Comparison

Thunder & Lightning vs Seismoviewer

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

Seismoviewer

This tool helps you monitor and analyze everyday vibrations from various sources like appliances, footsteps, or industrial equipment. It displays vibration magnitude, trends, and characteristics using your smartphone's accelerometer. All data processing is done locally on your device.

Highlights
  • Identify and analyze everyday vibrations
  • Monitor vibration magnitude, trends, and characteristics
  • Utilizes smartphone accelerometer
  • Local data processing on device
  • Suitable for household, industrial, and lab environments
Features
Read full description

This app is designed to identify and analyze the patterns of everyday vibrations that surround us in our daily lives. Whether it is industrial vibrations encountered in the field, laboratory equipment noise, household appliances with motors, footsteps, or the output from audio subwoofers—this tool was created to help you easily monitor the magnitude, trends, and characteristics of these vibrations. - Technical Details & Disclaimers Sensor Dependency: The vibration graphs displayed are based on the specifications of the accelerometer built into your smartphone. Therefore, graph displays may vary slightly depending on your device's hardware performance. Professional Use: If you require strictly precise or calibrated vibration data, please use professional-grade vibration measurement equipment. Data Output: Vibration data values are not output as raw numerical figures. Privacy & Data Handling: Data measured by this app is not collected externally; all processing is performed locally on the user's iPhone. 본 앱은 우리 주변 일상 속에 늘 존재하는 생활 진동의 패턴을 파악하고 분석하기 위해 제작되었습니다. 산업 현장에서 접하게 되는 진동부터 실험실 장비의 노이즈, 모터가 장착된 가전제품, 발자국 소리, 그리고 오디오 서브우퍼의 출력까지—이러한 다양한 진동의 크기와 경향성, 특성을 본 도구를 통해 손쉽게 모니터링할 수 있습니다. - 기술 세부 사항 및 유의 사항 센서 의존성: 표시되는 진동 그래프는 스마트폰에 내장된 가속도 센서의 사양에 기반하므로, 기기의 하드웨어 성능에 따라 그래프 표시가 약간씩 차이가 있을 수 있습니다. 전문적 용도: 엄밀하고 정확한 교정 데이터가 필요한 경우, 별도의 전문 진동 계측 장비를 사용하시기 바랍니다. 데이터 출력: 진동 데이터 값은 별도의 수치 형태로 출력되지 않습니다. 개인정보 및 데이터 처리: 본 앱으로 계측된 데이터는 외부로 수집되지 않으며, 모든 데이터 처리는 사용자의 iPhone 내에서만 로컬로 이루어집니다.

Screenshots

Thunder & Lightning2 screens
Seismoviewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Thunder & Lightning at 4.9 against Seismoviewer's 4.0. Thunder & Lightning also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.6). Seismoviewer's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 128 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 87%). On price, ratings volume, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Thunder & Lightning holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of Thunder & Lightning's written reviews are positive against 100% of Seismoviewer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thunder & Lightning ships an update every 128 months, Seismoviewer every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Thunder & Lightning versus Seismoviewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThunder & LightningSeismoviewer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (7 ratings) — better4.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews87.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 128 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBryan FiglerHyeongRae Jo

Customer experience

Thunder & Lightning

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive87.3%
Neutral5.5%
Negative7.3%

Seismoviewer

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Seismoviewer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Thunder & Lightning

No in-app purchases

None

Seismoviewer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thunder & Lightning free?
Thunder & Lightning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Seismoviewer free?
Seismoviewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Thunder & Lightning or Seismoviewer?
Thunder & Lightning is rated higher. Thunder & Lightning averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Seismoviewer averages 4.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Thunder & Lightning or Seismoviewer have ads?
Neither Thunder & Lightning nor Seismoviewer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thunder & Lightning or Seismoviewer?
Thunder & Lightning ships an update every 128 months, and Seismoviewer every 4 months. Most recently, Thunder & Lightning was updated on October 31, 2026 and Seismoviewer on October 31, 2026.

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