Comparison

wXL23 vs StormBase

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

Head to head
About

wXL23

An advanced, open-source weather application focused on US weather data, optimized for storm chasers and meteorologists. It provides detailed NWS data, including radar, model outputs, and specialized products, with a focus on information depth over flashy graphics.

Highlights
  • NWS data for US locations
  • Level 3 Nexrad radar viewer
  • Optimized text product viewer
  • Mosaic viewer with animations
  • SPC, WPC, NHC product access
  • Weather models
  • Customizable home screen
Features
Read full description

For USA Weather only: wXL23 is a free, no-ads, and open-source ( GNU GPLv3 / APL2.0 ) advanced weather application that is geared towards storm chasers, meteorologists, and weather enthusiasts. NWS ( National Weather Service ) data is optimized for mobile format and provided for divisions not normally covered together in the mobile space: SPC, WPC, NHC, OPC, etc. Level 3 Nexrad radar (single, dual, quad pane). This weather app is not affiliated with NOAA or the National Weather Service. If you *only* need current conditions and your local 7 day forecast then this app is probably more then you need although it will easily provide those 2 things as well. If you are looking for wasted screen real estate or fancy graphics this app is not for you. Given the depth of information covered there is a steep learning curve if you seek to use the program in it's entirety, help information is available and touched on below. Common weather acronyms are used throughout so you should be familiar with those as well. Currently United States locations are supported. - Current forecast, 7 day conditions, sounding data for an unlimited number of locations from NWS. - Customizable home screen - Metal based Nexrad radar interface with numerous options. 2 pane and 4 pane version also available in MISC tab. - Optimized text product viewer for easy access to AFD, HWO and others from any NWS WFO. - Vis/IR/WV/Radar mosaic viewer ( with animations ). - SPC products (such as Watches/MCDs/Convective Outlooks/Mesoanalysis) - WPC products - Weather models - NHC products NOTE: iPhone 5s or newer required for Nexrad radar viewer.

About

StormBase

This app consolidates high-impact weather and space weather information from official NOAA and NWS sources. It provides forecast outlooks, alert maps, status feeds, and technical tools in a single, organized interface for quick access to critical U.S. weather intelligence.

Highlights
  • SPC convective and fire weather outlooks
  • WPC Excessive Rainfall Outlooks
  • SWPC space weather alerts and forecasts
  • GOES satellite imagery with animation
  • U.S. Alerts dashboard with search/filter
  • Radar network status monitoring
  • NWS local forecast tools and text products
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

