Comparison

Windy.com vs Zoom Earth

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

Head to head
About

Windy.com

This app offers advanced weather forecasting with over 50 detailed maps and 15 weather models, including live radar, satellite imagery, and hurricane tracking. It provides customizable alerts for storms, wind, and snow, making it ideal for outdoor activities and aviation.

Highlights
  • Live weather radar & satellite
  • Over 50 weather maps
  • 15+ weather models
  • Hurricane tracker
  • Customizable weather alerts
  • Aviation-specific forecasts
  • Air quality index
Features
Read full description

A UNIQUE WEATHER FORECAST VISUALISATION While most weather forecasting apps rely solely on free global models, Windy has gone a step further by investing heavily in the most accurate weather models available, always at the highest possible resolution, to deliver you the most accurate forecasts in the world. LIVE WEATHER APP - WEATHER RADAR & SATELLITE (Now with Precipitation Type & Lightning tracker) Radar is a highly valued tool for weather forecasting. To provide you with the most accurate radar imagery, we constantly expand our resources so that rain, snow, and storms don't catch you by surprise. Trusted radar sources include NOAA, Met Office, Météo France, DWD, JMA, IMD, BoM & more. The global satellite composite is created from NOAA, EUMETSAT & Himawari data. MORE THAN 50 WEATHER MAPS - Rain radar, Satellite and a unique combined layer of Radar & Satellite images (blue, infrared, visible) - Hurricane tracker, Weather warnings & Extreme forecast - Wind forecast: Wind speed, Wind gusts & Accumulation, models comparison, data from live Weather stations - Temperature: Humidity, Pressure, Dew point, live data from Weather stations - Rain: Thunder & storms, Rain accumulation, Thunderstorms, Precipitation type, CAPE-index - Aviation: Clouds, Cloud tops, Cloud base, Visibility (LIFR, IFR, MVFR, VFR), Fog, Icing, Clear air turbulence, Thermals, Freezing altitude - Marine Forecast: Waves, Swell, Wave power, Tide forecast, Currents, Sea temperature - Solar activity: Solar power, UV index, Wet-bulb temperature - Snow: Snow depth, New snow, Snow density - Air Quality: Air Quality Index (AQI) with Pollen (CAMS), NO2, PM 2.5, Aerosol, SO2, Ozone layer, Surface ozone, CO concentration, Dust mass - Soil moisture, Moisture anomaly, Drought intensity, Fire Danger, Fuel moisture MORE THAN 15 WEATHER MODELS Global weather models: - meteoblue - AI forecast - ECMWF - GFS by NOAA - ICON by DWD Local weather models: - HRRR by NOAA - NAM by NOAA - HRDPS by MSC - ICON-EU by DWD - ICON-D2 by DWD - UKV by Met Office - AROME-HD by Météo France - ALADIN by CHMI - NEMS by meteoblue - MSM by JMA - ACCESS-C by BoM LIVE RAIN, STORM ALERTS & CUSTOM WEATHER ALERTS Want to know before the storm hits near you while you hike, bike or spend time outdoors? You can now access live weather alerts or set up your custom weather alert for wind, sunshine, or new snow. HURRICANE TRACKER FOR STORM TRACKING With Windy's hurricane tracker, you can track the past and projected path of a hurricane or a storm. Windy doesn't rely on just one hurricane model, but will give you all the forecasts available for a storm or hurricane. WINDY MADE FOR PILOTS - 16 altitude levels from the surface to 13.5km/FL450 - 50k+ Airports searchable by ICAO and IATA, including runway info, decoded & raw METAR, TAF & NOTAMs - Detailed Airgram and Meteogram: temperature and dew point, wind speed and wind gusts, pressure, precipitation, altitude cloud cover, freezing altitude - Thermals forecast - Route planner WINDY MADE FOR OUTDOOR SPORTS, SURF & BOATING - 67K+ global webcams - Summer & winter outdoor topographic maps by Mapy.com - 4.5K+ Surfing spots - 12.1K+ Paragliding spots - 4.3K+ Kiting spots - Boating tide forecast - Sun & Moon tracker - Plugins with buoy data WINDY AS A WEATHER WIDGET ON YOUR DEVICE Get the weather now on your iPhone, MacOS, iPad, CarPlay & Apple Watch, from forecast, Radar, METAR, Weather stations & Wind, ready for your travels and outdoor sports. WINDY PREMIUM — FORECAST LIKE A PRO - 1-hour & 15-day outlook with 4–6× daily updates - Radar/Satellite 24h loops & 1-year archives - More maps (Tide Forecast) - Model comparison to find the best model Terms of Use: https://account.windy.com/agreements/windy-terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://account.windy.com/agreements/windy-privacy-policy GET IN TOUCH Join us on social media or at community.windy.com to discuss weather-related topics, report bugs, or suggest a new feature. Contact us directly at info@windy.com.

