Comparison

MSW Surf Forecast vs Windy.com

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

Head to head
About

MSW Surf Forecast

Access comprehensive surf forecasts, live surf cams, and expert reports for breaks worldwide. Plan future surf trips with 16-day forecasts and relive your sessions with wave analysis and video playback. Shop surf gear and stay updated on surf news.

Highlights
  • Live surf cams at 950+ breaks
  • 16-day long-range forecasts
  • Daily surf reports from experts
  • Wave height, wind, weather, and tide data
  • Surf Alerts for perfect conditions
  • Cam Rewind for session replays
  • Surf gear shopping with premium benefits
Features
Read full description

Magicseaweed has joined Surfline and the MSW app is no longer being supported. You can now get all your favorite features on Surfline: ​ ​Keep track of current surf conditions.​ -View live surf cams at 950+ breaks around the world.​ -Get daily surf reports from our team of experts.​ -View wave height, live wind, weather, water temperature, and tide.​ -Choose to get notified when the conditions are perfect at your favorite spots with Surf Alerts. ​ -View detailed buoy charts and nearshore models.​ ​Plan future surf adventures.​ -Use 16-day long-range forecasts to plan ahead.​ -Read swell analysis from our in-house forecasting team.​ ​Relive your sessions and watch your waves.​ -Use Cam Rewind to watch and download your best waves (and wipeouts).​ -Sync your Apple Watch to log Surfline Sessions and get your waves sent straight to your phone.​ -View detailed analysis of waves ridden, length of ride, and speed.​ -Share your rides with friends and on social media.​ Shop top-quality surf essentials.​ -Shop a selection of surfboards, wetsuits, surf accessories, and other gear. ​ -Save up to $60 on every order. (Premium only)​ -Get free shipping on every order. (Premium only)​ -View gear guides, reviews, and other gear-related stories. ​Stay connected to all things surf.​ -Watch the world’s best waves with live coverage of major swell events.​ -Read up on the latest surf news, travel, training, and gear content.​ ​Search for ‘Surfline’ on the App Store to download. ​ --​ MSW Pro Subscriptions and Renewals​ Magicseaweed Pro Subscriptions are no longer available to purchase for most subscribers as part of the migration to Surfline. MSW Pro subscribers now have access to a Surfline Premium membership until the end of their current MSW Pro subscription term. Unless auto-renewal is turned off through iTunes account settings, the Surfline Premium membership will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of your current MSW subscription term. Full terms and conditions can be found at https://magicseaweed.com/legal/terms-and-conditions-of-use/.​

About

Windy.com

This app offers advanced weather forecasting with over 50 detailed maps and 15 weather models, including live radar, satellite imagery, and hurricane tracking. It provides customizable alerts for storms, wind, and snow, making it ideal for outdoor activities and aviation.

Highlights
  • Live weather radar & satellite
  • Over 50 weather maps
  • 15+ weather models
  • Hurricane tracker
  • Customizable weather alerts
  • Aviation-specific forecasts
  • Air quality index
Features
Read full description

A UNIQUE WEATHER FORECAST VISUALISATION While most weather forecasting apps rely solely on free global models, Windy has gone a step further by investing heavily in the most accurate weather models available, always at the highest possible resolution, to deliver you the most accurate forecasts in the world. LIVE WEATHER APP - WEATHER RADAR & SATELLITE (Now with Precipitation Type & Lightning tracker) Radar is a highly valued tool for weather forecasting. To provide you with the most accurate radar imagery, we constantly expand our resources so that rain, snow, and storms don't catch you by surprise. Trusted radar sources include NOAA, Met Office, Météo France, DWD, JMA, IMD, BoM & more. The global satellite composite is created from NOAA, EUMETSAT & Himawari data. MORE THAN 50 WEATHER MAPS - Rain radar, Satellite and a unique combined layer of Radar & Satellite images (blue, infrared, visible) - Hurricane tracker, Weather warnings & Extreme forecast - Wind forecast: Wind speed, Wind gusts & Accumulation, models comparison, data from live Weather stations - Temperature: Humidity, Pressure, Dew point, live data from Weather stations - Rain: Thunder & storms, Rain accumulation, Thunderstorms, Precipitation type, CAPE-index - Aviation: Clouds, Cloud tops, Cloud base, Visibility (LIFR, IFR, MVFR, VFR), Fog, Icing, Clear air turbulence, Thermals, Freezing altitude - Marine Forecast: Waves, Swell, Wave power, Tide forecast, Currents, Sea temperature - Solar activity: Solar power, UV index, Wet-bulb temperature - Snow: Snow depth, New snow, Snow density - Air Quality: Air Quality Index (AQI) with Pollen (CAMS), NO2, PM 2.5, Aerosol, SO2, Ozone layer, Surface ozone, CO concentration, Dust mass - Soil moisture, Moisture anomaly, Drought intensity, Fire Danger, Fuel moisture MORE THAN 15 WEATHER MODELS Global weather models: - meteoblue - AI forecast - ECMWF - GFS by NOAA - ICON by DWD Local weather models: - HRRR by NOAA - NAM by NOAA - HRDPS by MSC - ICON-EU by DWD - ICON-D2 by DWD - UKV by Met Office - AROME-HD by Météo France - ALADIN by CHMI - NEMS by meteoblue - MSM by JMA - ACCESS-C by BoM LIVE RAIN, STORM ALERTS & CUSTOM WEATHER ALERTS Want to know before the storm hits near you while you hike, bike or spend time outdoors? You can now access live weather alerts or set up your custom weather alert for wind, sunshine, or new snow. HURRICANE TRACKER FOR STORM TRACKING With Windy's hurricane tracker, you can track the past and projected path of a hurricane or a storm. Windy doesn't rely on just one hurricane model, but will give you all the forecasts available for a storm or hurricane. WINDY MADE FOR PILOTS - 16 altitude levels from the surface to 13.5km/FL450 - 50k+ Airports searchable by ICAO and IATA, including runway info, decoded & raw METAR, TAF & NOTAMs - Detailed Airgram and Meteogram: temperature and dew point, wind speed and wind gusts, pressure, precipitation, altitude cloud cover, freezing altitude - Thermals forecast - Route planner WINDY MADE FOR OUTDOOR SPORTS, SURF & BOATING - 67K+ global webcams - Summer & winter outdoor topographic maps by Mapy.com - 4.5K+ Surfing spots - 12.1K+ Paragliding spots - 4.3K+ Kiting spots - Boating tide forecast - Sun & Moon tracker - Plugins with buoy data WINDY AS A WEATHER WIDGET ON YOUR DEVICE Get the weather now on your iPhone, MacOS, iPad, CarPlay & Apple Watch, from forecast, Radar, METAR, Weather stations & Wind, ready for your travels and outdoor sports. WINDY PREMIUM — FORECAST LIKE A PRO - 1-hour & 15-day outlook with 4–6× daily updates - Radar/Satellite 24h loops & 1-year archives - More maps (Tide Forecast) - Model comparison to find the best model Terms of Use: https://account.windy.com/agreements/windy-terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://account.windy.com/agreements/windy-privacy-policy GET IN TOUCH Join us on social media or at community.windy.com to discuss weather-related topics, report bugs, or suggest a new feature. Contact us directly at info@windy.com.

