Swift Tides vs Tides Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Swift Tides
Get accurate tide predictions for surfing, fishing, or boating. Access NOAA data for your favorite coastal locations.
- Tide prediction data
- NOAA data source
- Supports surfing
- Supports fishing
- Supports sailing
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Whether you like surfing, fishing, or sailing around on your boat, this app displays tide prediction data from NOAA for all of your favorite locations.
Tides Explorer
This app provides accurate tide, current, and weather predictions using official NOAA data for thousands of stations. Plan your water activities with clear charts, sun/moon information, and customizable widgets.
- Accurate tide and current predictions
- Fast station search
- Favorites for quick access
- Interactive charts
- Weather data at stations
- Sun, moon, and twilight info
- Home and Lock Screen widgets
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Tides Explorer — Accurate Tides, Currents, and Marine Weather Tides Explorer is a precision tide and current app for sailors, boaters, paddlers, and swimmers, built on official NOAA data covering over 6,000 stations across the United States and international waters. It helps you understand not just what the water will do, but when and why, using clear charts and reliable predictions you can plan around. Core Features Get accurate tide and current predictions straight from NOAA, with fast search by name or location and interactive charts for exploring and comparing stations. At supported stations, see real observed water levels laid over the prediction (Pro) — so you know what the water's actually doing, not just what it's supposed to do. Save your favorite spots for quick access (Pro), track real-time weather at supported stations — wind, air and water temperature, and barometric pressure (Pro) — and check sun, moon, and twilight times to help plan your time on the water. Plan Around What Matters to You Drag a custom reference line onto any favorite station's chart — on a current station, mark a safe velocity to catch slack water before transiting a pass — and see exactly when you're above or below it. Set alerts for high and low tides, current extremes, your reference line, or slack water itself (Pro), plus new Moon Over Water alerts for when moonrise or moonset lines up with the water near sunset or sunrise. Designed for Apple Platforms Tides Explorer includes Home and Lock Screen widgets and a full Apple Watch app with multiple complications, all optimized for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Built for the Water Ideal for sailing, boating, kayaking, swimming, fishing, and coastal exploration, Tides Explorer delivers dependable marine data without clutter, so you can plan confidently and focus on the water.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Swift Tides at Free against Tides Explorer's $5.00. Swift Tides also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.3 vs 17.6). Tides Explorer's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). On ratings volume, 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
Swift Tides is free to download; Tides Explorer costs $5.00 up front. Tides Explorer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Swift Tides asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tides Explorer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 25 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Swift Tides's written reviews are positive against 100% of Tides Explorer's.
| Parameter | Swift Tides | Tides Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $5.00 |
| Rating | 4.6 (17 ratings) | 5.0 (25 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 25 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.3 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Todd Williams | Lonnie Millett |
Customer experience
Swift Tides
Tides Explorer
In-app purchases
Swift Tides
No in-app purchases
Tides Explorer
- Lifetime purchase$3.00
Questions
Is Swift Tides free?
Is Tides Explorer free?
Which has better reviews, Swift Tides or Tides Explorer?
Do Swift Tides or Tides Explorer have ads?
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