Comparison

Rivers.run vs River Reports

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

Head to head
About

Rivers.run

Access real-time river data including water levels, temperature, and skill level estimates. Discover nearby rivers using GPS, search by various criteria, and utilize interactive maps for navigation. Includes weather overlays for rain tracking.

Highlights
  • Water levels and temperature
  • Crowdsourced skill level estimates
  • GPS river discovery
  • Search by water level, skill, name
  • Interactive river maps
  • Weather overlays for rain
  • Offline access to downloaded data
Features
Read full description

Real-time river levels and crowdsourced paddling beta for whitewater paddlers. Rivers.run covers 10,000+ rivers and creeks across the US, Canada, and the UK & Ireland. Match live gauge data with hard-won local knowledge: flow color-coding, rapid-by-rapid descriptions, access points, and difficulty ratings, all in one place. Flow data comes straight from government gauges — USGS, Environment Canada, and the UK & Ireland — alongside NOAA forecasts. River descriptions, access points, and runnable levels are crowdsourced by the paddling community. KEY FEATURES Live Flows & Forecasts See current levels from USGS, Environment Canada, UK, and Ireland gauges, with simple low/runnable/high color coding. Dig into 28-day history graphs and NOAA forecasts to plan ahead. Switch freely between imperial and metric (CFS/CMS, ft/m, °F/°C). Interactive Map & Weather Radar Discover nearby rivers, view live weather radar (US), and tap any run for gauge readings, access points, and rapid descriptions. Offline Navigation (USA-only) Easy, free state-by-state map downloads keep you oriented when your signal disappears. Find put-ins and take-outs, get directions, and follow your live GPS location with no cell service at all — your favorites, lists, and saved flows come along too. Powerful Search & Filtering Find your next trip by water level, difficulty class, distance, region, custom tags, and more — then sort by what's running right now. Flow Alerts That Find Rare Runs Star the runs you care about and get an alert the moment they come into your preferred range — perfect for creeks that only run a few days a year. Prefer the big picture? Switch to a daily email digest of conditions, delivered at a time you choose. Custom Lists & Sync Build river lists by region, difficulty, or trip plan, and sync them across all your devices. Apple Watch Sync your lists to the companion Apple Watch app and check levels from the trailhead. Community-Driven Can't find your local creek? Disagree with a runnable level? The map is crowdsourced: anyone can suggest edits, new access points, or a fresh run write-up, and our moderators review every change to keep it accurate. Built for Everyone Dark mode and a colorblind-friendly palette come standard. Rivers.run is free, open-source, and built by paddlers for paddlers. River flows change and conditions can vary rapidly. Always exercise caution, wear appropriate safety gear, and verify local conditions before paddling. Need help or have feedback? Reach out to support@rivers.run Privacy Policy: https://rivers.run/privacy Terms of Service: https://rivers.run/terms

About

River Reports

Access real-time and historical river flow data for hundreds of locations in the American West. This app simplifies finding crucial information for outdoor activities like float trips or checking local creek conditions, consolidating data from various government sources.

Highlights
  • Real-time river flows
  • Historical river flow data
  • Weather conditions
  • Consolidated data sources
  • Coverage across American West states
  • Easily digestible view
Features
Read full description

River Reports provides real time and historical river flows and weather conditions for hundreds of locations across the American West. Whether you're planning your next float trip or you want to check the flows on your local creek, we've got you covered. We built River Reports after wasting hours searching through government sites trying to find relevant data. This is now a thing of the past. River Reports aggregates federal, state, and local data sources to bring you easily digestible, consolidated view of every river, creek, and stream. River Reports does not have ads. We built River Reports because we're fellow anglers who like checking flows! It's as simple as that. Coverage • Colorado • Idaho • Montana • Utah • Texas • Washington • Wyoming Data Sources • USGS • USBR • Division of Water Resources

Screenshots

Rivers.run4 screens
River Reports4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Rivers.run at every 6 weeks against River Reports's every 25 months. River Reports's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Rivers.run against 4.4 for River Reports. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28 and 13 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of Rivers.run's written reviews are positive against 50% of River Reports's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rivers.run ships an update every 6 weeks, River Reports every 25 months. Both last shipped on September 21, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Rivers.run versus River Reports: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRivers.runRiver Reports
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (28 ratings) — better4.4 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings28 — better13
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 25 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTucker WillenborgGreg Lamp

Customer experience

Rivers.run

All ratings28 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative45.5%

River Reports

All ratings13 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Rivers.run

No in-app purchases

None

River Reports

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rivers.run free?
Rivers.run is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is River Reports free?
River Reports is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Rivers.run or River Reports?
Rivers.run is rated higher. Rivers.run averages 4.4 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while River Reports averages 4.4 from 13 ratings.
Do Rivers.run or River Reports have ads?
Neither Rivers.run nor River Reports shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rivers.run or River Reports?
Rivers.run ships an update every 6 weeks, and River Reports every 25 months. Most recently, Rivers.run was updated on September 21, 2026 and River Reports on September 21, 2026.

Other comparisons