BayCurrents vs BackyardBuoys
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BayCurrents
Visualize high-resolution surface currents in the San Francisco Bay. This app supports various maritime activities with data up to 48 hours in the future. It operates autonomously offline, using NOAA model data enhanced by radar and tidal observations.
- High-resolution surface current maps
- 48-hour future forecasting
- Offline autonomous operation
- NOAA numerical model data
- Supports recreational and professional maritime activities
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BayCurrents is a mobile app for displaying maps of high resolution surface currents within the San Francisco Bay. The app is intended to support a wide range of maritime activities, from recreational fishing and sailing to the operation of professional transport vessels. The source for the surface current data is a numerical model operated by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The model benefits from oceanographic high-frequency radar (HFR) measurements from the Central & Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) HFR Network, along with other observations such as tides and wind. The resulting dataset contains current vector fields for hourly timestamps ranging from the recent past, to the present and up to 48 hours into the future. The complete vector dataset is downloaded by the app to allow autonomous offline operation. This app contains experimental data and is NOT for navigational purposes.
BackyardBuoys
This application provides coastal communities with easy mobile access to near real-time wave data and visualizations. It leverages scalable marine technology for community-managed ocean buoys, enhancing blue economy and hazard protection.
- Real-time wave data access
- Data visualizations
- Community-managed buoys
- Blue economy enhancement
- Hazard protection
- Mobile data access
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The Backyard Buoys project enables coastal communities to gather and use wave data, enhancing their blue economy and hazard protection. Leveraging low-cost and scalable marine technology, Backyard Buoys offers a system for community-managed ocean buoys and web apps that simplify data access. The Backyard Buoys app provides easy, mobile access to near real-time wave data and visualizations.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: BackyardBuoys at fortnightly against BayCurrents's every 10 months. On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for BayCurrents against 5.0 for BackyardBuoys. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 5 respectively.
BayCurrents ships an update every 10 months, BackyardBuoys fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BayCurrents | BackyardBuoys |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute | BackyardBuoys |
Customer experience
BayCurrents
BackyardBuoys
In-app purchases
BayCurrents
No in-app purchases
BackyardBuoys
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is BayCurrents free?
Is BackyardBuoys free?
Which has better reviews, BayCurrents or BackyardBuoys?
Do BayCurrents or BackyardBuoys have ads?
Which is updated more often, BayCurrents or BackyardBuoys?
Other comparisons
