Comparison

QuakeWatch vs Next Spaceflight

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

Head to head
About

QuakeWatch

This app provides real-time information on earthquakes worldwide. It features an interactive map, detailed reports, and customizable alerts. Stay informed about seismic activity near you or loved ones.

Highlights
  • Interactive world map with tectonic plates
  • Sortable earthquake listings (recent, largest, closest)
  • Tsunami information access
  • Customizable minimum magnitude filter
  • Share earthquake data via email, social media, SMS
  • Detailed earthquake reports with live maps
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

•• The top paid earthquake app for 10 years. •• A #1 News app in 60 countries so far including the US, UK, and Canada. •• An App Store Top 100 app in 40 countries so far including the US and Canada. •• Written-up in USA Today. •• Shown and discussed on CNN Newsroom. QuakeWatch has been the most popular paid earthquake app in the App Store for over 10 years now -- used by schools, relief agencies, media outlets, and thousands of people around the world curious about earthquakes near to them, family, or friends. It has reached the App Store Top 100, and #1 in News, multiple times. It is a feature-rich reference guide, free of ads, of the latest magnitude 1.0 and larger earthquakes from around the world as provided by ten worldwide sources including the US Geological Survey and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre. Find out when they happened, where they happened, how big they were, and more. All in an easy-to-use interface without losing space to banner ads! The key features of QuakeWatch include: • An interactive world map view with tectonic plates showing reported earthquakes over the past week. Pan and zoom the map to focus on hot spots and click the details button to see the quake report. Also the ability to replay the earthquakes in order. • Sort the listing by the most recent earthquakes. • Sort by the largest earthquakes over the past week. • Sort by the closest earthquakes to your location and see the distance and direction from your position. • Sort by earthquakes nearest to a place anywhere on the earth that you easily specify. Great for tracking quakes near family members. Shows the distance and bearing from them. • Choose from reporting services in the US, Europe, Canada, Mexico, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Iceland, and Italy. • Select the tsunami icon in the toolbar for quick access to the latest tsunami information for the Pacific, US West Coast & Alaska, Australia, and Japan. • Send earthquake information to yourself or others through email, Twitter, Facebook, or SMS text messaging. • Filter out smaller earthquakes from the list by setting the minimum shown to be between 1.0 and 6.0. • Select an earthquake from the list to view more information along with a live map of its location and the ability to show nearby earthquakes. • Selecting the blue additional details button will take you to the reporting web site integrated into the application for more information about the earthquake which may include distances from cities, historical maps, shake maps, etc., and then easily return to the list. • Universal app - supports the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. • Supports quick view multitasking on the iPad on iOS 10 and newer. • iPod touch and iPad WiFi users can manually specify their current location if greater accuracy is needed. • The ability to define local earthquakes within a radius of your location. Then sort by "Closest" to see all local earthquakes sorted by distance or the most recent. • Earthquakes within the last 2 hours and within your local range are colored blue for quick identification. • All times are shown in your time zone. • No banner ads.

About

Next Spaceflight

Track all orbital rocket launches with a comprehensive schedule, news, and event updates. Explore detailed mission information, 3D simulations, and live countdowns for major space agencies and private companies. Stay informed about Starship activity and access links to live streams.

Highlights
  • Rocket launch schedule
  • 3D launch simulations
  • Past launch catalog
  • Starship activity tracker
  • Live launch countdowns
  • Latest space news
  • Launch pad satellite maps
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Next Spaceflight features rocket launch schedules, news, and events for all the key players including SpaceX, NASA, Roscosmos, ULA, Blue Origin, ISRO, Rocket Lab, and more. Features: - A rocket launch schedule with all the orbital missions - 3D launch simulations and live playback for most launches - A catalog with thousands of past orbital rocket launches - A dedicated section for Starship activity in Boca Chica - Live launch countdowns - Latest news - Upcoming events - Reuse and core history for SpaceX missions - Commercial and government launch vehicles from across the globe - Detailed satellite maps of launch pads - Links to live streams of upcoming launches and videos of past launches - A description for each mission - Notifications for upcoming launches (toggle in settings) - Statistics for most launches - Ad free! Seriously, who wants ads?

