Comparison

FloodWatch vs RiverApp

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

Head to head
About

FloodWatch

Monitor real-time river and flood data across the United States. Track river height, discharge, precipitation, and water temperature with data from USGS and NWS. Ideal for property owners, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone needing flood awareness.

Highlights
  • Real-time river data
  • Historical trends and graphs
  • Favorites list for gauges
  • Nationwide US coverage
  • Flood awareness alerts
  • Recreation water condition checks
Features
Read full description

Whether you live near a river, enjoy kayaking or fishing, or simply want to stay informed about potential flooding, FloodWatch keeps you connected to the latest conditions across the United States. Powered by data from the US Geological Survey (USGS) and National Weather Service (NWS), FloodWatch helps you monitor rivers and streams with precision and confidence. Key Features • Real-Time River Data – Track current river height, discharge, precipitation, and water temperature from thousands of USGS gauges nationwide. • Historical Trends & Graphs – Visualize how river levels, streamflow, rainfall, and temperature change over time. • Favorites List – Save your most important gauges for instant access to the latest readings. • Nationwide Coverage – Explore data for rivers and streams throughout the U.S., including flood-stage information from NWS. • Flood Awareness – Keep watch on flood-prone areas and monitor rising waters before they become a threat. • Great for Recreation – Check water conditions before heading out to fish, paddle, or swim. Only USGS gauges with real-time data capabilities are included, so you’ll always get the most accurate and up-to-date information available. Whether you’re safeguarding your property, planning your next river trip, or simply fascinated by hydrology, FloodWatch gives you the insight to stay prepared when water levels change.

About

RiverApp

Access real-time water levels, flows, and temperatures for rivers worldwide. Ideal for sports enthusiasts and professionals, it offers detailed maps, navigability information, and customizable alerts for over 40,000 hydrometric stations.

Highlights
  • Real-time water levels and flows
  • Water temperatures
  • Hydrometric station maps
  • Customizable alerts
  • Whitewater course navigability
  • User-added hazards and courses
Features
Read full description

Get quick access to the latest river levels, flows and conditions across the US and more than 20 other countries worldwide. RiverApp gives you access to one of the world’s most comprehensive hydrometric datasets, with data from over 40,000 monitoring stations. Whether you kayak, canoe, packraft, paddleboard, fly fish, surf rivers, manage irrigation, operate hydropower infrastructure or monitor flood risk, RiverApp helps you stay informed with reliable, easy-to-read river data. FREE FEATURES ‣ Current water levels and flows for over 20,000 rivers ‣ Water temperature data where available ‣ Detailed maps of hydrometric stations and whitewater sections ‣ Custom alerts for each station when a defined level or flow is reached ‣ Favourite stations and whitewater sections for quick access to the latest readings and conditions FREE FEATURES FOR WHITEWATER SPORTS ‣ More than 4,000 referenced whitewater sections ‣ Section conditions based on current water level or flow ‣ Detailed section maps with quick access to put-in and take-out points ‣ Hazards, rapids and other points of interest, including photos where available ‣ Information on difficulty, length and average gradient ‣ Community-based addition and editing of whitewater sections RIVERAPP PREMIUM Unlock additional tools for deeper river monitoring and trip planning: ‣ Historical water level and flow data going back several years ‣ Forecasts for selected stations ‣ Satellite map layers from multiple providers, with comparison tools ‣ Customizable Home Screen Widgets to keep your favourite river gauges visible at a glance ‣ Monthly streamflow statistics to understand seasonal variations and plan river trips at the right time and place DATA SOURCES RiverApp brings together data from over 100 official and public hydrometric sources worldwide, including, among others: NVE California Data Exchange Center Government of Canada — Wateroffice USGS NOAA PEGELONLINE — www.pegelonline.wsv.de HVZ Baden-Württemberg HDN Bayern Kanton Bern Ennskraftwerke Land Kärnten Land Niederösterreich Regione Piemonte HVZ Rheinland-Pfalz Český hydrometeorologický ústav HVZ Sachsen-Anhalt Land Salzburg Scottish Environment Protection Agency Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje HWZ Steiermark BAFU HNZ Thüringen Land Tirol Shoothill Vigicrues Serveur de données hydrométriques temps réel du bassin Rhône-Méditerranée Land Vorarlberg Bureau of Meteorology — Australia DISCLAIMER RiverApp is an independent application and is not affiliated with the listed organizations unless explicitly stated. RiverApp and the listed data providers shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, delays or interruptions in the information provided, nor for any loss, injury or damage of any kind resulting from its use. End-user license agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

