Comparison

Thunder & Lightning vs DORSAL

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

Head to head
About

Thunder & Lightning

Measure the distance to loud events like thunder, fireworks, or rocket launches by timing the visual and auditory cues. Adjust for temperature for greater accuracy and choose your preferred units. It also functions as a stopwatch, speed-of-sound calculator, and unit converter.

Highlights
  • Distance measurement to sound events
  • Temperature adjustment for accuracy
  • U.S./Imperial and metric units
  • Stopwatch functionality
  • Speed-of-sound calculator
  • Fahrenheit/Celsius converter
Features
Read full description

Thunder & Lightning has (barely) one practical purpose: to measure your distance to a sound source. It works for thunder and lightning, fireworks, rocket launches, or other loud events visible from a (hopefully safe) distance away. Just press the Lightning button when you see the event, and Thunder when you hear it. Modern technology does the rest. To perform this trivial task even more accurately, you can enter the temperature of your surroundings to more precisely calculate the speed of sound. You can also choose between U.S./Imperial and metric measurements depending on your personal unit preferences. Should its intended purpose be insufficiently useful, this application can also be used as a reasonably precise (if redundant) stopwatch, a speed-of-sound calculator, a Fahrenheit/Celsius converter, or as an odometer if you happen to be traveling at precisely the speed of sound. Note: Use of application while operating supersonic aircraft is not recommended or approved.

About

DORSAL

Read full description

Using our app, you can control our catalogue of Bluetooth-compatible hinged beds from your smartphone or smart phone.

Screenshots

Thunder & Lightning2 screens
DORSAL4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: DORSAL at every 2 months against Thunder & Lightning's every 128 months. Thunder & Lightning's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thunder & Lightning ships an update every 128 months, DORSAL every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Thunder & Lightning versus DORSAL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThunder & LightningDORSAL
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 128 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBryan FiglerGermany, SA

Bugs and requests

Thunder & Lightning

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crash
  • App does not work anymore

Requested features

11 requests
  • Option to have both miles per hour and centigrade
  • Switch to a single button for lightning and thunder
  • Allow typing temperature instead of slider
  • Display average time and distance of records
  • Use light sensor and camera for lightning detection
Show 6 more
  • Use microphone to detect thunder
  • Log time, location, and estimated distance of lightning
  • Pull weather data for accuracy
  • Use compass to input heading of lightning
  • Plot estimated location of lightning on a map
  • Update for iOS 7

DORSAL

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Thunder & Lightning

No in-app purchases

None

DORSAL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thunder & Lightning free?
Thunder & Lightning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DORSAL free?
DORSAL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Thunder & Lightning or DORSAL have ads?
Neither Thunder & Lightning nor DORSAL shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thunder & Lightning or DORSAL?
Thunder & Lightning ships an update every 128 months, and DORSAL every 2 months. Most recently, Thunder & Lightning was updated on October 22, 2026 and DORSAL on October 25, 2026.

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