Comparison

Swift Tides vs Tides Explorer

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

Head to head
About

Swift Tides

Get accurate tide predictions for surfing, fishing, or boating. Access NOAA data for your favorite coastal locations.

Highlights
  • Tide prediction data
  • NOAA data source
  • Supports surfing
  • Supports fishing
  • Supports sailing
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Swift Tides3 screens
Tides Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Swift Tides versus Tides Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSwift TidesTides Explorer
PriceFree — better$5.00
Rating4.6 (17 ratings)5.0 (25 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1725 — better
Update frequency—Every 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS11.3 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTodd WilliamsLonnie Millett

Customer experience

Swift Tides

All ratings17 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

Tides Explorer

All ratings25 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Swift Tides

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Tides Explorer

One-time1
  • Lifetime purchase$3.00

Questions

Is Swift Tides free?
Swift Tides is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tides Explorer free?
Tides Explorer costs $5.00, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Swift Tides or Tides Explorer?
Tides Explorer is rated higher. Swift Tides averages 4.6 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Tides Explorer averages 5.0 from 25 ratings.
Do Swift Tides or Tides Explorer have ads?
Neither Swift Tides nor Tides Explorer shows ads.

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