Comparison

WeatherBug vs Shadow Weather

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

Head to head
About

WeatherBug

Get real-time local weather, severe storm alerts, and detailed forecasts. Track lightning, pollen, UV exposure, and more with interactive maps and customizable widgets. Plan your day with confidence, knowing what to expect from the weather.

Highlights
  • Real-time pinpoint forecasts
  • Severe weather alerts
  • Interactive weather maps
  • Lightning and storm tracking
  • Pollen and UV index
  • 10-day and hourly forecasts
  • Weather widgets
Features
Read full description

A brand-new WeatherBug is here! The weather app you rely on for live local radar, severe storm alerts, lightning alerts and pollen forecasts, now with a new design, an improved experience and even more ways to stay ahead of the weather. Whether you’re planning your day, tracking a storm, checking your UV exposure, or wondering when the rain will start, WeatherBug gives you the weather information you need when you need it. Explore new and improved features, including UV, Spark Lightning, Tropical Center, Precipitation Outlook and more, all designed to make understanding what’s happening outside easier and more useful. Plan ahead with 10-Day Forecasts and over 140 hours of Hourly Forecasts, track changing conditions with interactive weather maps, and get timely severe weather alerts when conditions could impact your day. WeatherBug brings your forecast, radar, lightning, severe weather, pollen, precipitation and more together in one easy-to-use app. Because checking the weather shouldn’t just tell you what’s happening. It should help you know what to do next. Join millions of people who use WeatherBug to stay informed, prepared and ready for whatever the weather brings. WEATHERBUG FEATURES: YOUR WEATHER FORECAST • Real-Time Pinpoint Forecasts: Get the most accurate current, hourly, and 10-day weather forecasts • Precipitation Outlook: See when rain or snow is likely to start and stop near you • Enhanced Interactive Map: Visualize weather conditions with over 20 weather maps • Lifestyle Forecasts: Know how the weather will impact your trips, workouts, allergies, chronic pain and much more • Weather Widget: Customize your alerts and display them with weather widgets • Severe Weather Alerts: Get alerted to thunderstorms, tornadoes, flooding and other severe weather near you • Weather Videos: Get storm updates, weather explainers, seasonal outlooks, and practical safety tips from WeatherBug meteorologists to help you understand what’s happening and what it means for you. TRACK ANY CONDITION • Live Weather Radar: available across the U.S. • Spark Lightning Alerts: track lightning near you with minute-by-minute, mile-by-mile lightning proximity alerts, ideal for outdoor sports, golf, pools and hiking • Tropical Center: track hurricanes and tropical storms with forecasts and changing conditions • Fire Center: global fire data to know when you are at risk • Winter Weather: Stay safe in severe winter conditions with our real-time snowstorm alerts MORE THAN JUST RAIN • Pollen Count & Allergy Forecast: Keep your allergies in check by knowing what the local pollen conditions are like • UV Index: Check local UV levels and know when sun exposure may be strongest • Air Quality: Get an in-depth look at the air quality around you • Precise Weather Details: Wind speed, weather observations and more FASTEST WEATHER ALERTS • Receive all National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories, including tornado and flood warnings. CONNECT WITH US • Facebook: @WeatherBug • Instagram: @weatherbug • TikTok: @officialweatherbug • Check out WeatherBug's YouTube weather channel broadcast here: https://www.youtube.com/user/WeatherBugVideo Download WeatherBug, the free weather app for live radar, severe storm alerts, lightning alerts and pollen forecasts, used and loved by millions. Awarded the "Best Weather App" in 2019 by Mediapost Appy Awards. Also, voted the "Best Weather App for iPads" by AppPicker and "Best App for Moms" by Parent Magazine: WeatherBug! This app may include "Interest-Based Ads" (see https://www.weatherbug.com/legal/privacy#AC for more information) and may collect or share "Precise Location Data" (see https://www.weatherbug.com/legal/privacy#PLD for more details).

About

Shadow Weather

Get accurate weather forecasts, severe weather alerts, and interactive radar with storm tracking. Stay informed about minute-by-minute rain, air quality, and upcoming event forecasts synced with your calendar.

