# SOS Explorer vs Tornado Radar

The clearest difference is rating: Tornado Radar at 5.0 against SOS Explorer's 4.7. Tornado Radar also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 86%) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 11 months). SOS Explorer's advantage is ratings volume (20 vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Tornado Radar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SOS Explorer has 20 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of SOS Explorer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Tornado Radar's.

SOS Explorer ships an update every 11 months, Tornado Radar every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SOS Explorer | Tornado Radar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sos-explorer/id1358724422/reviews) | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tornado-radar/id1528215835/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **20** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | **Every 5 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 249 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [University of Colorado Boulder](https://appshunter.io/developer/972210292) | [Check I'm Here, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/575538390) |

## What reviewers say

### SOS Explorer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sos-explorer/id1358724422)

Explore interactive animated datasets of Earth and space phenomena, from planetary rings to climate change models. This app brings complex environmental processes to life in an intuitive and captivating way, making learning accessible anywhere.

**Highlights:** Streaming high-resolution datasets, Educational videos, User-guided tours, Analysis tools, 100+ datasets, Global and flat map views

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Tornado Radar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tornado-radar/id1528215835)

Discover campus events and ways to get involved. Filter by organization or activity, and add events to your personal calendar to ensure you don't miss out on university happenings.

**Highlights:** Discover campus events, Filter by organization, Filter by activity, Add events to calendar, Increase student engagement

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SOS Explorer free?

SOS Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Tornado Radar free?

Tornado Radar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SOS Explorer or Tornado Radar?

Tornado Radar is rated higher. SOS Explorer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Tornado Radar averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do SOS Explorer or Tornado Radar have ads?

Neither SOS Explorer nor Tornado Radar shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SOS Explorer or Tornado Radar?

SOS Explorer ships an update every 11 months, and Tornado Radar every 5 months. Most recently, SOS Explorer was updated on October 9, 2026 and Tornado Radar on October 12, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*