Screenshots

QuakeWatch4 screens
Next Spaceflight4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Next Spaceflight at Free against QuakeWatch's $0.99. Next Spaceflight also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (29K vs 79). QuakeWatch's advantage is chart position (#22 vs #103) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.1). On review sentiment, 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

Next Spaceflight is free to download; QuakeWatch costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Next Spaceflight holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Next Spaceflight has 29K ratings behind it against 79, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of QuakeWatch's written reviews are positive against 91% of Next Spaceflight's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

QuakeWatch ships an update every 3 months, Next Spaceflight every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
QuakeWatch versus Next Spaceflight: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuakeWatchNext Spaceflight
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (79 ratings)4.9 (29K ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.5% of reviews90.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7929K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#22 — better#103
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB90 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLateNightProjectsNASASpaceflight LLC

Customer experience

QuakeWatch

All ratings78 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral5.1%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews233 reviews
Positive84.5%
Neutral6.9%
Negative8.6%

Next Spaceflight

All ratings28,620 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews326 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.1%

User reviews

QuakeWatch

From 79 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent, comprehensive, and detailed information
  • 🗺️ Great maps and ways of sorting information
  • ⏱️ Updates information quickly
  • 📊 Provides lots of useful data and statistics
  • 🔍 Allows customization of parameters

Room to improve

  • 🔔 Lacks push notification functionality
  • 🔗 Some broken/outdated links
  • 🗺️ Limited map scrolling and zooming capabilities
  • 🕰️ Delayed or slow updates in some cases
  • 🤖 Concerns about the app being abandoned or not maintained

Next Spaceflight

From 29K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate launch information
  • 🔍 Detailed launch data and history
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
  • 🌍 Covers launches from around the world
  • 🔔 Helpful notifications for launches

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional performance issues
  • 🔔 Notification settings could be improved
  • 🌐 Lacks location-specific launch notifications
  • 🔍 Some information could be better organized
  • 🔄 Slow to update with the latest launch details

Bugs and requests

QuakeWatch

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes or app not loading properly
  • Inaccuracies in earthquake location and magnitude reporting
  • Issues with specific data feeds (e.g., USGS, GeoNet NZ)

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add push notification alerts for earthquakes near user's location
  • Improve map functionality to allow better scrolling and zooming
  • Provide more historical earthquake data and analysis
  • Add support for more data sources beyond just USGS
  • Integrate with other earthquake/disaster preparedness resources

Next Spaceflight

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Favorites filter not working as expected
  • Starship section not updating with latest information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to add launches to calendar
  • More customizable notification settings
  • Spacecraft/vehicle search functionality
  • Integration with Apple Watch for quick updates

In-app purchases

None

QuakeWatch

No in-app purchases

None

Next Spaceflight

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is QuakeWatch free?
QuakeWatch costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Next Spaceflight free?
Next Spaceflight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, QuakeWatch or Next Spaceflight?
Next Spaceflight is rated higher. QuakeWatch averages 4.3 out of 5 from 79 ratings, while Next Spaceflight averages 4.9 from 29K ratings.
Do QuakeWatch or Next Spaceflight have ads?
Neither QuakeWatch nor Next Spaceflight shows ads.
Which is updated more often, QuakeWatch or Next Spaceflight?
QuakeWatch ships an update every 3 months, and Next Spaceflight every 3 weeks. Most recently, QuakeWatch was updated on November 6, 2026 and Next Spaceflight on November 7, 2026.
Which is more popular, QuakeWatch or Next Spaceflight?
QuakeWatch currently peaks at #22 in the App Store charts, and Next Spaceflight at #103. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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