FloodWatch4 screens
RiverApp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: RiverApp at none against FloodWatch's shown. RiverApp also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 58%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. FloodWatch sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and RiverApp sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 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 — 4.7 for FloodWatch against 4.8 for RiverApp. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RiverApp has 5.5K ratings behind it against 328, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of FloodWatch's written reviews are positive against 79% of RiverApp's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FloodWatch ships an update every 2 months, RiverApp every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
FloodWatch versus RiverApp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFloodWatchRiverApp
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (328 ratings)4.8 (5.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews79.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3285.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#114 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrian DeshongFlorian Bessiere

Customer experience

FloodWatch

All ratings328 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral15.0%
Negative26.7%

RiverApp

All ratings5,489 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews290 reviews
Positive79.3%
Neutral5.5%
Negative15.2%

User reviews

FloodWatch

From 328 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great information
  • 👍 Useful tool
  • 👍 Works as advertised
  • 👍 Responsive developer

Room to improve

  • anúncios Intrusive ads
  • anúncios Loud and disruptive ads
  • anúncios Full-page ads
  • anúncios Ads prevent app usage
  • 💰 Expensive ad-free option

RiverApp

From 5.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🗺️ Comprehensive coverage of rivers
  • 📊 Useful data and visualizations
  • 🔔 Helpful alerts and notifications
  • 💰 Affordable premium upgrade

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional inaccurate or outdated information
  • 🔍 Missing some important river gauges
  • 💬 Lack of communication from developers
  • 🗺️ Incorrect geographic information for some areas

Bugs and requests

FloodWatch

Reported bugs

19 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • App crashes when updating levels
  • App crashes when scrolling through favorites
  • App crashes a lot
  • App kicks out when viewing favorites
Show 14 more
  • Map keeps returning to current location
  • Layout changed, not preferred
  • Does not work since September 11
  • Update didn't resolve problem
  • App kicks out when trying to access
  • New update made nothing work
  • Interface not intuitive
  • Gauges not appearing on map initially
  • Full page ads impede navigation
  • App doesn't work at all
  • No data or functions
  • Inaccurate and missing major points
  • App crashes on initial launch
  • App crashes when trying to scroll thru favorites

Requested features

21 requests
  • Add alerts for flood stage
  • Add Lock Screen widgets
  • Add search bar for gauges
  • Add CFS readings
  • Add alerts for flow rate
Show 16 more
  • Add historical data query
  • Add data extractor to email
  • Add link to data source website
  • Add more information on the gage itself
  • Add average conditions or trends
  • Add push notifications
  • Add ability to email charts
  • Add automatic surfing to USGS website
  • Add flood level for each river
  • Add ability to send push notification for flooding potential
  • Add discharge data
  • Add complications for watch faces
  • Add ability to remove ALL ads
  • Add a "tell friends" function
  • Add more sensors to pop up
  • Add ability to get notified when water reaches a certain level in a certain area

RiverApp

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Map feature not working due to internet connection issues
  • Horizontal lines and color indicators disappearing from graphs
  • Inconsistent or unreliable data updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more river coverage, especially in underserved regions
  • Improve forecast and prediction capabilities
  • Implement a journaling or note-taking feature
  • Allow for customizable alerts and notifications
  • Add support for additional measurement units (e.g., millimeters)

In-app purchases

5 purchases

FloodWatch

One-time5
  • Tip Level 1$0.99
  • Tip Level 2$2.99
  • Tip Level 3$5.99
Show 2 more
  • Ad Removal$8.99
  • Tip Level 4$9.99
3 purchases

RiverApp

Subscriptions2
  • Premium - 1 month subscription$0.991 Month
  • Premium - 1 year subscription$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • RiverApp Premium$29.99

Questions

Is FloodWatch free?
FloodWatch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RiverApp free?
RiverApp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FloodWatch or RiverApp?
RiverApp is rated higher. FloodWatch averages 4.7 out of 5 from 328 ratings, while RiverApp averages 4.8 from 5.5K ratings.
Do FloodWatch or RiverApp have ads?
FloodWatch shows ads; RiverApp does not.
Which is updated more often, FloodWatch or RiverApp?
FloodWatch ships an update every 2 months, and RiverApp every 3 weeks. Most recently, FloodWatch was updated on October 27, 2026 and RiverApp on October 26, 2026.

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