iSeismometer vs Terramoto
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iSeismometer
Transform your iPhone into a sensitive seismometer to detect and visualize vibrations. Explore its educational and data-collecting capabilities for fun or serious applications.
- Converts iPhone to seismometer
- Detects and visualizes vibrations
- Data collecting capabilities
- Educational use
- Adjustable frequency settings
- Re-track previous data
- X-Y-Z illustrated graphs
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iSeismometer turns your iPhone or iPad into a seismograph. Set it on a table, tap the desk, and watch the ground move. You will be surprised how sensitive your phone is. It has been doing that since the App Store opened in 2008, when it reached #1 in Education in Japan, Austria, Finland, and Greece. Version 1.7 is a complete rebuild: faster, clearer, and finally a real instrument. LIVE SEISMOGRAPH • Three axes at up to 100 samples per second, drawn like a strip-chart recorder • Scroll back through up to an hour of history while it keeps recording • Gravity filter with a real corner frequency, so slow tilt disappears and earthquakes stay • Live spectrum: see the frequency of footsteps, a washing machine, or a passing truck at a glance • Dark mode and a full iPad layout EVENT DETECTION • A seismologist's STA/LTA trigger flags every tremor with its peak acceleration, duration, and dominant frequency • Three sensitivity levels, from "only real shakes" to "every footstep" • Events are shaded on the traces and listed so you can jump straight to them RECORDINGS • Every session is saved automatically as compact raw data, split into hourly files • Browse by day, open any recording, scrub to its events, and see its spectrum • Export CSV, or pick up the raw files in the Files app and in Finder • Keep them for a day, a week, a month, or forever WAS THAT AN EARTHQUAKE? • Live USGS feed on a globe, filtered by time window and magnitude • Tap a quake for its depth, time, and the official USGS page STREAM TO YOUR MAC • Open iSeismometer on a Mac on the same Wi-Fi and your phone finds it by itself • The Mac shows every device streaming to it side by side, with its own recordings and event detection • Reconnects on its own after the screen locks, the network drops, or the Mac restarts Made for fun and for learning. A phone carries a MEMS accelerometer, not a broadband seismometer, so it feels footsteps and trucks far better than distant earthquakes. Put it on a solid floor, plug it in, keep the screen awake, and you have a home seismic station. iSeismometer is not a substitute for official earthquake early warnings or emergency alerts. Questions and ideas: info@objectgraph.com "This is a novelty app but one that also helps you learn something new... one of those things that is very captivating once you've looked at it once." — The Independent Guide to the iPhone 3GS
Terramoto
Explore the science of earthquakes and tsunamis with a real-time physics simulator. Understand wave propagation, coastal flooding, and affected cities using accurate geophysical data. This app is for educational and entertainment purposes only, not for emergency warnings.
- Real-time physics simulation
- Tsunami wave propagation
- Coastal flooding visualization
- Affected cities analysis
- Global coverage with real data
- Educational geophysics tool
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Terramoto brings the science of earthquakes and tsunamis to life with stunning real-time physics simulation. DISCLAIMER This app is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Terramoto is NOT an emergency warning system and should NOT be used for disaster planning, evacuation decisions, or any life-safety purposes. The simulations are simplified models that do not account for all real-world factors. For actual tsunami warnings, always rely on official sources such as NOAA, local emergency management agencies, and government alerts. REAL PHYSICS, NOT ANIMATIONS Unlike simple visualizations, Terramoto uses actual shallow water equations—the same mathematics used by scientific institutions—to simulate how tsunami waves propagate across oceans. Watch waves travel at realistic speeds, reflect off coastlines, and flood coastal areas based on real elevation data. GPU-ACCELERATED SIMULATION Powered by Metal compute shaders, Terramoto runs a full fluid dynamics simulation on your device. The well-balanced hydrostatic solver ensures physically accurate wave behavior without artificial artifacts. GLOBAL COVERAGE Accurate coastlines from Natural Earth public domain data Real bathymetry (ocean depth) affecting wave speed and behavior Waves travel faster in deep ocean, slow and amplify in shallow coastal waters AFFECTED CITIES ANALYSIS See which cities would be impacted by seismic events. Terramoto calculates distances and provides estimates based on magnitude and proximity. FEATURES Tap anywhere on the map to simulate earthquakes of varying magnitudes Watch tsunami waves propagate in real-time across the globe Observe wave reflection, refraction, and coastal flooding Track simulation time and wave progression Smooth, interpolated wave visualization Dark mode interface designed for clarity EDUCATIONAL VALUE Perfect for students, educators, and anyone curious about geophysics. Understand why some coastlines are more vulnerable to tsunamis, how ocean depth affects wave speed, and why early warning systems are critical.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: iSeismometer at Free against Terramoto's $2.99. iSeismometer also leads on rating (3.6 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (172 vs 1). On update cadence, 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
iSeismometer is free to download; Terramoto costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iSeismometer holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iSeismometer has 172 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
iSeismometer ships an update every 7 months, Terramoto every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iSeismometer | Terramoto |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 3.6 (172 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 172 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ObjectGraph LLC | Walter Tengler |
Customer experience
iSeismometer
Terramoto
Bugs and requests
iSeismometer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Buttons/controls not working on newer iOS versions
- Keyboard not appearing in text input fields
- Inconsistent performance across device models
Requested features
6 requests- Add sensitivity control
- Implement zero control for reference plane
- Increase recording time
- Improve UI/UX (e.g. color coding, scrolling, chart speed control)
- Implement Richter scale or other measurement units
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- Add data export/sharing options (e.g. email, save to file)
Terramoto
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iSeismometer
No in-app purchases
Terramoto
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iSeismometer free?
Is Terramoto free?
Which has better reviews, iSeismometer or Terramoto?
Do iSeismometer or Terramoto have ads?
Which is updated more often, iSeismometer or Terramoto?
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