About

Zoom Earth

Access an interactive global weather map with real-time satellite imagery and detailed forecasts for rain, wind, and temperature. Track hurricanes, storms, and wildfires with advanced visualization tools. Stay informed with near real-time updates.

Highlights
  • Interactive global weather map
  • Near real-time satellite imagery
  • Hurricane and storm tracking
  • Wildfire and smoke monitoring
  • Rain and snow radar
  • Detailed weather forecast maps
  • Customizable units and settings
Features
Read full description

INTERACTIVE WEATHER MAP Zoom Earth is an interactive weather map of the world and a real-time hurricane tracker. Explore the current weather and see forecasts for your location through interactive weather maps of rain, wind, temperature, pressure, and more. With Zoom Earth, you can track the development of hurricanes, storms, and severe weather, monitor wildfires and smoke, and stay aware of the latest conditions by viewing satellite imagery updated in near real‑time. SATELLITE IMAGERY Zoom Earth shows weather maps with near real-time satellite imagery. Live satellite images from NOAA GOES, JMA Himawari, and EUMETSAT Meteosat geostationary satellites are updated every 10 minutes. HD satellite images are updated twice a day from NASA polar-orbiting satellites Aqua and Terra. RAIN RADAR & NOWCAST Stay ahead of the storm with our weather radar map, which shows rain and snow detected by ground-based Doppler radar in real-time, and provides an instant short-term weather forecast with radar nowcasting. WEATHER FORECAST MAPS Explore beautiful, interactive visualizations of the weather with our stunning global forecast maps. Our maps are continually updated with the latest weather forecast model data from DWD ICON and NOAA/NCEP/NWS GFS. Weather forecast maps include: Precipitation Forecast - Rain, snow, and cloud cover, all in one map. Wind Speed Forecast - Average speed and direction of surface winds. Wind Gusts Forecast - Maximum speed of sudden bursts of wind. Temperature Forecast - Air temperatures at 2 meters (6 feet) above the ground. “Feels Like” Temperature Forecast - Perceived temperatures, also known as apparent temperature or heat index. Relative Humidity Forecast - How air moisture compares to temperature. Dew Point Temperature Forecast - How dry or humid the air feels, and the point at which condensation occurs. Wet-Bulb Temperature Forecast - Heat stress levels. Atmospheric Pressure Forecast - The average atmospheric pressure at sea level. Low-pressure areas often bring cloudy and windy weather. High-pressure areas are associated with clear skies and lighter winds. HURRICANE TRACKING Follow hurricanes from development to category 5 in real-time with our best-in-class tropical tracking system. Information is clear and easy to understand. Our hurricane tracking weather maps are updated using the very latest data from NHC, JTWC, NRL, and IBTrACS. WILDFIRE TRACKING Monitor wildfires with our active fires and heat spots overlay, which shows points of very high temperature detected by satellite. Detections are updated daily with data from NASA FIRMS. Use in conjunction with our GeoColor satellite imagery to see the movement of wildfire smoke and monitor fire weather in near real-time. CUSTOMIZATION Adjust temperature units, wind units, time zone, animation styles, and many more features with our comprehensive settings. ZOOM EARTH PRO More features are available through auto-renewable subscriptions. Payment will be charged to your App Store account at the confirmation of purchase. The subscription will automatically renew at the end of each billing period and be charged within 24 hours, unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. For further information, please read our Terms of Service. LEGAL Terms of Service: https://zoom.earth/legal/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://zoom.earth/legal/privacy/

