CloudSpotter vs Orcinus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CloudSpotter
Explore the sky and identify 58 cloud formations and optical effects with expert insights and user-submitted photos. Build your personal cloud collection and get community feedback on your spottings.
- Identify 58 cloud formations and optical effects
- Expert text from the Cloud Appreciation Society
- Build a personal collection of spottings
- Community verification of spottings
- View new spottings from users worldwide
- Access 'Cloud-a-Days' with curated content
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Discover the amazing world of clouds with your pocket guide to the wonders of the sky and have your spottings verified as you build your own collection of clouds. Learn how to spot 58 different cloud formations and optical effects, from the common ones like Cumulus clouds and rainbows to rare ones like the fleeting fluctus cloud or the hard to spot circumzenithal arc. Learn what makes each formation special with expert text from the Cloud Appreciation Society and stunning reference photographs by our app users around the world. Build up your Collection of spottings and gain CloudSpotter Stars as you do so. Our innovative tools will help you decide what type of clouds or optical effects you’ve spotted. You will hear back from the rest of the community whether they think you got your spotting right. You can see New Spottings by other users around the world and say (with our help) if you think they got theirs right. Becoming an expert cloudspotter has never been easier – or more fun! And if you join the Cloud Appreciation Society through CloudSpotter or you’re already a subscribing member, you’ll be able to access your Cloud-a-Days each morning. These feature amazing sky photographs by our members, explanations of the clouds featured, inspiring sky quotations, and even examples of great clouds in art. With CloudSpotter, looking up will never be the same again! Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Orcinus
This app allows users to report and track Orca whale sightings globally. It facilitates data collection and sharing related to these marine mammals, developed in cooperation with research institutions.
- Report Orca whale sightings
- Track Orca whale encounters
- View global sighting data
- Cooperation with research institutes
- Marine mammal reporting
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Orcinus is a reporting and tracking app which allows users to view and make reports relating to Orca whale sightings and encounters across the world. This application has been created thanks to the cooperation between the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (www.thebdri.com) and the Nautilus Project. This app has been funded by Portos de Galicia (Xunta de Galicia).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orcinus at none against CloudSpotter's 2. Orcinus also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.1). CloudSpotter's advantage is review sentiment (47% vs 20%) and rating (3.8 vs 3.5). On price, ads, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. CloudSpotter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Orcinus asks for nothing beyond the download.
CloudSpotter holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CloudSpotter has 35 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of CloudSpotter's written reviews are positive against 20% of Orcinus's.
CloudSpotter ships an update every 3 weeks, Orcinus every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CloudSpotter | Orcinus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (35 ratings) — better | 3.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.4% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 35 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cloud Appreciation Ltd | Lewis Stagnetto |
Customer experience
CloudSpotter
Orcinus
In-app purchases
CloudSpotter
- CAS Membership (Monthly)$3.991 Month
- CAS Membership (Annual)7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Orcinus
No in-app purchases




