Hurricane Center vs Cyclone
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hurricane Center
Stay informed about hurricanes, tropical storms, and typhoons with real-time tracking and push notifications. Receive localized alerts, access weather radio, and view high-resolution satellite imagery. Get updates from meteorologists and the National Hurricane Center.
- Hurricane, tropical storm, and typhoon tracking
- Real-time push notifications
- Region-specific and localized alerts
- Weather radio access
- High-resolution satellite imagery
- Video updates from meteorologists
- Spanish language push notifications
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Hurricane Center gives you a focused, modern way to track tropical weather when it matters most. Follow active hurricanes, tropical storms, depressions, and monitored NHC basins with live storm details, forecast tracks, cones, satellite imagery, advisories, outlooks, and alert tools built specifically for hurricane season. Designed around official tropical cyclone monitoring, Hurricane Center helps you quickly understand what is active, where it is headed, and what changed since the last advisory. Features include: - Active storm tracking for hurricanes, tropical storms, and depressions - Official National Hurricane Center advisories and outlooks - Forecast cone, track, wind, surge, and satellite map layers - Basin-based storm monitoring - Followed storm alerts for advisory changes - Recent alert history with read and unread status - Map Pro premium overlays for advanced storm tracking, available as an in-app purchase - Synthesized NOAA Weather Radio stations available as an in-app purchase - Universal iPhone and iPad support - Dark hurricane-focused interface built for quick scanning Hurricane Center is built for people who want a serious tropical weather app without clutter. Whether you are watching one storm or monitoring an active basin, the app keeps the most important hurricane information close at hand. For support, questions, or feedback, contact us from inside the app. Hurricane Center is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NOAA, the National Hurricane Center, or the National Weather Service. Alert delivery and timing depend on notification settings, connectivity, Apple services, and upstream data. Use multiple sources of emergency information.
Cyclone
Track hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones globally with real-time satellite imagery and detailed forecasts. Explore interactive maps with current weather, 10-day predictions, and sunrise/sunset times. Enjoy smooth animations and customizable playback for a comprehensive weather overview.
- Live satellite imagery
- Hurricane and storm tracking
- Interactive map exploration
- 10-day weather forecasts
- Customizable animation playback
- Global weather data
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Stay informed and prepared with Cyclone, the comprehensive weather app delivering real-time insights and stunning visuals. Live Satellite Imagery Experience high-resolution cloud cover animations for North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and parts of Russia. Powered by trusted sources like NOAA-NASA GOES, EUMETSAT, SPC, and GDAC for accurate, global weather data. Track Storms Worldwide Monitor hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones with precise projected paths and detailed forecasts. Toggle between ground station data and satellite imagery for a complete view of weather conditions. Interactive Exploration Navigate dynamic terrain, satellite, or standard maps with smooth zoom and pan functionality. Access current weather, 10-day forecasts, and sunrise/sunset times in an intuitive pop-up window. Seamless and Customizable Enjoy fast performance and fluid animations, even on low-bandwidth networks. Control animation playback and speed for a tailored experience.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Cyclone at Free against Hurricane Center's $2.99. Cyclone also leads on review sentiment (61% vs 51%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Hurricane Center's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1K vs 98). On rating, update cadence, 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
Cyclone is free to download; Hurricane Center costs $2.99 up front. Hurricane Center sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Cyclone sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Hurricane Center against 4.5 for Cyclone. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hurricane Center has 1K ratings behind it against 98, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 51% of Hurricane Center's written reviews are positive against 61% of Cyclone's.
