Comparison

White Risk vs Avalanche Lab

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

Head to head
About

White Risk

This app provides avalanche bulletins, snow data, and a trip planning tool for winter mountain activities. It offers e-learning modules to build avalanche knowledge and analyze terrain for safer travel outside secured slopes.

Highlights
  • Avalanche bulletin and snow data
  • Trip planning tool for ski touring and freeride
  • Route drawing and terrain analysis
  • Offline map access
  • E-learning modules for avalanche knowledge
  • Synchronization across platforms
Features
Read full description

White Risk is the Swiss platform for avalanche prevention and was awarded Best Swiss App in 2025. It is designed and developed at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF and is aimed at everyone who travels in winter mountain terrain outside secured ski slopes. In addition to the avalanche bulletin and current snow and measurement data, White Risk includes a trip planning tool specialized for ski touring, snowshoe routes and freeride. Draw your own routes, analyze the terrain using avalanche terrain maps and automatic cruxes, and plan alternatives. Through e learning, White Risk conveys avalanche knowledge and deepens it with interactive lessons and exercises. Tour planning: Draw routes along paths or ski routes or freely across the terrain and store all relevant information about your tour in one place. Automatic cruxes: White Risk analyzes your route, automatically marks potentially critical cruxes and complements them with relevant avalanche and terrain information. Use maps offline: Download map material with topographic maps as well as layers such as slope angle and avalanche terrain for planning and navigation on the go. Synchronization across all platforms: All planned tours are stored in the personal account and can be accessed and edited at any time via app and web. Avalanche bulletin: The avalanche bulletin provides information on the current avalanche situation. It offers a regional forecast of avalanche danger and is an important basis for trip planning. Snow maps, measurements and observations: Display of current and forecast new snow amounts as well as snow depths for Switzerland, complemented by measurements from stations and current observations such as avalanches and snow profiles. E learning: White Risk conveys avalanche knowledge using graphics, videos and animations and deepens it in interactive lessons with exercises and knowledge tests.

About

Avalanche Lab

Record snow and avalanche data in the field using your iPhone. Measure slope angles, record crown profiles, and map slides with GPS. Share your findings instantly with colleagues and the wider community.

Highlights
  • Snow pit diagram creation
  • GPS slide mapping
  • Slope angle measurement
  • Crown profile recording
  • Offline field use
  • Data export (PDF, KML, CAAML)
  • Import CAAML profiles
Features
Read full description

Imagine... You see an avalanche, you ski over to the crown and pull out your iPhone. You snap a photo, measure the slope angle and aspect, then record a crown profile, all on your phone. As you ski down the path, you use your phone as GPS to map the slide. When you get to the toe of the slide you send a diagram of the crown and a map of the slide to your colleagues back at the office, then you post it to the Avalanche Lab network to alert everyone else. With Avalanche Lab you can do all that and more. Avalanche Lab was developed out of a desire to easily enter snow and avalanche data in the field, and then electronically share that data. Avalanche Lab uses all those fancy features on your iPhone to make it as easy as possible. It has all the features an avalanche professional would want, and is simple enough to be used by backcountry skiers and even snowboarders. Avalanche Lab includes clinometer, GPS, and compass support so you can accurately measure and mark your field sites. Avalanche Lab is designed to be used in the field, there is no need for a wifi or cell signal. Most inputs are multiple choice to eliminate the need for typing, and the buttons are big for use with cold fingers. Avalanche Lab produces professional quality snow pit diagrams in the standard format, and in a compact format for display on mobile devices, and saves diagrams as an image or PDF file. Other export formats include KML maps of avalanches, CAAML xml, and SnowPilot format. Avalanche Lab can also import CAAML v5 snow profiles so you can load data from other software for viewing in the field. https://avalanchelab.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Terms-of-Use.pdf

Screenshots

White Risk4 screens
Avalanche Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: White Risk at free against Avalanche Lab's free with in-app purchases. White Risk also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Avalanche Lab's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 71%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.4). On price, 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

Both are free to download. White Risk sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Avalanche Lab sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

White Risk ships an update fortnightly, Avalanche Lab every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
White Risk versus Avalanche Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhite RiskAvalanche Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.3 (15 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.8% of reviews90.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—15 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.411.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size174 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWSL-Institut für Schnee- und Lawinenforschung SLFRENAISSANCE RECREATION LLC

Customer experience

White Risk

Written reviews24 reviews
Positive70.8%
Neutral12.5%
Negative16.7%

Avalanche Lab

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

White Risk

One-time2
  • Standard Plan$34.99
  • Pro Plan$59.99
2 purchases

Avalanche Lab

Subscriptions2
  • Observation PRO Subscription$9.991 Year
  • Avalanche Lab PRO$9.991 Year

Questions

Is White Risk free?
White Risk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Avalanche Lab free?
Avalanche Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do White Risk or Avalanche Lab have ads?
Neither White Risk nor Avalanche Lab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, White Risk or Avalanche Lab?
White Risk ships an update fortnightly, and Avalanche Lab every 2 months. Most recently, White Risk was updated on September 27, 2026 and Avalanche Lab on October 12, 2026.

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