Comparison

Marine Barometer vs BayCurrents

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

Head to head
About

Marine Barometer

This app provides accurate atmospheric pressure readings for mariners, allowing them to manually save readings with location and time data. It explains sea level pressure calculation and offers calibration checks with adjustable sensor offsets.

Highlights
  • Accurate atmospheric pressure readings
  • Manual saving of pressure, location, and time
  • Sensor offset adjustment
  • Sea level pressure explanation
  • Calibration check instructions
  • Multiple pressure unit options
Features
Read full description

Marine Barometer is a barometer sensor interface that is uniquely designed to meet the needs of mariners who rely on accurate atmospheric pressure for weather routing and the evaluation of weather maps. Pressure readings can be manually saved permanently along with the latitude, longitude, and time of the reading. If a sensor offset has been applied, that value is also stored with each recorded pressure. These recorded pressures can then at the navigator's convenience be transferred to the vessel's printed logbook. The GPS sensor is accessed for latitude and longitude only. The elevation of the sensor (your iOS device that includes a barometer) above sea level must be entered manually. Elevation values from the GPS are not accurate enough for the intended application. The concept of sea level pressure is explained along with how it is determined from the sensor reading. Instructions are provided on how to check the calibration of the sensor, and a sensor offset can be applied as needed. Links to sources of accurate sea level pressure are included. Sources of accurate elevation are included for use on land. The standard units for marine applications are millibars (mb) or hectoPascals (hPa). The main pressure display can also be set to inches of mercury, millimeters of mercury, or kiloPascals. However, because the primary reference pressures that would be used to check the sensor calibration are in mb, the sensor calibration must be set using millibar units. Reference links are provided for learning more about the tactical use of pressure for weather forecasting and weather map evaluation. Discounts are offered for barometer related reference books.

About

BayCurrents

Visualize high-resolution surface currents in the San Francisco Bay. This app supports various maritime activities with data up to 48 hours in the future. It operates autonomously offline, using NOAA model data enhanced by radar and tidal observations.

Highlights
  • High-resolution surface current maps
  • 48-hour future forecasting
  • Offline autonomous operation
  • NOAA numerical model data
  • Supports recreational and professional maritime activities
Read full description

BayCurrents is a mobile app for displaying maps of high resolution surface currents within the San Francisco Bay. The app is intended to support a wide range of maritime activities, from recreational fishing and sailing to the operation of professional transport vessels. The source for the surface current data is a numerical model operated by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The model benefits from oceanographic high-frequency radar (HFR) measurements from the Central & Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) HFR Network, along with other observations such as tides and wind. The resulting dataset contains current vector fields for hourly timestamps ranging from the recent past, to the present and up to 48 hours into the future. The complete vector dataset is downloaded by the app to allow autonomous offline operation. This app contains experimental data and is NOT for navigational purposes.

Screenshots

Marine Barometer4 screens
BayCurrents4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BayCurrents at 5.0 against Marine Barometer's 4.5. BayCurrents also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 15 months). Marine Barometer's advantage is ratings volume (33 vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BayCurrents holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Marine Barometer has 33 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marine Barometer ships an update every 15 months, BayCurrents every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Marine Barometer versus BayCurrents: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarine BarometerBayCurrents
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (33 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings33 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 15 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarpath CorpMonterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Customer experience

Marine Barometer

All ratings33 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral6.1%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%

BayCurrents

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Marine Barometer

No in-app purchases

None

BayCurrents

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Marine Barometer free?
Marine Barometer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BayCurrents free?
BayCurrents is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Marine Barometer or BayCurrents?
BayCurrents is rated higher. Marine Barometer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while BayCurrents averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Marine Barometer or BayCurrents have ads?
Neither Marine Barometer nor BayCurrents shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marine Barometer or BayCurrents?
Marine Barometer ships an update every 15 months, and BayCurrents every 2 months. Most recently, Marine Barometer was updated on October 3, 2026 and BayCurrents on October 4, 2026.

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