Hurricane Center ships an update every 4 months, Cyclone every 5 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Hurricane Center | Cyclone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (1K ratings) — better | 4.5 (98 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 51.0% of reviews | 61.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1K — better | 98 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #91 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 132 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christopher Coudriet | Elecont LLC |
Customer experience
Hurricane Center
Cyclone
User reviews
Hurricane Center
From 1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Trusted and reliable
- 🚀 Great for hurricane season
- 🚀 Knowledgeable and trustworthy information
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and not working as expected
- 🤔 Difficult to use and not user-friendly
- 🤔 Lacks important features like cone predictions
Cyclone
From 98 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Accurate and friendly
- 🚀 Fast and precise
- 👍 Good clear tracking
- 👍 Good for quick updates
- 👍 Good for planning trips
Room to improve
- 😠 Ads make checks impossible
- 😠 Ads force clicks
- 😠 Ads are too intrusive
- 😠 Interface is poor
- 😠 Hard to read
Bugs and requests
Hurricane Center
Reported bugs
3 issues- App not working on iOS 11
- Crashing and force closing issues
- Outdated and non-functional features
Requested features
3 requests- Improved graphics and visualization
- Notifications for severe weather
- Compatibility with latest iOS versions
Cyclone
Reported bugs
75 issues- Notifications for watch zones needed
- Ads make quick checks impossible
- Ads force clicks
- Ads are too intrusive
- Interface is poor
Show 70 moreShow fewer
- Hard to read
- Not easy to see current location
- Limited coverage areas
- Satellite panels do not load
- Useless app for certain cyclones
- No satellite reception for Australia
- Inaccurate data
- App appears unsupported
- Not working
- Waste of money
- Clouds not shown for weeks
- Graphics need enhancement
- Bad cloud depiction
- Limited to see developing lows
- Slow updates
- Not for Russian users
- App is clunky
- Only works for America
- Paid for it, cannot restore purchase
- Needs updates
- Force you to click ads
- CM is too intrusive
- Satellite images are too rough
- Maps are outdated
- Poor coverage
- Badly designed interface
- Doesn't show cyclone near NZ
- Not informative enough
- Hard to read
- Not easy to see immediately where storm is
- Doesn't show radar for southern Gulf of Mexico
- Doesn't cover Caribbean Sea
- Limited to see potential developing lows
- Not for Russian users
- Rubbish app
- Satellite images are too rough
- Maps are outdated
- Apple cannot restore purchase
- Cyclones no longer showing up
- App not updated for years
- Clouds not shown for weeks
- Satellite panels do not load
- Only loads 1/3 of Australia
- Fails to provide basic forecasts
- No panels from east coast Australia to west coast US
- No improvement over free software
- Satellite images are too rough
- Maps are outdated
- Does not cover south half of Gulf and Caribbean
- Not showing tropical cyclone Wintson (category 5)
- No Cyclone Winston and no tracking anywhere
- Doesn't even register Cat 5 cyclone
- Does not show radar for southern half of Gulf of Mexico
- Tropical storm not tracked
- Not shown on radar, not mentioned
- Cannot see cloud mass off coast of Australia
- Limited to see potential developing lows
- Cannot see cloud mass out of the coast of Australia
- Limited to see potential developing lows
- Not for Russian users
- Weather not shown over Russia
- Image cut off at Russian borders
- Hardly works
- No weather on Google map
- Satellite images are too rough
- Most cloud situation unclear
- Maps from two hours ago
- Hard to tell what's going on
- Graphics need enhancement
- No color scales for satellite interpretation
Requested features
17 requests- Ability to notify users of watch zones
- More detail of the Pacific
- Key to explain color-coded storm intensity
- Highlight approximate storm location
- More informative feedback on cyclone intensity (wind strength, speed)
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Strength meter with different colored icons for intensity changes
- Live tracking like Windy
- Sort functions for locations
- Add storm surge and potential impact information
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Key for cyclone icon colors
- Explain what different colors mean
- More enhancement of cloud images
- Color scales for satellite interpretation
- Show cyclones before Kamchatka, not just Russian border
- All information in Russian
In-app purchases
Hurricane Center
- Map Pro$4.99
- NOAA Synthesized Stations$9.99
Cyclone
- Remove Ads & Limits$1.99
Questions
Is Hurricane Center free?
Is Cyclone free?
Which has better reviews, Hurricane Center or Cyclone?
Do Hurricane Center or Cyclone have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hurricane Center or Cyclone?
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