W2O vs FathomVerse
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
W2O
Access a wealth of ocean-related content, including weekly radio episodes, blog posts on policy and action, and a digital magazine exploring ocean culture and solutions. Stay informed about initiatives and join a global community dedicated to ocean health and sustainability.
- Weekly radio episodes on ocean issues
- Blog on ocean policy and action
- Digital magazine on ocean culture
- Monthly newsletter updates
- Global community for ocean conservation
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The World Ocean Observatory app brings the major programs and features of the W2O to your mobile device. - Listen to weekly episodes of WORLD OCEAN RADIO, our 5-minute audio feature on a wide range of ocean issues from science and education to advocacy and exemplary projects, brought to you by long-time host Peter Neill. - Read the latest from WORLD OCEAN FORUM, our blog dedicated to proposals for change in ocean policy and action worldwide, linking unexpected people with unexpected ideas and offering a knowledgeable outlet for research, opinion and storytelling. - Read WORLD OCEAN JOURNAL, a digital magazine on ocean culture and solutions to today’s ocean issues. Each volume, focused on a particular theme, includes essays, articles, interviews, art, exhibits, and performances profiling the vital impacts of the ocean on our lives. - Read our monthly newsletter to stay engaged with our making waves initiatives. ABOUT THE W2O World Ocean Observatory is a leading organization advocating for the health and sustainability of the ocean through an accessible worldwide network of communication. Through education, partnership, information exchange, public connection, and relentless communications, W2O is committed to building an expansive global community of Citizens of the Ocean to promote and conserve marine resources for the future of all mankind.
FathomVerse
Explore the ocean world through an immersive game that trains AI for scientific research. Discover and identify over 50 groups of ocean animals using real imagery collected by researchers. Contribute to science while playing minigames, completing quests, and earning badges.
- Play minigames with real ocean imagery
- Identify over 50 groups of ocean animals
- Save and share favorite images
- Participate in quests and earn badges
- Unlock awards for gameplay contributions
- Customize soundscape with Ocean Radio
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The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet, yet most of the life within it remains undiscovered. FathomVerse is changing that, one dive at a time. FathomVerse invites everyone to take part in real ocean exploration and discovery. Through interactive mini-games, FathomNauts identify animals in real underwater photos and contribute to a growing library of labeled images that helps scientists catalog and understand marine life. With FathomVerse, you can: - Be among the first to review real imagery collected in the ocean. - Learn to identify more than 70 groups of marine animals. - Help train AI models by labeling animals in underwater images. - Participate in quests, earn badges, and track your scientific contributions. - Save and share your favorite ocean images in a personal gallery. Whether you're a lifelong ocean lover or simply curious about what lives in the depths, FathomVerse makes it easy to contribute to meaningful scientific research.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: FathomVerse at every 6 weeks against W2O's every 24 months. FathomVerse also leads on ratings volume (88 vs 3). W2O's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
W2O holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FathomVerse has 88 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of W2O's written reviews are positive against 86% of FathomVerse's.
W2O ships an update every 24 months, FathomVerse every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | W2O | FathomVerse |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.6 (88 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 85.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 88 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 24 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 284 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bjorn Grigholm | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute |
Customer experience
W2O
FathomVerse
In-app purchases
W2O
No in-app purchases
FathomVerse
No in-app purchases








