Lightning Tracker vs Marine Instruments
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lightning Tracker
Visualize real-time lightning strikes across North and South America on a dynamic map. Receive predictive alerts for strike patterns and intensity, with estimated arrival times for your location. Monitor current and historical lightning activity to stay informed and protected.
- Live lightning map
- Real-time strike visualization
- Predictive lightning alerts
- Estimated time of arrival (ETA) for strikes
- Monitor saved locations
- 6-hour strike history
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Stay safe from lightning! Lightning Tracker delivers real-time lightning strike data for North and South America, keeping you and your loved ones protected. Live Lightning Map: Watch real-time strikes across the Americas with color-coded visuals to track lightning movement. Lightning Alerts: Predict strike patterns and intensity, with ETAs for your location. Monitor Anywhere: Check strikes near you or saved spots, like home or family, in one tap. 6-Hour Strike History: Analyze past lightning trends to stay one step ahead. Protect what matters most with Lightning Tracker. Download now to track strikes and stay safe!
Marine Instruments
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Marine Instruments turns your iPhone into a boat instrument display. Connect it to your boat's NMEA 0183 WiFi gateway and see your real instruments — wind, depth, speed and heading — on a big, glare-friendly screen. No gateway? The built-in sensors still give you heel angle, a barometer with storm alarm and a GPS trip log. BOAT INSTRUMENTS OVER WIFI (NEW) • Connects to any NMEA 0183 WiFi gateway: Orca Core, Yacht Devices, Digital Yacht, Vesper and many more • Speed over ground (SOG), depth, apparent wind angle & speed, heading • TCP or UDP, configurable host and port (standard 10110) • Automatic reconnection when the connection drops • Values mark themselves stale ("--") within seconds if data stops — no misleading frozen numbers HEEL & ATTITUDE INDICATOR • Real-time pitch, roll and yaw with an aircraft-style horizon • Maximum heel angle tracking for port and starboard • One-tap recalibration to your mounting position • Motion history graph BAROMETER • Live atmospheric pressure from the iPhone's own barometer sensor • 4-hour pressure graph with trend arrow • Automatic alarm with vibration when pressure changes faster than 1.5 hPa/hour — a classic early storm warning • If your phone has no barometer, pressure from the gateway (MDA) is used instead TRIP LOG • Distance in nautical miles, current/average/max speed in knots • Trip duration, reset whenever you like • Recording happens while the app is open — the screen stays on automatically, so mount the phone and sail SEA STATE • Beaufort scale estimate (0-12) from vessel motion • Wave height estimation REAL NIGHT MODE • Every instrument — attitude, barometer, graphs, trip log and NMEA tiles — switches to a red-on-black palette that preserves your night vision • Remembered across launches PRIVACY All data stays on your device. No accounts, no analytics, no tracking. The only network connection the app ever makes is to the gateway IP you enter yourself. Note: for accurate heel and wave readings, mount the device in a fixed position on your vessel.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Lightning Tracker at Free against Marine Instruments's $7.99. Lightning Tracker also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). Marine Instruments's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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
Lightning Tracker is free to download; Marine Instruments costs $7.99 up front. Lightning Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Marine Instruments asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lightning Tracker ships an update every 4 months, Marine Instruments every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lightning Tracker | Marine Instruments |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (574 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 74.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 574 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 127 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Elecont LLC | Stolk.cc |
Bugs and requests
Lightning Tracker
Reported bugs
3 issues- App not detecting lightning strikes even when visible
- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Issues with app updates and functionality changes
Requested features
4 requests- Add distance/radius information for lightning strikes
- Implement push notifications/alerts for lightning within a certain radius
- Provide historical data and the ability to view past lightning activity
- Improve overall app stability and performance
Marine Instruments
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Lightning Tracker
- Remove Ads & Limits$2.99
Marine Instruments
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Lightning Tracker free?
Is Marine Instruments free?
Do Lightning Tracker or Marine Instruments have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lightning Tracker or Marine Instruments?
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