Comparison

Surf Athlete vs Surf Blackball

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 Blackball

This app offers a land-based training system designed to improve surfing performance by focusing on strength, mobility, and endurance. It targets the specific mechanics of paddling, pop-ups, and breath control, making elite training accessible to all levels.

Highlights
  • Land-based surf training system
  • Improves strength, mobility, endurance
  • Targets paddling, pop-up, breath control
  • Bodyweight movements
  • Fusion of conditioning and recovery
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Blackball, a surf wellness community founded by professional surf coach and ex-WSL competitor, Luke Stedman, where passion meets purpose. We’re not just about riding waves; we’re about living better, stronger, and more connected lives. Our land-based training system is built on the same regimen that powered Luke’s elite career and continues to help today’s top surfers reach peak performance. But Blackball isn’t just for pros; it’s for everyone striving to break through personal barriers and hit their next level. Our training is designed to help you push your limits, increasing your functional strength, mobility, and endurance—all with a sharp focus on improving your surfing. Blackball training programs are a powerful fusion of strength training, aerobic conditioning, agility, mobility, and active recovery, but what sets us apart is that every workout trains the exact mechanics required to fuel your surfing performance. ​ Each workout is crafted with bodyweight movements targeting the six core elements essential for surfing: paddling, pop-up, compression/extension, weight shifting, rotation, and breath control. We’re not just building fitness; we’re tuning your body to maximize the potential in every wave. Read our full Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy: https://passion.io/terms-of-service https://passion.io/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Surf Athlete4 screens
Surf Blackball3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Surf Blackball at none against Surf Athlete's 13. Surf Blackball also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 91%). Surf Athlete's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (403 vs 8). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement 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 Blackball 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 Blackball. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surf Athlete has 403 ratings behind it against 8, 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 Blackball's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surf Athlete ships an update every 3 weeks, Surf Blackball every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Surf Athlete versus Surf Blackball: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurf AthleteSurf Blackball
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (403 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings403 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size236 MB90 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNautilus Surf Performance LLCThe Progression Lab LLC

Customer experience

Surf Athlete

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

Surf Blackball

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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 Blackball

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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 Blackball

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surf Athlete free?
Surf Athlete is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surf Blackball free?
Surf Blackball is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surf Athlete or Surf Blackball?
Surf Blackball is rated higher. Surf Athlete averages 4.9 out of 5 from 403 ratings, while Surf Blackball averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Surf Athlete or Surf Blackball have ads?
Surf Blackball shows ads; Surf Athlete does not.
Which is updated more often, Surf Athlete or Surf Blackball?
Surf Athlete ships an update every 3 weeks, and Surf Blackball every 2 months. Most recently, Surf Athlete was updated on October 26, 2026 and Surf Blackball on October 24, 2026.

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