Comparison

Surf Athlete vs Surf Spot

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

Head to head
About

Surf Athlete

This app provides surf-specific training programs designed to enhance strength, endurance, and mobility. It offers workouts, stretching routines, and breath training to improve performance in the ocean and prevent injuries. Users can join a community and track progress.

Highlights
  • Surf-specific workouts
  • Strength, endurance, and mobility training
  • Stretch routines
  • Breath training
  • Technique tutorials
  • Global surfer community
Features
Read full description

Surf fitness that fits around your life. Build strength, paddle endurance, and mobility with training designed for surfers. Work out at home, while travelling, or wherever you have space, with minimal or no equipment. Surf Athlete brings together workouts, exercise demos, and coaching from Surf Strength Coach. Each exercise includes coaching cues and an explanation of how it relates to surfing, so you know what to do and why. START WITH THE FREE FEATURES • Bodyweight and mobility workouts • Stretch routines for surfers • Breath training to help you stay calm in heavy water • Technique tutorials and surf-specific drills • A community of surfers sharing their progress TRAIN FOR YOUR TIME IN THE WATER Work on paddling longer, moving more freely, and building strength for your pop-up. Training combines strength, mobility, breathwork, recovery, and mindset to help you stay active in the surf over the long term. Sync with Apple Health to track your progress. When you’re ready for more, upgrade to unlock full surf-specific programs, personalized training plans, and ongoing coaching from Surf Strength Coach. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://surfstrengthcoach.com/privacy-policy

About

Surf Spot

Discover and plan your surf trips with a comprehensive guide to Southern California surf spots. Access detailed information, user reviews, photos, and an interactive map. Connect with the surf community and stay informed about ocean hazards and amenities.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive surf spot directory
  • Interactive map of surf spots
  • User reviews and photos
  • Detailed surf spot descriptions
  • Parking and accessibility info
  • Ocean hazard awareness
  • Educational surfing resources
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the Surf Spot App, your ultimate guide to surf spots in Southern California. Designed by surfers for surfers, our app offers comprehensive information about surf spots, user-uploaded photos, reviews, and comments. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, you'll find valuable insights about surf spots to help you plan your perfect surf trip. Key Features: • Comprehensive Surf Spot Directory: Explore a curated list of surf spots along the coast, easy to navigate and find surf spots with general information like location, type of wave, and difficulty level. • Interactive Map of Surf Spots: Easily locate surf spots on our interactive map, helping you find the best spots nearby. • User Reviews and Uploaded Photos: Read honest reviews from fellow surfers and view user-uploaded photos to get a real feel for each surf spot. • User Comments: Engage with the community through comments and share your own experiences. • Detailed Surf Spot Descriptions: Get in-depth information about each surf spot, including ideal conditions, difficulty level, type of wave, break information, average crowd level, paddle out difficulty, and barrel frequency. • Parking Information and Accessibility: Find details on parking options and accessibility to make your surf trips hassle-free. • Ocean Hazards: Be aware of potential hazards like sharp reefs and stingray at surf spots to stay safe. • Amenities: Information about available public bathrooms and showers. • Educational Resources: Enhance your surfing knowledge with our well-crafted content on surf etiquette, localism, difficulty levels, wave types, surf safety, equipment selection, and top surf destinations. • Connect with the Surf Community: Join a thriving community of surfers, share tips and tricks, and connect with other enthusiasts. Our mission is to provide a user-friendly platform that serves the surfing community by offering valuable information and resources. We invite the surf community to actively contribute their content and experiences, making our platform richer and more diverse. Join us today and be a part of the Surf Spot App, your ultimate surf adventure companion.

Screenshots

Surf Athlete4 screens
Surf Spot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Surf Spot at none against Surf Athlete's 13. Surf Spot also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 91%). Surf Athlete's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (403 vs 23). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Surf Athlete sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $18.99 per month. Surf Spot asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Surf Athlete against 5.0 for Surf Spot. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surf Athlete has 403 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Surf Athlete's written reviews are positive against 100% of Surf Spot's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surf Athlete ships an update every 3 weeks, Surf Spot monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Surf Athlete versus Surf Spot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurf AthleteSurf Spot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (403 ratings)5.0 (23 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings403 — better23
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size236 MB79 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNautilus Surf Performance LLCSurf Spot LLC

Customer experience

Surf Athlete

All ratings402 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral0.7%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews153 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative7.2%

Surf Spot

All ratings23 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

User reviews

Surf Athlete

From 403 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Solid app
  • 👍 Detailed instructions and programs
  • 👍 Comprehensive surf-specific fitness
  • 👍 Improves flexibility, strength, and mobility
  • 👍 Helps with pop-up and technique

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Registration/login issues
  • 🐛 Occasional app crashes
  • 🔇 Lack of audio cues during workouts
  • 🔇 Music playback issues
  • 💰 Expensive for some users

Surf Spot

From 23 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌊 Detailed surf spot information
  • 🗺️ Interactive map for real-time reports
  • 👍 Community features for sharing experiences
  • 🔒 Crime feature for safety information
  • 👌 User-friendly and easy to use interface

Room to improve

  • ⏳ Limited recent negative reviews
  • 💸 No pricing information mentioned
  • 📶 Possible need for better offline mode

Bugs and requests

Surf Athlete

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Registration not working
  • App crashing on launch
  • Music playback interruptions

Requested features

6 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Offline workout mode
  • Better music integration
  • More free content
  • Expanded exercise library
Show 1 more
  • Improved app stability

Surf Spot

No bugs or feature requests surfaced in reviews.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Surf Athlete

Subscriptions5
  • Ocean Sports Academy (1 month)$18.991 Month
  • SURF ATHLETE PRO (1 month)$29.991 Month
  • Surf Athlete Academy (3 month)$83.993 Months
Show 2 more
  • Surf Athlete Academy (6 month)$144.996 Months
  • SURF ATHLETE PRO (1 year)$155.991 Year
One-time8
  • Stretches for Surfers$27.99
  • The Perfect Pop Up$79.99
  • Bodyweight$119.99
Show 5 more
  • Surf Athlete$129.99
  • Cardboard Surfer$129.99
  • Surf Skate$139.99
  • Stretches for Surfers 2.0$139.99
  • Surf Training Foundations$159.99
None

Surf Spot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surf Athlete free?
Surf Athlete is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surf Spot free?
Surf Spot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surf Athlete or Surf Spot?
Surf Spot is rated higher. Surf Athlete averages 4.9 out of 5 from 403 ratings, while Surf Spot averages 5.0 from 23 ratings.
Do Surf Athlete or Surf Spot have ads?
Surf Spot shows ads; Surf Athlete does not.
Which is updated more often, Surf Athlete or Surf Spot?
Surf Athlete ships an update every 3 weeks, and Surf Spot monthly. Most recently, Surf Athlete was updated on October 26, 2026 and Surf Spot on October 8, 2026.

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