Screenshots

Windy.com4 screens
Zoom Earth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Windy.com at none against Zoom Earth's shown. Windy.com also leads on chart position (#9 vs #30). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Windy.com sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Zoom Earth sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Windy.com against 4.8 for Zoom Earth. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 80K and 40K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Windy.com's written reviews are positive against 87% of Zoom Earth's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Windy.com ships an update every 3 weeks, Zoom Earth every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Windy.com versus Zoom Earth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWindy.comZoom Earth
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (80K ratings)4.8 (40K ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.0% of reviews — better87.2% of reviews
Number of ratings80K — better40K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#9 — better#30
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWindyty, SENeave Interactive

Customer experience

Windy.com

All ratings80,295 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews3,906 reviews
Positive89.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.0%

Zoom Earth

All ratings39,647 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews915 reviews
Positive87.2%
Neutral3.9%
Negative8.9%

User reviews

Windy.com

From 80K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌊 Accurate weather forecasts
  • 🌍 Comprehensive global coverage
  • 🔍 Detailed weather data and models
  • 🛥️ Useful for marine/sailing activities
  • 🛫 Valuable for aviation planning

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Overwhelming number of features and options
  • 🔍 Small text and cluttered interface on mobile
  • 🤖 Occasional app crashes or stability issues
  • 💰 Paywall for some advanced features
  • 🌐 Lack of offline functionality

Zoom Earth

From 40K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Detailed weather information
  • 🚀 Accurate real-time data
  • 🌎 Comprehensive global coverage
  • 💡 Useful features like future forecasts and storm tracking
  • 🔍 Excellent visualization and mapping tools

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional inaccuracies in weather predictions
  • 🔍 Limited forecast horizon
  • 💰 Desire for ad-free or paid version to remove ads

Bugs and requests

Windy.com

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Map dragging issues on newer iPhone models
  • Inconsistent temperature display units
  • Premium features not always working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add weather front data on isobar charts
  • Improve font size and layout for better readability
  • Provide option to hide webcams or certain layers
  • Implement weather warning notifications
  • Add support for Apple Watch and other wearables

Zoom Earth

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Radar and precipitation data not always matching reality
  • Occasional app crashes or freezes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add weather alerts and warnings
  • Extend forecast period beyond a few days
  • Introduce widgets for quick access
  • Improve radar and precipitation data accuracy

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Windy.com

Subscriptions4
  • Donate 3 EUR/USD a month$2.991 Month
  • Windy Premium$2.991 Month
  • Donate 6 EUR/USD a month$5.491 Month
Show 1 more
  • Windy Premium2 variants$24.991 Year
One-time6
  • Donate approx 5 EUR/USD$4.99
  • Donate approx 10 EUR/USD$9.99
  • Donate approx 20 EUR/USD$19.99
Show 3 more
  • Windy Premium$29.99
  • Donate approx 50 EUR/USD$49.99
  • Donate Windy 100 EUR/USD$89.99
2 purchases

Zoom Earth

Subscriptions2
  • Zoom Earth Pro$1.991 Month
  • Zoom Earth Pro$11.991 Year

Questions

Is Windy.com free?
Windy.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Zoom Earth free?
Zoom Earth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Windy.com or Zoom Earth?
Zoom Earth is rated higher. Windy.com averages 4.8 out of 5 from 80K ratings, while Zoom Earth averages 4.8 from 40K ratings.
Do Windy.com or Zoom Earth have ads?
Zoom Earth shows ads; Windy.com does not.
Which is updated more often, Windy.com or Zoom Earth?
Windy.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and Zoom Earth every 4 weeks. Most recently, Windy.com was updated on November 3, 2026 and Zoom Earth on November 3, 2026.
Which is more popular, Windy.com or Zoom Earth?
Windy.com currently peaks at #9 in the App Store charts, and Zoom Earth at #30. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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