Comparison

QuakeWatch vs Volcano Updates

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

Volcano Updates

Stay informed about volcanic activity with daily news and reports from multiple sources, including USGS and GeoNet. Get alert levels, aviation color codes, and detailed information on active volcanoes worldwide.

Highlights
  • Daily volcanic activity news
  • USGS Volcano Hazards Program reports
  • GeoNet news feed for New Zealand
  • Smithsonian Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
  • Alert level and aviation color code
  • Information on Hawaiian and Alaska volcanoes
Features
Read full description

Get daily news and information about recent volcanic activity from three different news sources. First, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program. Each Volcano Activity Report includes an assigned alert level and aviation color code as issued by the USGS, as well as details regarding current activity. Volcano Updates typically contain detailed information on the active Hawaiian and Alaska Volcanoes, as well as any new activity at Yosemite. If something is going on, the USGS update will appear here. New for Volcano Updates, support for New Zealand by way of GeoNet news feed. GeoNet is a collaboration between the New Zealand Earthquake Commission and GNS Science. The Smithsonian Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program and the USGS's Volcano Hazards Program. Updated every Wednesday, It contains reports for volcanoes with new activity as well as reports for continually monitored volcanoes around the world. While not a comprehensive list of all volcanoes erupting during the week, it is a concise summary of certain volcanoes around the globe. Don't be left in the dark. Download Volcano Updates now.

Screenshots

QuakeWatch4 screens
Volcano Updates4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Volcano Updates at Free against QuakeWatch's $0.99. QuakeWatch's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 50%) and rating (4.3 vs 4.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Volcano Updates 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

QuakeWatch holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: QuakeWatch has 78 ratings behind it against 8, 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 50% of Volcano Updates's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
QuakeWatch versus Volcano Updates: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuakeWatchVolcano Updates
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (78 ratings) — better4.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews84.5% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings78 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#20 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.1
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLateNightProjectsDonivan Fox

Customer experience

QuakeWatch

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

Volcano Updates

All ratings8 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral21.4%
Negative28.6%

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

Volcano Updates

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

QuakeWatch

No in-app purchases

None

Volcano Updates

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is QuakeWatch free?
QuakeWatch costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Volcano Updates free?
Volcano Updates is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, QuakeWatch or Volcano Updates?
QuakeWatch is rated higher. QuakeWatch averages 4.3 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while Volcano Updates averages 4.0 from 8 ratings.
Do QuakeWatch or Volcano Updates have ads?
Neither QuakeWatch nor Volcano Updates shows ads.
Which is updated more often, QuakeWatch or Volcano Updates?
QuakeWatch ships an update every 3 months, and Volcano Updates every 3 months. Most recently, QuakeWatch was updated on October 13, 2026 and Volcano Updates on October 8, 2026.

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