Comparison

Lazy Surfer vs SurfVista

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

Head to head
About

Lazy Surfer

Get personalized surf forecasts and alerts for your favorite conditions. Log your sessions to receive notifications when ideal waves, wind, and tide align. Plan your surfs with a 16-day forecast and discover less crowded spots.

Highlights
  • Personalized surf condition alerts
  • 16-day forecast
  • Session logging
  • Customized spot predictions
  • Share session information
  • Buoy data integration
Features
Read full description

Did a swell come through where the waves, wind and tide lined up just right? Want to get a personalized report and forecast with alerts for those conditions? Make sure you remember those conditions by logging a session in Lazy Surfer. Once you do, Lazy Surfer will alert you the next time those same conditions occur. It'll also allow you to see a 16-day personalized report and forecast so that you can plan ahead. Features include - Alerts for your favorite conditions - Personalized predictions for how good the surf is going to be at all your favorite spots - Ability to share session information with all your friends. Lazy Surfer doesn't try to forecast nearshore conditions - if you've ever used the popular nearshore forecasting websites like Surfline and Magicseaweed you know that they are often very far off from the true conditions. Instead, Lazy Surfer uses real data from buoys to pinpoint the exact conditions that result in good waves at your favorite surf spots. Surfline or MagicSeaweed also don't take your personal taste in waves into account - they give a one-size-fits-all rating to waves. But you might like bigger, pitchier waves whereas your friends might like mid-sized roll-ier waves. Lazy Surfer can give each of you a personalized report so that you can tell when and where it's best for you to paddle out. Like anything worthwhile, Lazy Surfer requires some effort on your part before it pays off. The more sessions you add the better information Lazy Surfer will give you. Try adding at least 5 sessions in different conditions at a single spot. We guarantee that you'll find Lazy Surfer to be an invaluable addition to your surf forecasting arsenal. Lazy Surfer began as a tool to help its creator, Nick Peterson, learn the intricacies of his local San Diego surf breaks. Not content with fighting the crowd at the same old beach break for every swell, he built Lazy Surfer so that he could tease out good sets of conditions at the more fickle, less popular spots along the coast. With alerts, forecasts and machine-learning powered predictions Lazy Surfer is the tool surfers need in order to score on the days when everyone else thinks it’s flat. Privacy Policy - https://lazysurfer.app/privacy_policy.html Terms of Use - https://lazysurfer.app/terms_and_conditions.html

About

SurfVista

Get real-time surf conditions and HD drone footage to optimize your beach trips. Access comprehensive weather, tide, and surf data from official sources, all in one convenient app.

Highlights
  • HD drone video surf reports
  • Real-time weather data
  • Tide and surf data from NOAA
  • Sunrise swell footage
  • Daily surf reports
Features
Read full description

SurfVista is a premium surf report service providing HD drone video accompanied reports to put you right in the lineup. SurfVista also provides realtime access to weather, tide & surf data from NOAA and the National Weather Service all in one place.  SurfVista combines modern high efficiency data aggregation with the latest professional filmmaking drone technologies to bring the next generation of surf reporting to surfers looking to make their trips to the beach more worthwhile.  The only thing worse than missing a swell is strapping the board to the car & making the trip to find the waves just aren't as good as they looked on the pier cam. SurfVista makes this a problem of the past. With us, it's like you're right in the lineup without getting out of bed. Our app gives you have access to HD drone footage of the sunrise swell and a thoughtful report available to you every morning, not to mention live access to realtime surf data that updates all day every day. Privacy https://doc-hosting.flycricket.io/surfvista-privacy-policy/11a49462-11bd-4fea-86f5-5d274b5b2ed8/privacy Terms & Conditions https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Lazy Surfer4 screens
SurfVista4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SurfVista at none against Lazy Surfer's shown. SurfVista also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Lazy Surfer's advantage is ratings volume (513 vs 6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Lazy Surfer sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and SurfVista sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SurfVista holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lazy Surfer has 513 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Lazy Surfer's written reviews are positive against 100% of SurfVista's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lazy Surfer ships an update every 11 days, SurfVista every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Lazy Surfer versus SurfVista: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLazy SurferSurfVista
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (513 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings513 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNJP Consulting LLCLYDON TAYLOR MANNING

Customer experience

Lazy Surfer

All ratings513 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive87.7%
Neutral0.9%
Negative11.3%

SurfVista

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Lazy Surfer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App freezing when saving new sessions
  • Inconsistent wave height reporting

Requested features

4 requests
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Ability to add friends and share sessions
  • More detailed wave height/period forecasts
  • Offline mode for session logging

SurfVista

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Lazy Surfer

Subscriptions10
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Monthly)14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Monthly)14 Days trial$7.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Monthly)$7.991 Month
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Monthyl)7 Days trial$11.951 Month
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Semi-Yearly)7 Days trial$29.996 Months
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Yearly)$39.991 Year
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Yearly)14 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Yearly)14 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Lazy Surfer Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$79.991 Year
2 purchases

SurfVista

Subscriptions2
  • SurfVista Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Lazy Surfer free?
Lazy Surfer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SurfVista free?
SurfVista is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lazy Surfer or SurfVista?
SurfVista is rated higher. Lazy Surfer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 513 ratings, while SurfVista averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Lazy Surfer or SurfVista have ads?
Lazy Surfer shows ads; SurfVista does not.
Which is updated more often, Lazy Surfer or SurfVista?
Lazy Surfer ships an update every 11 days, and SurfVista every 9 days. Most recently, Lazy Surfer was updated on October 29, 2026 and SurfVista on October 24, 2026.

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