StormBase is a one-time $0.99 purchase, with no nonsense subscriptions or recurring fees. It helps you track high-impact weather and space weather in one clean, fast app. Built around official NOAA and NWS products*, StormBase brings forecast outlooks, live alert maps, status feeds, and technical tools into a single workflow so you can check what matters quickly and with context. Whether you are a weather enthusiast, spotter, pilot, forecaster, or emergency-focused user, StormBase is designed to reduce tab-hopping and keep core U.S. weather intelligence organized, current, mobile friendly, and easy to interact with. Features: - SPC coverage in one place: Day 1-8 convective outlooks, fire weather outlooks, watches, mesoscale discussions, local storm reports, partner regional graphics, and experimental guidance. - WPC products: PMD discussions, Excessive Rainfall Outlooks (Day 1-5), QPF Day 1-7 and multi-day totals, plus an interactive surface analysis viewer. - CPC outlook suite: 6-10 and 8-14 outlooks, monthly/seasonal outlooks, drought outlooks, and Hazards products including Day 3-7 composite Hazards - SWPC space weather view: SWPC alert messages and forecast scales, X-ray trends, solar probabilities, sunspot/solar region data, and numerous solar imagery loops. - Satellite imagery: GOES East/West, Himawari, and EUMETSAT selection, multiple sectors including mesoscale, multiple bands, and animated loop playback with latest-frame start options. - Fully interactive earthquake viewer map. - U.S. Alerts dashboard: National alerts map plus grouped active warnings, watches, and advisories with search, filters, and sort options. - Radar network status: Monitor radar site health, see outage/status messaging, and search/filter stations quickly. - Soundings archive browser: View observed radiosonde products by station, date, and cycle and sounding climatology. - Historical Events browser: NOAA SWDI historical weather events with year/month/day drill-down, event type filtering, impact sorting, metadata, and narrative views. - NWS local forecast tools: saved U.S. locations with point forecasts, hourly graphs, active alerts, local storm reports, AFD summaries, office graphics, and recent observation history. - NWS WFO Text Products: Browse WFO AFD/CLI/CLM/CLA bulletins by office, quick-jump search to specific WHO and product, plus ADM/ADA administrative messages. - SPC Mesoanalysis viewer: layered SPC mesoanalysis products in a dedicated in-app browser. - SPC Archive tools: browse archived convective outlooks, archived MCDs, archived watches, archived mesoanalysis, and archived preliminary storm reports, including historical images and report tables. - Observations + models: MAG observations, sector/product/cycle loops, SKEWT, and MAG model guidance with run comparisons. - Aviation Weather Center Products: METAR/TAF search plus a native AWC graphics viewer for aviation weather products. - Moon phases page for saved or current location. - iCloud sync across devices for favorite app pages. - Favorites and quick access: Pin frequently used products and jump back fast. - Customizable layout: Configure menu destinations and viewing preferences for your workflow. - Time and refresh controls: Current UTC time, Local/UTC display options and foreground refresh behavior. - Built-in glossary and references - Native app language support in Japanese, Korean, French, English GB, and English AU. - Privacy-minded design: No ad SDKs, no profiling analytics, and locally stored preferences/caches. Widget Suite: Favorites widget, SPC Outlook widget, Radar Status widget, WFO Bulletin widget, METAR Widgets, Situational Summary widgets (Home Screen + Lock Screen) Data and attribution:
 StormBase uses official public weather sources including NOAA/NWS/NCEP centers. *StormBase is not affiliated with or endorsed by NOAA/NWS.

Screenshots

wXL233 screens
StormBase4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: wXL23 at Free against StormBase's $0.99. wXL23 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (214 vs 4). StormBase's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and chart position (#192 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ads and device support 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

wXL23 is free to download; StormBase costs $0.99 up front. StormBase sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. wXL23 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for wXL23 against 5.0 for StormBase. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: wXL23 has 214 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of wXL23's written reviews are positive against 100% of StormBase's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

wXL23 ships an update every 2 months, StormBase every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
wXL23 versus StormBase: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterwXL23StormBase
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.9 (214 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings214 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#192 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJosh GreenAbdullah Sheikh

Customer experience

wXL23

All ratings214 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive96.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative0.0%

StormBase

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

wXL23

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • App crashes on iOS 26 and iOS 18.1.1 after updates
  • Radar animations crash app when playing frames
  • Play button malfunction on radar displays
  • App crashes on open after certain updates
  • Radar product glitching on iOS 14 and iPhone 12 Pro Max
Show 3 more
  • Current conditions loading issue at single stations
  • Radar display crashes when added to home screen
  • Models slow to load or fail to load data

Requested features

11 requests
  • Dark mode icon support for iOS
  • Bottom navigation bar with category icons
  • Widget support for home screen
  • Push notifications for SPC outlooks and mesoscale discussions
  • Personal Weather Station (PWS) integration
Show 6 more
  • Map scrolling improvements
  • Annotation feature for radar
  • Custom color code input for radar color tables
  • Additional mesoanalysis subregions (sectors 21 and 22)
  • Enhanced hourly forecast display with more data points
  • Windows 11 application version

StormBase

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

wXL23

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

StormBase

One-time3
  • Shower Tip$1.99
  • Downburst Tip$4.99
  • Microburst Tip$9.99

Questions

Is wXL23 free?
wXL23 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StormBase free?
StormBase costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, wXL23 or StormBase?
StormBase is rated higher. wXL23 averages 4.9 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while StormBase averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do wXL23 or StormBase have ads?
Neither wXL23 nor StormBase shows ads.
Which is updated more often, wXL23 or StormBase?
wXL23 ships an update every 2 months, and StormBase every 5 days. Most recently, wXL23 was updated on October 13, 2026 and StormBase on October 12, 2026.

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