Comparison

search.ch vs Alertswiss

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

Head to head
About

search.ch

This app provides a comprehensive Swiss directory with phone numbers, public transport schedules, and weather forecasts. It also features a detailed map, TV guide, and leisure planner, with an option to block cold calls.

Highlights
  • Phone directory for private and business addresses
  • Public transportation schedules and ticket purchasing
  • Detailed Swiss topographical maps
  • MeteoSchweiz weather forecasts
  • Cold call blocking
  • TV Guide and movie showtimes
  • Leisure time planner
Features
Read full description

The official Swiss phone directory, updated daily. Map, public transportation schedule and official MeteoSchweiz weather forecasts for all areas in Switzerland. • This app blocks annoying cold calls (can be switched off). Suspected cold callers are identified before you accept the call. The list of call centres is updated daily. • Phone directory: Private and business addresses in Switzerland and their phone numbers, updated daily. Find and book restaurants, craftsmen and other services. • Weather forecast: The most accurate local forecast updated at 10 minute intervals. Animated movies for rain, clouds and temperature. Eight-day weather forecast including min/max temperatures and precipitation. • Meteo widget: The weather forecast for your location is directly accessible from the lock screen without starting the app! • Public transportation schedule: Offers the fastest connections for all modes of transportation, including trains, trams, busses and boats. The nearest stops are displayed based on GPS location, and an optional “quick step” function enables additional time savings. • Tickets: In addition to timetable enquiries you can also buy tickets for public transport in Switzerland. • Map: The most detailed Swiss topographical map with points of interest such as bus stops, museums, parking garages, restaurants, hiking paths and public fire pits. • TV Guide and Movie Showtimes. • With the leisure time planner from search.ch you can access thousands of experiences throughout Switzerland. For iPhone and iPad with iOS 12 or later. Requires an internet connection.

About

Alertswiss

Receive real-time alerts, warnings, and information for emergency situations. Plan for disasters with helpful tips and instructions to protect yourself and your family. Customize notifications by canton or current location.

Highlights
  • Real-time alerts and warnings
  • Emergency preparedness information
  • Customizable notification cantons
  • Location-based notifications
  • Incident severity levels
  • Interactive incident maps
Features
Read full description

The Alertswiss blog features all the latest civil protection-related news, including information on recent deployments, drills and personnel, as well as up-to-the-minute policy and planning developments. In an emergency, you may find yourself confronted with questions you have never asked yourself before: How do I contact my friends and relatives? Where should I go? What do I need to take with me? An emergency plan will help you Disaster can strike at any time. Luckily, there is Alertswiss, a mobile app developed by the Federal Office for Civil Protection to help you plan for and stay safe in an emergency. With Alertswiss, you receive alerts, warnings and information in real time. So that you always know exactly and immediately what action you need to take, the Alertswiss app sends you push notifications on the incident, including valuable tips and instructions on how best to protect yourself and your family. The app also lets you customise the type of information you receive: for example, specifying the cantons that you want to receive notifications for, e.g. cantons where your relatives or friends live. All of these reports will be displayed directly on your smartphone’s homescreen. As well as receiving push notifications for your preferred cantons, you can enable push notifications for your current location. However, you first have to authorise the Alertswiss app to determine your location. Once you have activated the location services, all reports and information for both your current location and your preferred cantons will be displayed directly on your smartphone’s homescreen. Maps show simply and clearly which areas are currently affected by the ongoing incident. On the overview screen, you can see which incidents are still ongoing and which ones have since been given the all-clear. Under Reports you will find an overview of the latest official incident information released in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. These reports – alerts, warnings and information – are divided into three levels of severity, with alerts being the highest and information the lowest. - An alert is when the authorities notify the public that they are at immediate risk and order them to follow official instructions on the behaviour they need to adopt. - A warning refers to the reporting of either a potential risk to the public or an incident for which the authorities issue the public with recommendations rather than orders on the behaviour they should subsequently adopt. - The default level of severity for all other reports is Information. Take swift and appropriate action should a hazardous situation arise. So, what are you waiting for? Download the Alertswiss app now and be prepared should disaster strike. Stay safe! Note: Your smartphone must have a stable data connection (WLAN or mobile network) to receive the latest push notifications and incident reports. If you are offline, you will only be able to view information that was updated the last time you were online. Once the connection is re-established, the system will update automatically and send you all of the latest push notifications and reports.

Screenshots

search.ch4 screens
Alertswiss4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: search.ch at 88% against Alertswiss's 33%. search.ch also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Alertswiss's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.5) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Alertswiss holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 7 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 88% of search.ch's written reviews are positive against 33% of Alertswiss's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

search.ch ships an update every 4 months, Alertswiss every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
search.ch versus Alertswiss: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametersearch.chAlertswiss
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (8 ratings)4.3 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.8% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB213 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSwisscom Directories AGSwiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP)

Customer experience

search.ch

All ratings8 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews213 reviews
Positive87.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative8.0%

Alertswiss

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

search.ch

No in-app purchases

None

Alertswiss

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is search.ch free?
search.ch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Alertswiss free?
Alertswiss is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, search.ch or Alertswiss?
Alertswiss is rated higher. search.ch averages 3.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Alertswiss averages 4.3 from 7 ratings.
Do search.ch or Alertswiss have ads?
search.ch shows ads; Alertswiss does not.
Which is updated more often, search.ch or Alertswiss?
search.ch ships an update every 4 months, and Alertswiss every 3 months. Most recently, search.ch was updated on September 19, 2026 and Alertswiss on September 10, 2026.

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