Comparison

Firesource vs Wildfire Tracker

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Live fire map and feed
  • Real-time fire perimeters
  • Air quality measurements (AQI)
  • User-reported fire alerts
  • Satellite fire detections
  • News updates and reports
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Wildfire Tracker

Stay informed about wildfires globally with a comprehensive map and weather tracker. Receive real-time alerts, detailed updates, and air quality data to ensure safety. Plan your activities with accurate weather forecasts and wind maps.

Highlights
  • Interactive wildfire map
  • Real-time wildfire alerts
  • Weather forecasts
  • Air Quality Index (AQI) data
  • Animated wind map
  • Push notifications for bookmarked locations
Features
Read full description

The Wildfire Tracker: wildfire maps, weather forecasts and air quality information for life in the US and your travels abroad. Check fires near your home, saved locations or next destination. Explore wildfire activity across the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia with data from trusted government agencies and NASA satellites. EXPLORE WILDFIRE MAPS View satellite-detected fire hotspots, reported wildfires and available fire boundaries on an interactive map. Check affected areas near your home, saved locations or next travel destination. Track wildfires across the United States to see active incidents and available details about affected areas. Monitor forest fires across Canada to check wildfire activity near your community or travel destination. Explore fire hotspots and burned areas across Europe to see where fires have been detected and which areas have been affected. View bushfire boundaries across Australia to understand the extent of affected areas and how close they are to places you care about. STAY INFORMED AT HOME AND AWAY Receive wildfire alerts for your saved locations and your automatically detected current location. View US National Weather Service warnings, watches, alerts and statements as interactive polygons. Press and hold a polygon to read the details. Check fire activity near your destination before and during your trip. Save locations to quickly revisit the places you care about. CHECK WEATHER AND WIND Access weather forecasts for locations worldwide. View temperature, precipitation amount and probability, wind speed and direction, visibility, humidity and pressure. Explore the animated wind map to understand wind conditions around affected areas. MONITOR AIR QUALITY Check the Air Quality Index at home or at your destination. Explore hourly air quality forecasts for up to 84 hours. See the primary pollutant and detailed pollutant information with Premium. MAKE THE MAP YOURS Choose standard, hybrid or satellite maps. Find places using text search, your current location or a tap on the map. Save locations for quick access. Filter fires by type, size and date first detected to focus on the information that matters to you. TRUSTED DATA SOURCES Our sources include the National Interagency Fire Center, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, NASA, the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), part of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, and Geoscience Australia. Available fire details and update frequency vary by source and region. GET THE WILDFIRE TRACKER PREMIUM Extended 14-day weather forecasts. Hourly weather forecasts. Detailed air pollutant information. Ad-free usage. Stay informed about wildfires, understand conditions around you and plan safer travels. Payment will be charged to your App Store account when you confirm your purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you turn off auto-renewal or cancel at least 24 hours before the current subscription or trial period ends. Your account will be charged for renewal according to your chosen plan. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited if you purchase a Premium subscription during the trial. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://retenica.com/privacy_policy Terms: https://retenica.com/terms_of_use

Screenshots

Firesource4 screens
Wildfire Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Firesource at none against Wildfire Tracker's 16. Firesource also leads on ratings volume (2.7K vs 202) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). Wildfire Tracker's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and chart position (#56 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Wildfire Tracker sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Firesource asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Firesource holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Firesource has 2.7K ratings behind it against 202, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 39% of Firesource's written reviews are positive against 46% of Wildfire Tracker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Firesource ships an update every 2 months, Wildfire Tracker every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 21, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Firesource versus Wildfire Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFiresourceWildfire Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.7K ratings) — better4.5 (202 ratings)
Positive reviews38.6% of reviews46.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.7K — better202
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#56 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB216 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHemal doshiRetenica SP Z.O.O

Customer experience

Firesource

All ratings2,536 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral4.4%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive38.6%
Neutral13.6%
Negative47.7%

Wildfire Tracker

All ratings182 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral2.7%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative46.2%

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)

Wildfire Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Firesource

No in-app purchases

15 purchases

Wildfire Tracker

Subscriptions15
  • Wildfire Tracker Full Access3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Access3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Access3 Days trial$5.997 Days
Show 12 more
  • Weekly Access!$5.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Access$5.997 Days
  • Weekly Access!$6.997 Days
  • Weekly Access!3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium Access3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Access$9.991 Month
  • Annual Premium Access$19.991 Year
  • Wildfire Tracker Full Access$29.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Access2 variants$29.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Access1 Month trial$49.991 Year
  • Annual Full Access$49.991 Year
  • Annual Full Access$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Firesource free?
Firesource is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Wildfire Tracker free?
Wildfire Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Firesource or Wildfire Tracker?
Firesource is rated higher. Firesource averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.7K ratings, while Wildfire Tracker averages 4.5 from 202 ratings.
Do Firesource or Wildfire Tracker have ads?
Neither Firesource nor Wildfire Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Firesource or Wildfire Tracker?
Firesource ships an update every 2 months, and Wildfire Tracker every 2 weeks. Most recently, Firesource was updated on October 21, 2026 and Wildfire Tracker on October 21, 2026.

Other comparisons