Comparison

Beachsafe vs SharkSmart WA

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

Head to head
About

Beachsafe

Discover Australian beaches with real-time information on surf conditions, weather, hazards, and lifesaving services. Find patrolled beaches, learn about safety, and get expert advice on rip currents and marine life.

Highlights
  • Find nearby beaches with GPS
  • View surf, weather, and tide forecasts
  • Check patrol service information
  • Identify beach hazards and warnings
  • Access surf safety advice
  • Save favorite beaches
Features
Read full description

Taking a road trip up the coast? On holiday? Or just looking for the right beach for you? Find your nearest beaches in seconds. Brought to you by Surf Life Saving Australia, the Beachsafe app includes the location, weather, surf conditions and hazards plus the local facilities for all Australian beaches. Importantly, the current lifesaving service for each beach is listed to help you find the nearest patrolled beach. Beachsafe also provides expert advice about rip currents, flags and signs, waves, marine creatures, surf skills and more. SLSA recommends swimming at patrolled beaches, between the red and yellow flags. App Features Find a beach • Find beaches near you with your device’s GPS • Use the map view to quickly locate beaches near you • Search for a town, city, region or beach • Save your favourite beaches Patrol service information • Quickly and easily see if a beach is patrolled by surf lifesavers or lifeguards • Find out when a beach will be patrolled using the future search function Conditions • View detailed weather forecasts • See the tide information • Check the swell and wind forecast • Push notifications - Beach closures and major hazard alerts for Beaches that you follow Hazards • Review a beach’s hazard rating • Read detailed summaries of each beach written by coastal safety experts • See hazard information about a patrolled beach including rip currents, stingers and sharks when these have been entered by surf lifesavers or lifeguards Surf Safety • How to identify and escape rip currents • Lifeguard’s top tips • Read about flags and signs • Waves and weather • Surf skills • Marine creatures • Stingers • First aid advice • And more… The Beachsafe app was produced in conjunction with SLSA's beach safety website beachsafe.org.au. If you find this app useful and you wish to help support Surf Life Saving Australia and our 160,000 volunteers, please visit https://sls.com.au. Be safe at the beach, get Beachsafe.

About

SharkSmart WA

Access Western Australia's official shark activity information and beach safety features. Get real-time alerts, view shark monitoring locations, and report sightings to help plan your beach trips safely.

Highlights
  • Shark activity alerts and warnings
  • Map of shark monitoring receivers
  • Patrolled beach locations
  • Weather forecasts
  • Report shark sightings
  • Customizable location notifications
Features
Read full description

SharkSmart WA is Western Australia’s official source of shark activity information. It also includes beach safety features such as Surf Life Saving WA patrolled beaches and weather forecast, to help you plan your trip to the beach. The app will help you switch on your Sea Sense by providing near real-time information of shark activity including current alerts and warnings. Select your favourite coastal locations and use notifications to receive relevant updates as they happen. SharkSmart WA Features: Map Filter and display shark activity and beach safety features including the locations of shark monitoring receivers, beach enclosures, and Beach Emergency Numbers (BEN) signage. Explore and save your favourite coastal locations to stay up to date of recent shark activity. Updates Stay informed of shark activity, including current alerts and warnings. Information is prioritised into ‘Nearby’, ‘Your Favourites’ and ‘Other Locations’, giving you the most relevant information first. Report Using location services, the app can provide you with information about your current coastal location. Use the details provided and the quick call link to report shark sightings or whale carcasses (which are known to attract sharks) to Water Police as soon as possible. Information within the SharkSmart WA app is designed to help you make an informed decision about your water use and take personal responsibility for your safety. You can also follow our Sea Sense tips at https://www.sharksmart.com.au/staying-safe/ and discover more about our shark mitigation strategies by visiting https://www.sharksmart.com.au/

Screenshots

Beachsafe4 screens
SharkSmart WA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Beachsafe at 5.0 against SharkSmart WA's 4.7. Beachsafe also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). SharkSmart WA's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 46%) and ratings volume (109 vs 3). On price, update cadence, 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Beachsafe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SharkSmart WA has 109 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Beachsafe's written reviews are positive against 67% of SharkSmart WA's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beachsafe ships an update every 6 months, SharkSmart WA every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Beachsafe versus SharkSmart WA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeachsafeSharkSmart WA
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better4.7 (109 ratings)
Positive reviews46.5% of reviews67.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3109 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size100 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSurf Life Saving Australia Ltd.Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Customer experience

Beachsafe

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive46.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative50.7%

SharkSmart WA

All ratings109 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral2.8%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive67.4%
Neutral6.5%
Negative26.1%

Bugs and requests

Beachsafe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SharkSmart WA

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Cannot select a town or tap on map on iPhone
  • App crashes when opening
  • App hasn't updated in over a week
  • Notifications delayed for incidents
  • App doesn't update
Show 1 more
  • Map/location directions are incorrect

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add shark ID, tagging date, and size
  • Include approximate age, weight, type, size, tagging location/date, and last scanned location/frequency for tagged sharks
  • Expand coverage to all of Australia
  • Show length and gender of tagged sharks
  • Provide more information on tagged sharks (when, where, size when tagged)
Show 5 more
  • Share alerts via text message or website link
  • Include information on WA government approved shark deterrent devices and rebates
  • Allow sorting of sightings by date
  • Add shark number to alerts
  • Improve map/location directions

In-app purchases

None

Beachsafe

No in-app purchases

None

SharkSmart WA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beachsafe free?
Beachsafe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SharkSmart WA free?
SharkSmart WA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Beachsafe or SharkSmart WA?
Beachsafe is rated higher. Beachsafe averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while SharkSmart WA averages 4.7 from 109 ratings.
Do Beachsafe or SharkSmart WA have ads?
Neither Beachsafe nor SharkSmart WA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beachsafe or SharkSmart WA?
Beachsafe ships an update every 6 months, and SharkSmart WA every 4 months. Most recently, Beachsafe was updated on September 19, 2026 and SharkSmart WA on September 23, 2026.

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