OBX Hurricane Tracker vs VortexWeather
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
VortexWeather
Access detailed weather data including hurricanes, radar, satellite, and forecast models. Offers free basic features and paid subscriptions for advanced capabilities like 3D viewers and extended forecast data.
- Live storm tracks and forecast cones
- NEXRAD radar and satellite imagery
- Forecast radar and satellite animation
- Numerical forecast models (GFS, ECMWF)
- Real-time lightning detection
- 3D hurricane and radar viewers (Pro)
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VortexWeather turns raw NOAA data into fast, interactive weather maps — hurricanes, radar, satellite, lightning, and full numerical models, all in one app. Free to download and use. Features marked (Basic) or (Pro) require a paid auto-renewable subscription — see Subscriptions below. Available in English, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) and Thai. TROPICAL & HURRICANES • Live storm tracks and forecast cones from the National Hurricane Center • Wind radii and tropical watches/warnings • Spaghetti plots from 35+ forecast models (Basic) • Historical storm tracks (Basic) • Storm wind and precipitation animation with max wind swath and rain totals (Pro) • GPU-accelerated 3D hurricane viewer with wind particle animations and isosurfaces (Pro) RADAR & SATELLITE • National and single-site NEXRAD radar (reflectivity & velocity) • Forecast radar: loops continue into the HRRR model's forecast (Basic) • 3D NEXRAD volume scan viewer with cross sections, cell isolation, and tornado rotation tools (Pro) • GOES and Himawari satellite imagery • Satellite animation (Basic) • Real-time lightning FORECAST MODELS • GFS and ECMWF surface temperature, dewpoint, pressure, humidity, and wind — free with a VortexWeather account • Animated surface wind particle flow — free with a VortexWeather account • Upper-air heights and winds, CAPE, precipitation, cloud cover, and more (Basic) • High-resolution HRRR model and animated wind barbs (Basic) SEVERE, AVIATION & MORE • SPC outlooks, WPC forecasts, and live NWS alerts (Basic) • Aviation hazards: SIGMET/AIRMET/PIREP and METARs (Basic) • USGS earthquakes SUBSCRIPTIONS VortexWeather is free to download, with ads. A paid subscription removes ads and unlocks the features marked above: • VortexWeather Basic — $4.99 per month or $50.90 per year • VortexWeather Pro — $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year; includes everything in Basic plus the features marked (Pro) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://vortexweather.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://vortexweather.com/privacy VortexWeather is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Always rely on official sources such as the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center for life-safety decisions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: VortexWeather at 5.0 against OBX Hurricane Tracker's 2.9. VortexWeather also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 9 months). OBX Hurricane Tracker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (14 vs 2). 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
Both are free to download. VortexWeather sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. OBX Hurricane Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
VortexWeather 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.
OBX Hurricane Tracker ships an update every 9 months, VortexWeather fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OBX Hurricane Tracker | VortexWeather |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (14 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 12.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | corey hoggard | VORTEXWEATHER LLC |
Customer experience
OBX Hurricane Tracker
VortexWeather
In-app purchases
OBX Hurricane Tracker
No in-app purchases
VortexWeather
- Basic Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- Basic Annual$50.901 Year
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- Pro Annual$99.991 Year
Questions
Is OBX Hurricane Tracker free?
Is VortexWeather free?
Which has better reviews, OBX Hurricane Tracker or VortexWeather?
Do OBX Hurricane Tracker or VortexWeather have ads?
Which is updated more often, OBX Hurricane Tracker or VortexWeather?
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