Comparison

Swell Info vs CMonster

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

Head to head
About

Swell Info

Get detailed 7-day surf forecasts, current weather, tides, and buoy data for numerous locations. Plan your surf sessions with color-coded summaries and in-depth hourly information.

Highlights
  • 7-day detailed surf forecasts
  • Current weather and tides
  • Buoy data
  • Hourly wind and swell data
  • Color-coded forecast summaries
  • Favorite location management
Features
Read full description

Global Surf Industries and Swellinfo.com have teamed up to bring you - Swell Info, the complete surf report and surf forecast tool for your iPhone. Swell Info has full seven day detailed surf forecasts, current weather, tides, and buoy data all in a sleek, super easy to use interface. This is an app you will use for today's surf session, and planning your surfing week. Swell Info currently offers forecasts for the entire US (including Hawaii), Mexico, Central America, and Puerto Rico. New locations will be added in time. All locations available on the app are available free on the Swellinfo.com web site. Please check the web site to see a lit of all our forecast locations. Launching Swell Info brings you to the main forecast screen providing a summary forecast for the morning and afternoon for each of the 7 days, conveniently color coded using green (clean), blue (fair), and red (choppy). You can swipe back and forth between your 5 favorite locations, and when you want the details, you can click on each day to get the detailed text surf forecast, tides, and hourly wind and swell data. The Swell Info app, also includes current wind, weather, tides, and buoy data, updated hourly at the top of each main forecast screen. This is the crucial information that notifies you on what the surfing conditions are right now - what the tide is doing, whether the sea breeze has kicked in, or if the new swell has started to show on the nearest buoy station.

About

CMonster

Control your Power-Pole Shallow Water Anchor with this app via Bluetooth LE. It offers advanced boat control for sport fishing. Requires ownership of compatible Power-Pole devices.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth LE control
  • Power-Pole device operation
  • Advanced boat control
  • Sport fishing enhancement
Features
Read full description

Over the past decade the Power-Pole Shallow Water Anchor has changed the world of sport fishing by offering the most technologically advanced boat control system ever invented. The C-Monster application is designed exclusively for controlling the operations of Power-Pole devices using Bluetooth LE connection. You must own Power-Pole devices to use this application. Currently, the iOS app is only compatible with Power-Pole hydraulic models built late January 2015 or after. This can be confirmed if the serial number ends in “AC” for the 8’ Blade or “AA” for any other hydraulic model. An add-on iOS module will soon be available to allow existing C-Monster equipped Power-Pole models not matching the criteria listed to utilize this app.

Screenshots

Swell Info4 screens
CMonster4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CMonster at Free against Swell Info's $2.99. CMonster also leads on rating (2.1 vs 1.7) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 8 months). Swell Info's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 12.0). On review sentiment, 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

CMonster is free to download; Swell Info costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CMonster holds the better App Store score, 2.1 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 183 and 101 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 8% of Swell Info's written reviews are positive against 13% of CMonster's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Swell Info ships an update every 8 months, CMonster every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Swell Info versus CMonster: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSwell InfoCMonster
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating1.7 (183 ratings)2.1 (101 ratings) — better
Positive reviews8.0% of reviews13.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings183 — better101
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOutdoor Hub LLCJL Marine Systems

Customer experience

Swell Info

All ratings183 ratings
Positive12.6%
Neutral3.8%
Negative83.6%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive8.0%
Neutral5.7%
Negative86.2%

CMonster

All ratings101 ratings
Positive20.8%
Neutral10.9%
Negative68.3%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive13.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative84.8%

User reviews

Swell Info

From 183 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📊 Accurate swell forecasts (when working)
  • 👍 User-friendly interface and easy navigation
  • 🎯 Quick snapshot view for multiple surf spots
  • 📈 Detailed 7-day forecast with 3-hour increments
  • 🌊 More accurate than competitors like Surfline and Magic Seaweed

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes on startup or when selecting regions
  • ❌ Data not updating for extended periods (months)
  • 📅 Calendar stuck on incorrect day (Thursday)
  • 🌊 Inaccurate swell height forecasts
  • 🔄 Sync issues with current conditions

CMonster

From 101 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient app control
  • 👍 Useful for battery management
  • 👍 Emergency start function
  • 👍 Good customer service (mentioned once)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent connection issues
  • 🐛 App crashes often
  • 🐛 Incompatible with Micro anchor
  • 🐛 Does not work with iOS devices (specifically Micro)
  • 🐛 Battery balancing problems

Bugs and requests

Swell Info

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes upon opening
  • Forecast data fails to update
  • Calendar displays incorrect day of week
  • Swell height predictions wildly inaccurate
  • Wind speed shows zero for extended periods
Show 5 more
  • Tide information becomes inaccurate
  • App freezes and won't refresh
  • Data sync failures across multiple locations
  • Stuck displaying same forecast repeatedly
  • Incompatibility with iPhone X and newer devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add Canadian surf spots
  • Include Kauai Hawaiian location
  • Integrate swell maps from website into app
  • Expand international coverage beyond USA
  • Add dark mode option
Show 1 more
  • Improve wind speed display

CMonster

Reported bugs

53 issues
  • Cannot connect to server
  • App crashes constantly
  • App does not find the micro anchor
  • App does not work with micro power pole on IOS
  • App will not stay linked up with iPhone
Show 48 more
  • App randomly stopped working
  • App crashes when adjusting speed
  • App connects then crashes
  • App recognizes only one of the two poles
  • App cannot find pole via Bluetooth
  • App only found one of my two poles
  • Both poles can not be found
  • Cannot get the app to pair with the charge
  • App does not show charge direction arrows
  • App won't show charge direction arrows
  • Firmware update issues
  • Cannot connect to server
  • No such settings to allow battery info input
  • App crashes constantly
  • App crashes when adjusting speed
  • App connects to power poles then crashes
  • App does not find the micro anchor
  • App does not work with micro power pole on IOS
  • App will not stay linked up with iPhone
  • App randomly stopped working
  • App does not show charge direction arrows
  • App won't show charge direction arrows
  • App is super glitchy
  • App won't connect
  • App doesn't show why it won't pair
  • App is unreliable
  • App is useless
  • App is junk
  • App does not work with micro anchor
  • App does not read right for the charge
  • App stopped working
  • Bluetooth connectivity issues
  • Cannot get it to connect to poles
  • Not connecting to one pole
  • Cannot get out of demo mode (ISO)
  • Cannot get the app to pair with the charge
  • App/phone no longer recognizes poles
  • Will not pair at all
  • Recognizes only one pole
  • App on iOS does no good for Micro
  • Does not work with micro power pole
  • Does not find the micro anchor
  • Doesn’t work anymore
  • App crashes constantly
  • App crashes when adjusting speed
  • App connects then crashes
  • App doesn't see the powerpoles
  • App doesn't connect

Requested features

6 requests
  • Improve Bluetooth connectivity
  • App compatibility for Micro anchor
  • Fix ISO version issues
  • Add battery information settings
  • Improve app compatibility for iOS
Show 1 more
  • Update app to fix bugs

In-app purchases

None

Swell Info

No in-app purchases

None

CMonster

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Swell Info free?
Swell Info costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is CMonster free?
CMonster is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Swell Info or CMonster?
CMonster is rated higher. Swell Info averages 1.7 out of 5 from 183 ratings, while CMonster averages 2.1 from 101 ratings.
Do Swell Info or CMonster have ads?
Neither Swell Info nor CMonster shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Swell Info or CMonster?
Swell Info ships an update every 8 months, and CMonster every 3 months. Most recently, Swell Info was updated on October 26, 2026 and CMonster on October 24, 2026.

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