping layers. Access real-time data on cloud cover, wave height, precipitation, and wind from official sources.

Highlights
  • Hurricane, tropical storm, and depression tracking
  • Atlantic Ocean focus with Outer Banks detail
  • Global cloud cover layer
  • Wave height and precipitation data
  • NOAA buoy and ship observations
  • GPS location integration
  • Global surface wind data
Features
Read full description

OBX Hurricane Tracker is an interactive mapping application for tracking hurricanes, tropical storms and tropical depressions in the Atlantic ocean with a focus on the outer banks of North Carolina. All data comes from the NHC, NOAA and NWS. Listed below are the featured layers of this application. -Global Cloud Cover -Hurricane Tracks -NHC Chance of Development -Tropical Storm Tracks -Tropical Depression Tracks -Wave Height Data -3 Hour Precipitation Data -NOAA Buoy and Ship Observation Data -GPS Location -Wave Direction -Global Surface Winds

About

Swellwire

Visualize global ocean conditions with a 3D globe. Get detailed forecasts for swell, wind, and weather at any coastline, from immediate conditions to two weeks ahead. Plan your next surf session or marine activity with comprehensive data.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D globe with weather overlays
  • Live wave height and energy data
  • Detailed surf spot forecasts
  • Buoy data integration
  • Searchable surf spots and buoys
  • Favorite spots sync across devices
  • 16-day forecast extension (Premium)
Features
Read full description

Swellwire turns the world ocean into a planner. Spin the globe, drop into any coast, and read the swell, wind, and weather in seconds—right now, tomorrow, or two weeks out. WHAT YOU GET • Interactive 3D globe with live wave-height, wave-energy, wind, and temperature overlays. Pan, pinch, and tap to explore any shoreline on the planet. • Surf spot forecasts: wave height, period, direction, wind, and a clean at-a-glance read before you commit to the drive. • Buoy data from major coastal networks, surfaced inline on the same map you're already using. • Search any surf spot or NOAA buoy by name and jump straight to its forecast. • Favorite spots sync across devices, so your home break, your travel list, and your weekend backup are all one tap away. • Wave-energy color legend lets you compare a heavy four-foot day against a soft five-foot day at a glance. FREE OR PREMIUM Free includes the full globe, every overlay, and a 7-day forecast for every spot. Premium extends every forecast to a full 16 days — long enough to see swell windows before they're obvious to everyone else. WHO IT'S FOR Surfers planning the next session, the next trip, or the next swell. Sailors, kiters, foilers, divers, and anyone whose day depends on what the ocean is actually doing. WHY A GLOBE INSTEAD OF A FLAT MAP Swell doesn't care about map projections. A storm in the South Indian Ocean lights up reefs in California a week later — on a globe you can see why. Watch a long-period swell wrap around continents in the wave-energy view and a forecast starts to read like a story. ACCOUNT AND PRIVACY Sign in with Google to sync favorites and unlock the 16-day upgrade. Swellwire never posts on your behalf, never sells your data, and never emails you unless you ask. QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK Email support@swellwire.com — we read every message. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

OBX Hurricane Tracker4 screens
Swellwire4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Swellwire at 5.0 against OBX Hurricane Tracker's 2.9. Swellwire also leads on ads (none vs shown). OBX Hurricane Tracker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (14 vs 2). On price, 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. Swellwire sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. OBX Hurricane Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Swellwire holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OBX Hurricane Tracker has 14 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
OBX Hurricane Tracker versus Swellwire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOBX Hurricane TrackerSwellwire
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (14 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews12.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings14 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 9 months—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developercorey hoggardNevada Scientific Inc.

Customer experience

OBX Hurricane Tracker

All ratings14 ratings
Positive35.7%
Neutral28.6%
Negative35.7%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive12.5%
Neutral50.0%
Negative37.5%

Swellwire

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

OBX Hurricane Tracker

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Swellwire

Subscriptions2
  • Swellwire Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Swellwire Yearly$39.991 Year

Questions

Is OBX Hurricane Tracker free?
OBX Hurricane Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Swellwire free?
Swellwire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OBX Hurricane Tracker or Swellwire?
Swellwire is rated higher. OBX Hurricane Tracker averages 2.9 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Swellwire averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do OBX Hurricane Tracker or Swellwire have ads?
OBX Hurricane Tracker shows ads; Swellwire does not.

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