Highlights
  • Daily, hourly, and minutely forecasts
  • Severe weather alerts
  • Interactive radar with storm tracking
  • Real-time lightning tracker
  • Minute-by-minute rain forecasting
  • Air quality information
  • Calendar sync for event forecasts
Features
Read full description

Download Shadow Weather to get the most complete and accurate forecast available. Smart weather conditions and notifications will let you know of severe alerts and when the storm will start so you can be ahead of the weather. Once the storm hits you have powerful interactive radar tools with severe storm cell tracking and a real time lightning strike tracker. Minute by minute rain forecasting keeps you on top of the rain. Shadow Weather syncs with your phone's calendar so you can know the forecast for upcoming events easily. Keep track of your health with air quality information. You can easily see the past and current radar using the fastest most powerful and customizable interactive radar. Here are some of the features: daily forecast, hourly forecast, minutely forecasts, weather alerts, air quality, interactive radar, storm tracker, and more! Terms of Use: http://shadowweather.com/terms-and-privacy

Screenshots

WeatherBug4 screens
Shadow Weather4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: WeatherBug at fortnightly against Shadow Weather's every 8 months. WeatherBug also leads on ratings volume (2.2M vs 176) and chart position (#8 vs unranked). Shadow Weather's advantage is review sentiment (77% vs 61%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. WeatherBug sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Shadow Weather sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for WeatherBug against 4.8 for Shadow Weather. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WeatherBug has 2.2M ratings behind it against 176, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of WeatherBug's written reviews are positive against 77% of Shadow Weather's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WeatherBug ships an update fortnightly, Shadow Weather every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
WeatherBug versus Shadow Weather: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWeatherBugShadow Weather
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.2M ratings)4.8 (176 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.7% of reviews76.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.2M — better176
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size241 MB40 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWeatherBugShadow Weather LLC

Customer experience

WeatherBug

All ratings2,190,635 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral2.1%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews3,150 reviews
Positive60.7%
Neutral9.7%
Negative29.5%

Shadow Weather

All ratings159 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral0.6%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative23.3%

User reviews

WeatherBug

From 2.2M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate weather forecasts
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • ⚡️ Reliable lightning and storm tracking
  • 📍 Customizable location settings
  • 🌤️ Detailed weather information (humidity, UV, air quality)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent data updates
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🤔 Contradictory weather information between hourly and daily forecasts
  • 🗺️ Inaccurate radar and location mapping in some areas
  • 💤 Slow app loading times

Shadow Weather

From 176 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app functionality
  • ✨ Beautifully designed UI
  • 🎯 Accurate weather data
  • ⚡ Lightning tracker amazing
  • 🔧 Customizable features

Room to improve

  • 😞 Premium subscription issues
  • ❌ Support unresponsive
  • 🐌 Radar map slow to load
  • 🚫 Nagging review prompts
  • 📉 Bad precipitation data

Bugs and requests

WeatherBug

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Widget functionality issues
  • Incorrect location and weather data for some areas

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved radar and storm tracking coverage
  • Ability to disable unnecessary notifications
  • More accurate and up-to-date weather data
  • Metric unit support for international users

Shadow Weather

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Premium subscription not recognized
  • Radar map doesn't load or freezes
  • Shows 0% chance of precipitation
  • Doesn't show future wind chill

Requested features

5 requests
  • Widgets for iOS
  • Quicker updates
  • More text in forecast
  • Apple Watch support
  • Better notifications

In-app purchases

3 purchases

WeatherBug

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Ad Free Subscription3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Annual Ad Free Subscription7 Days trial$10.991 Year
  • Ad Free Subscription Holiday Promo$10.991 Year
4 purchases

Shadow Weather

Subscriptions4
  • Shadow Weather Premium Monthly14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Shadow Weather Premium14 Days trial$7.991 Year
  • Premium14 Days trial$10.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Shadow Weather Premium Yearly14 Days trial$12.991 Year

Questions

Is WeatherBug free?
WeatherBug is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shadow Weather free?
Shadow Weather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, WeatherBug or Shadow Weather?
Shadow Weather is rated higher. WeatherBug averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.2M ratings, while Shadow Weather averages 4.8 from 176 ratings.
Do WeatherBug or Shadow Weather have ads?
Both WeatherBug and Shadow Weather show ads.
Which is updated more often, WeatherBug or Shadow Weather?
WeatherBug ships an update fortnightly, and Shadow Weather every 8 months. Most recently, WeatherBug was updated on November 10, 2026 and Shadow Weather on November 7, 2026.

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