PocketGrib vs LuckGrib
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PocketGrib
Access and analyze global weather data, including wind, precipitation, and pressure, directly on your mobile device. Visualize forecasts with animated maps and detailed graphs, perfect for outdoor activities and meteorology enthusiasts.
- Download and view global weather data
- Animated weather map displays
- Meteogram and raw data views
- Configurable GRIB file downloads
- Offline weather data access
- Support for multiple weather models
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With PocketGrib you can download, view and analyse global weather data while on the go. Wind, precipitation, pressure, temperature, wave and other data extracted from GRIB files are displayed through our powerful GRIB viewer interface. Perfect for sailors (both sailing and in the pub), windsurfers, storm chasers, outdoor enthusiasts, amateur and professional meteorologists. Features - Choose your map location and have weather information overlaid - Animation of weather maps - Weather can be viewed as a meteogram (graph) or raw data - Configurable download to minimise file sizes (great for roaming) - GRIB files can be downloaded to your PC via iTunes - Displays online and offline - Support for 3rd party GRIB files PocketGrib downloads and displays the following weather types: - Wind speed and direction (10 m above ground/sea) - Precipitation (rain, snow etc) - Pressure - Air temperature - Waves (including Mediterranean and Black Sea) - Cloud cover - Relative humidity - CAPE (Convective Atmospheric Potential Energy) - Current (Atlantic only) - 500mb Height Direct download of GRIB data from NOAA's GFS (Global Forecast System) model - Forecasts up to 8 days - Data steps: 3hr, 6hr, 12hr - Worldwide coverage - Resolution: 0.25°, 0.5°, 1°, 2° - Data updated 4 times a day (every 6 hours) Also support for COAMPS (0.2° resolution), WW3, NOGAPS, RTOFS (Currents) and FNMOC WW3 (Mediterranean wave) models. GRIB forecasts are published without human intervention or review. As such, the end user requires some knowledge and awareness. Most GRIB models do NOT accurately forecast hurricanes and tropical cyclones so their use should be combined with specific hurricane and tropical cyclone forecasts.
LuckGrib
This app provides advanced weather data visualization, downloading, and routing for sailors and weather enthusiasts. It offers access to a wide range of global and high-resolution weather and ocean models, with features for optimizing routes and analyzing complex weather parameters. Remote access via satellite is also supported.
- GRIB file reader, viewer, and downloader
- Advanced weather routing and route analysis
- Satellite data access
- High-resolution global and regional weather models
- Ocean current models
- Detailed weather parameter analysis
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LuckGrib is a fully featured, easy to use, fast GRIB reader, viewer, downloader and weather router. Remote access to weather data via satellite. Advanced weather routing capabilities, for sailors, is available. Weather forecast data, packaged as GRIB files, can be downloaded directly from the LuckGrib server cluster. Downloads are available via: a direct high speed internet connection, or through the Iridium GO! as well as through the RedPort Optimizer. For sailors, LuckGrib offers a best-in-class, complete solution: industry leading visualization and ease of use, highly optimized weather data downloads via satellite, along with industry leading optimized weather routing and route analysis. Inshore sailors may not require satellite downloads, but will benefit from the rest of the system. LuckGrib is unique among apps that were originally designed for sailors, in that the weather analysis tools are powerful enough to attract attention from meteorologitsts. For sailors, meteorologists, and all weather enthusiasts, LuckGrib offers access to a wide range of high resolutions models, a number of global models, weather data at the surface, 850mb, 500mb and 250mb levels, parameters ranging from simple things such as wind, pressure and temperature, to more advanced quantities such as simulated radar, standard deviations, precipitable water, lightning, vertical vorticity, helicity and more. LuckGrib is a thoroughly modern and advanced GRIB viewer. LuckGrib provides access to many weather and ocean models, including global models such as GFS and ECMWF along with many high resolution models, which vary according to the region you are interested in. In the USA, there is the HRRR, NAM, NBM and many others. In Europe there is Icon-EU, Arpège, Arome, the Danish DINI and others. There are several ocean current models, such as the global RTOFS and Mercator Ocean, along with regional higher resolution models such as OFS, NCOM, CMEMS and others. The LuckGrib weather routing system is an industry leading, high quality, robust, high performance and comprehensive system. The LuckGrib isochronal Weather Routing solver has many unique features, such as being able to respect constraints (points that must be left to port or starboard,) deal with routes which require you to heave-to, outstanding visualization and interactivity features, and much more. LuckGrib comes with a 14 day free trial, or free access to reduced resolution downloads (LuckGrib Lite) for users who do not require access to the most accurate data. If you are interested in studying weather and gaining access to detailed weather forecasts, download the app and give it a try. Downloading data via satellite requires the Offshore Data in-app purchase. Access to the isochronal weather routing system requires an in-app purchase. Note that LuckGrib does not use a subscription pricing model - after the free trial, when you decide to purchase the app, there will be a one time charge, not an ongoing subscription. For more details, please visit the support website. * for details on the offshore data system: https://offshore.luckgrib.com * for details on weather routing: https://routing.luckgrib.com * for details on weather models: https://luckgrib.com/models * the privacy policy: https://luckgrib.com/privacy * terms of use: https://luckgrib.com/terms-of-use * end user license agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: LuckGrib at Free against PocketGrib's $5.99. PocketGrib's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and chart position (#91 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
LuckGrib is free to download; PocketGrib costs $5.99 up front. LuckGrib sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. PocketGrib asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for PocketGrib against 4.9 for LuckGrib. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 577 and 343 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 93% and 93% positive.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.
| Parameter | PocketGrib | LuckGrib |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (577 ratings) | 4.9 (343 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 93.4% of reviews — better | 92.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 577 — better | 343 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #91 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 173 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicko Brennan | Craig McPheeters |
Customer experience
PocketGrib
LuckGrib
User reviews
PocketGrib
From 577 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Accurate weather forecasts
- 🚀 Comprehensive data
- 🚀 Reliable and dependable
- 🚀 Useful for planning sailing/boating trips
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or issues with downloads
- 🐛 Wind speed sometimes underestimated
- 🐛 Lack of wave height data for some areas
LuckGrib
From 343 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent weather forecasting and routing
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Wide range of weather models and data sources
- 🚢 Tailored for sailors and offshore navigation
- 💰 One-time purchase, no subscription fees
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional issues with GRIB file downloads
- ⚠️ Steep learning curve for some features
- 🔍 Lack of support for some boat types (e.g., catamarans)
Bugs and requests
PocketGrib
Reported bugs
2 issues- Corrupted map display after recent update
- Inability to download GRIB files in some areas
Requested features
5 requests- Add wave height data
- Improve graphics and visuals
- Provide more weather models to compare
- Faster data updates
- Ability to plot boat position and route
LuckGrib
Reported bugs
2 issues- Reported issues with 'no wind data for start time'
- Occasional app crashes or freezes
Requested features
3 requests- Integration with boat instruments and data logging
- More advanced routing options and customization
- Improved support for regional weather models
In-app purchases
PocketGrib
No in-app purchases
LuckGrib
- 14-day TrialFree
- 14 day trial of Offshore DataFree
- 14 day Weather Routing trialFree
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- LuckGrib weather data access$29.99
- Premium Offshore Data access$59.99
- Weather Routing access$59.99
Questions
Is PocketGrib free?
Is LuckGrib free?
Which has better reviews, PocketGrib or LuckGrib?
Do PocketGrib or LuckGrib have ads?
Which is updated more often, PocketGrib or LuckGrib?
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