Comparison

Windy.com vs Safeswim

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

Safeswim

Get real-time swimming risk assessments for various locations. Make informed decisions about where and when to swim safely based on current conditions.

Highlights
  • Real-time risk assessment
  • Location-specific advice
  • Informed swimming decisions
  • Beach safety information
Features
Read full description

Safeswim – Know before you go Everything you need for planning your day at the beach. Safeswim helps you make informed decisions about when and where to swim by providing real-time information on water quality, safety conditions, and hazards at beaches and freshwater sites across New Zealand. Developed by Auckland Council in collaboration with Watercare, Surf Life Saving New Zealand, Northland Regional Council, Te Whatu Ora and Drowning Prevention Auckland. Real-time water quality forecasts Understand the health risk of swimming at your chosen location, with up-to-date guidance based on environmental monitoring, water quality modelling, weather data and forecasts, and real-time alerting of wastewater overflows. Live safety status and alerts Stay informed about current hazards including strong currents, large waves, marine life, and other risks identified by lifeguards and local authorities. Lifeguard patrol information See when and where Surf Life Saving patrols are active so you can choose safer places and times to swim. Location-based search and map Explore swimming spots near you or across the country using an interactive map and detailed beach pages. Favourites Save your preferred beaches and swimming locations for quick access to conditions that matter most to you. Why use Safeswim? Water quality and conditions at beaches, lakes and rivers can change quickly and are not always visible from the shore. Safeswim provides up-to-date information for your local beach, refreshing every 15 minutes, and also shows water quality forecasts up to three days in advance to help you plan ahead. Think of it like checking the weather — but for swimming! Everything you need to know before you go. You can also check the latest tide times, weather forecasts, water temperature and beach facility information for your favourite beach. Important Information Safeswim provides guidance based on the best available data, but conditions can change rapidly. Always use your judgement, follow local signage, and listen to lifeguards. Download Safeswim and check conditions before you swim.

Screenshots

Windy.com4 screens
Safeswim4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Windy.com at 89% against Safeswim's 17%. Windy.com also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (80K vs 1). Safeswim's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Windy.com sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Safeswim asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Windy.com holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Windy.com has 80K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Windy.com's written reviews are positive against 17% of Safeswim's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Windy.com versus Safeswim: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWindy.comSafeswim
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (80K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews89.0% of reviews — better16.7% of reviews
Number of ratings80K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB70 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperWindyty, SEDaylight Group

Customer experience

Windy.com

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

Safeswim

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative83.3%

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

Safeswim

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

Safeswim

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Windy.com free?
Windy.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Safeswim free?
Safeswim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Windy.com or Safeswim?
Windy.com is rated higher. Windy.com averages 4.8 out of 5 from 80K ratings, while Safeswim averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Windy.com or Safeswim have ads?
Neither Windy.com nor Safeswim shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Windy.com or Safeswim?
Windy.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and Safeswim every 3 weeks. Most recently, Windy.com was updated on October 27, 2026 and Safeswim on October 24, 2026.

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