Screenshots

MSW Surf Forecast4 screens
Windy.com4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Windy.com at none against MSW Surf Forecast's shown. Windy.com also leads on chart position (#4 vs unranked) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). MSW Surf Forecast's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. MSW Surf Forecast sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $21.99 per year and Windy.com sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for MSW Surf Forecast against 4.8 for Windy.com. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Windy.com has 79K ratings behind it against 15K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of MSW Surf Forecast's written reviews are positive against 89% of Windy.com's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MSW Surf Forecast ships an update every 6 weeks, Windy.com every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
MSW Surf Forecast versus Windy.com: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMSW Surf ForecastWindy.com
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (15K ratings)4.8 (79K ratings)
Positive reviews93.1% of reviews — better89.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15K79K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#4 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSurfline/WavetrakWindyty, SE

Customer experience

MSW Surf Forecast

All ratings14,904 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral1.0%
Negative0.7%
Written reviews494 reviews
Positive93.1%
Neutral2.8%
Negative4.0%

Windy.com

All ratings78,968 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews3,744 reviews
Positive89.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.0%

User reviews

MSW Surf Forecast

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌊 Accurate surf forecasts
  • 📊 Detailed wave and weather information
  • 🗺️ Comprehensive coverage of surf spots
  • ⏱️ Helpful tide and sunrise/sunset times
  • 🎨 Intuitive and user-friendly interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional inaccuracies in forecasts
  • 💰 Paywall for some features (e.g., webcams)
  • 🔍 Limited number of spots in some regions
  • 🔀 Navigation changes can be confusing
  • 🔋 Concerns about battery drain

Windy.com

From 79K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌊 Accurate weather forecasts
  • 🌍 Comprehensive global coverage
  • 🔍 Detailed weather data and models
  • 🛥️ Useful for marine/sailing activities
  • 🛫 Valuable for aviation planning

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Overwhelming number of features and options
  • 🔍 Small text and cluttered interface on mobile
  • 🤖 Occasional app crashes or stability issues
  • 💰 Paywall for some advanced features
  • 🌐 Lack of offline functionality

Bugs and requests

MSW Surf Forecast

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Favorites list not syncing across devices
  • Webcam functionality not working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Customizable notifications for swell/conditions
  • Improved sorting/filtering of favorite spots
  • More detailed local spot descriptions
  • Integration with other weather/surf apps

Windy.com

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Map dragging issues on newer iPhone models
  • Inconsistent temperature display units
  • Premium features not always working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add weather front data on isobar charts
  • Improve font size and layout for better readability
  • Provide option to hide webcams or certain layers
  • Implement weather warning notifications
  • Add support for Apple Watch and other wearables

In-app purchases

3 purchases

MSW Surf Forecast

Subscriptions2
  • Surfline Premium - Yearly$21.991 Year
  • Surfline Premium - Yearly2 variants$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • MSW App+$2.99
9 purchases

Windy.com

Subscriptions4
  • Donate 3 EUR/USD a month$2.991 Month
  • Windy Premium$2.991 Month
  • Donate 6 EUR/USD a month$5.491 Month
Show 1 more
  • Windy Premium2 variants$24.991 Year
One-time5
  • Donate approx 5 EUR/USD$4.99
  • Donate approx 10 EUR/USD$9.99
  • Donate approx 20 EUR/USD$19.99
Show 2 more
  • Windy Premium$29.99
  • Donate approx 50 EUR/USD$49.99

Questions

Is MSW Surf Forecast free?
MSW Surf Forecast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Windy.com free?
Windy.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MSW Surf Forecast or Windy.com?
MSW Surf Forecast and Windy.com are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 15K and 79K ratings respectively.
Do MSW Surf Forecast or Windy.com have ads?
MSW Surf Forecast shows ads; Windy.com does not.
Which is updated more often, MSW Surf Forecast or Windy.com?
MSW Surf Forecast ships an update every 6 weeks, and Windy.com every 3 weeks. Most recently, MSW Surf Forecast was updated on September 24, 2026 and Windy.com on September 25, 2026.

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