Comparison

Thunderly vs Lightning Tracker‎

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

Head to head
About

Thunderly

Visualize real-time lightning strikes globally on an interactive map. Explore weather data like clouds and precipitation, and measure distances to storms. You can even simulate lightning flashes with your camera.

Highlights
  • Real-time global lightning map
  • Accurate day/night cycle
  • Real-time clouds and precipitation layers
  • Lightning history layer (last hour)
  • Zoomable map detail
  • Storm distance measurement
  • Simulated lightning flashes
Features
Read full description

Do you love storms as we do? Then you’ll love our app. At photorealistic globe you can see real time lightning all around the world. Besides accurate day and night cycle, globe contains real time clouds, precipitation and lightning history layer for last hour. For better resolution you can zoom into map detail. If you zoom really closely to your location, you can use start-stop feature to measure your distance from nearby storm. When no storm is close enough, feel free to “stream” lightnings via your camera flash from opposite side of the world to your living room. ...and one more thing: If you try hard enough we are pretty sure that you’ll find switch for real time aurora. Not as cool as lightning, but also kind of amazing!

About

Lightning Tracker‎

Monitor real-time lightning strikes on a map with detailed information like time and distance. Receive background notifications for nearby activity and customize your detection radius. View current weather conditions alongside lightning alerts.

Highlights
  • Real-time lightning strike map
  • Strike details (time, distance)
  • Background monitoring and notifications
  • Customizable detection radius (1-50 miles)
  • Current weather conditions view
  • Lightning strike expiration (15 minutes)
Features
Read full description

Track and monitor lightning strikes in realtime nearby to your location, with Lightning Tracker Live. Lightning strikes are presented on a map view, where you can tap on each marked lightning strike for more details, including: • Time of strike • Distance from your current location Lightning strikes will appear on the map view in realtime & will expire after 15 minutes, keeping you up to date with only the latest lightning activity all the time. The app will also work when in the background, periodically checking for any lightning strikes & notifying you if any do occur. As a default setting, the app will check/monitor at a radius of 25 miles within your location for lightning activity. This can be customized in the app settings from anywhere between 1 & 50 miles. Your chosen radius value will be saved for future use. Other features include an option to view your current weather conditions. We hope that you find this app useful. Please reach out to us via email support if you have any feedback or questions. Subscription: Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. If your subscription is subject to any promotional discount, the discount will expire upon the end of the current period and you'll be charged the standard rate upon renewal. Go to your iTunes Account under subscriptions to manage your membership and to turn auto-renew off. Your iTunes Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Privacy Policy: https://goingmerry.xyz/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://goingmerry.xyz/terms-conditions/

Screenshots

Thunderly4 screens
Lightning Tracker‎4 screens

Verdict

The call

Thunderly and Lightning Tracker‎ both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 58% of Thunderly's written reviews are positive against 8% of Lightning Tracker‎'s. Thunderly also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating 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

Both are free to download. Lightning Tracker‎ sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Thunderly asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Thunderly against 4.4 for Lightning Tracker‎. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thunderly has 2.6K ratings behind it against 156, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of Thunderly's written reviews are positive against 8% of Lightning Tracker‎'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thunderly ships an update every 3 weeks, Lightning Tracker‎ every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Thunderly versus Lightning Tracker‎: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThunderlyLightning Tracker‎
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (2.6K ratings)4.4 (156 ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.7% of reviews — better8.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2.6K — better156
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size113 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJan PlesekGoing Merry LLC

Customer experience

Thunderly

All ratings2,596 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative12.6%
Written reviews137 reviews
Positive57.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative35.0%

Lightning Tracker‎

All ratings156 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral3.2%
Negative12.2%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive8.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative91.7%

Bugs and requests

Thunderly

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Globe not rendering properly
  • Lightning data not updating in real-time
  • Incorrect lightning strike detection

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to track past lightning strikes
  • Implement distance/location-based alerts
  • Include weather data and radar
  • Add support for landscape mode and iPad
  • Provide more customization options

Lightning Tracker‎

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Thunderly

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Lightning Tracker‎

Subscriptions6
  • Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Premium Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Premium Weekly$2.997 Days
Show 3 more
  • Premium Yearly$6.991 Year
  • Premium Yearly$9.991 Year
  • Premium Yearly$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Thunderly free?
Thunderly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lightning Tracker‎ free?
Lightning Tracker‎ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thunderly or Lightning Tracker‎?
Lightning Tracker‎ is rated higher. Thunderly averages 4.3 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Lightning Tracker‎ averages 4.4 from 156 ratings.
Do Thunderly or Lightning Tracker‎ have ads?
Lightning Tracker‎ shows ads; Thunderly does not.
Which is updated more often, Thunderly or Lightning Tracker‎?
Thunderly ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lightning Tracker‎ every 5 months. Most recently, Thunderly was updated on September 26, 2026 and Lightning Tracker‎ on September 28, 2026.

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