Firesource vs Firespot
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Firesource
Track live wildfires with real-time data on a map and in a feed. Access detailed fire perimeters, news updates, and air quality measurements. Users can also report nearby fires with photos and location data.
- Live fire map and feed
- Real-time fire perimeters
- Air quality measurements (AQI)
- User-reported fire alerts
- Satellite fire detections
- News updates and reports
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Firesource’s features: ◦ Live fire feed - both on map and in scrollable menu ◦ Local and national fire incidents - news updates and reports ◦ Fire perimeters - access all realtime fire perimeters at once with information about fire growth and progress, including acreage, containment, personnel, fire cause, and fire behavior ◦ Report a fire - instantly inform other users of a nearby fire by pressing the + button, taking a picture of the fire, and submitting ◦ Air quality - see the effects of recent fires by viewing realtime air quality measurements across the country ◦ Satellite fire detections can indicate new fires and how current fires are spreading National Fires (InciWeb, Cal Fire, IRWIN): InciWeb is an interagency incident management system run by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. InciWeb collects wildfire incident data from several agencies across the United States and provides all of this data together in several feeds. Firesource presents wildfire incidents reported by InciWeb in real time, providing the fire’s location and detailed status. Learn more about InciWeb at their website: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/. Learn more about Cal Fire, which also provides incident information, at their website: https://www.fire.ca.gov. Learn more about IRWIN, the data hub of fire reports, at https://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/WFIT/applications/IRWIN/. National Fires (Perimeters): Perimeter data is provided by the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Group and hosted in the National Interagency Fire Center ArcGIS Online Organization (The NIFC Org). Firesource displays fire perimeters and descriptions of their progress in the ‘National Fires’ tab of the menu, with this information updated on a regular basis. Learn more about the NIFC at their website: https://www.nifc.gov User-Reported Fires: Allowing app users to report a fire and immediately inform other users is an essential aspect of Firesource. To report a fire, press the yellow + button in the top right corner of the map, select the type of fire (vehicle fire, forest fire, terrain fire, structure fire), take a photo of the fire, and press submit. To ensure the validity of fire reports, the user must take a photo of the fire and cannot access Camera Roll to select a picture. Please note that submitting a fire report automatically creates the report at the user’s location, to further ensure that the fire is local and valid. When viewing user-reported fires in the feed, other users can ‘rate’ the fire report by confirming that it is active, contained, or a spam reporting. Air Quality: Air quality measurements from across the United States are collected from AirNow.gov, which provides national air quality data using the Air Quality Index (AQI). This data is color-coded to provide information about health concerns due to PM2.5 pollutants. Satellite-Detected Fires: Thermal hotspot detections are displayed and collected from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which is an instrument on the Terra and Aqua satellites. Information provided from MODIS about each detection includes brightness (brightness temperature in Kelvin of a fire pixel) and confidence (quality of fire pixel). These fire detections are extremely useful, as they can indicate new fires and fire spread. Learn more about MODIS at their website: https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov Firesource is not affiliated with any government agencies. Firesource is only available for iPhone and iPad in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Privacy Policy: https://firesourceapp.weebly.com/privacy-policy.html Learn more and contact us at https://firesourceapp.weebly.com/
Firespot
Access real-time wildfire information worldwide with satellite data and detailed agency reports for the US and Canada. Monitor fire perimeters, aircraft, wind, air quality, and warnings. Subscribers receive custom alerts for significant fire events.
- Real-time wildfire maps
- Satellite data and imagery
- Aircraft tracking
- Wind and air quality data
- Red flag warnings
- Customizable event alerts
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Firespot is the most comprehensive source of real-time wildfire data. Satellites provide worldwide coverage. US and Canadian government sources provide hyper-detailed North American coverage. - Perimeters and fire status - Satellite true color imagery for active and historical fires - Satellite infrared imagery to see fire through smoke and clouds - Aircraft tracking - Wind - Air quality - Red flag warnings - Satellite-detected fire hotspots from multiple Earth-observing satellites - Satellite-derived climatological data: vegetation, moisture, etc. Firespot subscribers can activate Alerts to receive notifications on important fire-related events. Set one or multiple areas to monitor, and Firespot will pop an alert on your phone when an important change happens. FREE TIER: Use the map, view all fires and red flag warnings. PAID TIER: Set custom alerts, get notifications on your device, access all satellite images, see real-time firefighting aircraft tracking. Firespot is not meant as a replacement for local evacuation alerts and information. Privacy Policy: https://www.firespotapp.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.firespotapp.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Firesource at none against Firespot's 1. Firesource also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). Firespot's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and chart position (#199 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Firespot sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $29.99 per year. Firesource asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Firesource against 4.7 for Firespot. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.7K and 6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 39% of Firesource's written reviews are positive against 42% of Firespot's.
Firesource ships an update every 2 months, Firespot every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.
| Parameter | Firesource | Firespot |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.7K ratings) — better | 4.7 (6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 38.6% of reviews | 41.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.7K | 6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | #199 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hemal doshi | Rayner Software LLC |
Customer experience
Firesource
Firespot
User reviews
Firesource
From 2.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great for road closures
- 👍 Nice app to have for fire research
- 👍 Comprehensive fire records
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate and outdated information
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and app issues
- 🐛 Slow performance
- 👎 Limited coverage (no Canada, Australia)
- 👎 Difficult to view fire perimeters
Firespot
From 6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Keeps track of weather and fire conditions
- 🚀 Provides helpful information
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Customizable alert areas
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate or outdated data
- 🐛 Crashes or doesn't open
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 👎 Unreliable alerts and notifications
Bugs and requests
Firesource
Reported bugs
3 issues- Fires not showing up on the map
- Air quality data not updating
- App keeps logging users out
Requested features
3 requests- Horizontal view for iPad
- Notifications for nearby fires
- More detailed fire information (size, direction, containment)
Firespot
Reported bugs
3 issues- Fires not showing up on the map
- Subscription issues (unable to cancel, charges not stopping)
- Accessibility problems (not working with VoiceOver)
Requested features
3 requests- More detailed fire information (size, direction, rate of spread)
- Improved map and visualization features
- Faster data updates
In-app purchases
Firesource
No in-app purchases
Firespot
- Firespot Yearly$29.991 Year
Questions
Is Firesource free?
Is Firespot free?
Which has better reviews, Firesource or Firespot?
Do Firesource or Firespot have ads?
Which is updated more often, Firesource or Firespot?
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