Comparison

FEMA vs Ready Pinellas

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

Head to head
About

FEMA

This app provides essential tools and information for disaster preparedness, safety, and recovery. Receive real-time alerts, access guidance on emergency plans and kits, and find information on disaster assistance.

Highlights
  • Real-time weather and emergency alerts
  • Disaster preparedness guidance
  • Actionable safety advice
  • Disaster recovery assistance information
  • Location-based alerts
  • Accessibility features
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The official FEMA mobile app provides essential tools and information to help you prepare for, stay safe during, and recover from disasters. Empower yourself and your loved ones with critical resources at your fingertips. Key Features: - Timely and Relevant Alerts: Receive real-time weather and emergency alerts from the National Weather Service (NWS) and Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), tailored to your specified locations (up to five), utilizing zip code precision. Stay informed about potential hazards affecting the areas you care about. - Comprehensive Preparedness Guidance: Access clear, concise information on how to prepare for various disasters. Learn how to develop a family emergency communication plan and build an effective emergency kit. - Actionable Safety Advice: Understand immediate steps to take to protect yourself and your family during different types of emergencies. - Disaster Recovery Assistance: Find answers to frequently asked questions about the disaster assistance process and locate FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers nearby. - Accessibility Focused: Designed with accessibility in mind, the app is compatible with screen reader technology and adheres to federal accessibility standards. Be proactive in ensuing your safety and resilience. Download the official FEMA App today to access vital information and resources when you need them most. It’s a free and essential tool for every individual and family. If you have any questions, comments or ideas, we’d love to hear them. Contact us at fema-app@fema.dhs.gov. Important: Tornado alerts are a moving target using polygon tracking for accuracy. Real-time tornado alerts based on your current location are not currently offered in the FEMA app.

About

Ready Pinellas

This app helps residents prepare for and respond to tropical storms and other emergencies. It provides tools to determine evacuation zones, create personalized emergency plans, and receive critical alerts.

Highlights
  • Know Your Evacuation Zone
  • Readiness Checklists (Pre-storm, 5-day, 3-day)
  • Create Personalized Emergency Plans
  • Receive Emergency Alerts (Alert Pinellas)
  • Storm Surge Impact Visualization
  • Special Needs Shelter Registration
  • Pet Preparedness Information
Features
Read full description

Pinellas County Emergency Management’s Ready Pinellas application is a mobile disaster preparedness and decision support application designed to assist Pinellas County citizens in planning ahead, or when tropical storms approach our area, providing an outline of steps and recommendations and current information. Ready Pinellas App Features: Know Your Zone: When a tropical storm approaches it’s critical for residents to know their Evacuation Zone. It’s best to find out your zone before hurricane season so you can access your risk and make plans. As a user, you can enter your address and determine your evacuation level, the closest hotel accommodations, the closest general or special needs shelter. Note: not all shelter and hotel accommodations will be available in all storm levels. Check back with this feature when a storm is approaching. Readiness Checklist: The Readiness Checklist is a tool to provide users an easy guide for preparedness ahead of hurricane season. There is a Blue Sky Readiness Checklist for pre-storm preparations, and as a tropical storm approaches and Pinellas County is placed in the 5-day or 3-day cone as indicated by the National Hurricane Center, the app will present the 5-day Readiness Checklist and then the 3-day Readiness Checklist. Get a Plan: This feature helps citizens, businesses and special needs citizens create an emergency preparedness plan. Users can enter information about the location of their homes and businesses, family members, pets and family contact information and an individualized emergency plan will be developed that users are able to print or maintain online. Alert Pinellas: The most important step you can take to be prepared is to know when a hazard is coming. The Alert Pinellas emergency notification service allows Pinellas County to send urgent messages by voice to landlines and mobile devices, text, TDD and via email. Registration is free, and users can register each address where they live and work to get alerts for multiple locations. Storm Surge Protector: This interactive tool depicts the impact that different levels of storm surge flooding would have on a neighborhood, home or business. Users can type in their address and see a representative graphic illustration of their structure type with a depiction of the projected height of storm surge for the different evacuation levels. It also displays the specific evacuation level for the address and the amount of storm surge predicted for that evacuation level in a neighborhood view. Special Needs: Pinellas County’s special needs program is intended for those who need transportation or require minimal medical assistance while seeking public shelter. Registration for a special needs shelter is required and this feature allows users to register. Pet Preparedness: Get information on sheltering your pet, and a list of supplies needed to weather the storm. Find out information on pet collection or information about locating stray animals following a hazard event. There are also pet friendly shelters and pet coordination for special needs citizens. A link brings you to registration forms. Social Media: Follow Pinellas County on social media for general county information, breaking news, preparedness tips and real-time updates. Pinellas County All Hazards Preparedness Guide: Download a PDF version of Pinellas County’s All Hazards Guide, with information on how to prepare for and respond to hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, lightning and manmade disasters. National Hurricane Center: Connect to the official source for worldwide tropical predictions, weather, water and climate data, and analyses of hazardous tropical weather. Find translations and podcasts.

Screenshots

FEMA4 screens
Ready Pinellas3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: FEMA at 69% against Ready Pinellas's 14%. FEMA also leads on rating (3.7 vs 2.5) and ratings volume (1K vs 52). 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

FEMA holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FEMA has 1K ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of FEMA's written reviews are positive against 14% of Ready Pinellas's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FEMA ships an update every 2 months, Ready Pinellas every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
FEMA versus Ready Pinellas: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFEMAReady Pinellas
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (1K ratings) — better2.5 (52 ratings)
Positive reviews69.1% of reviews — better13.5% of reviews
Number of ratings1K — better52
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#32 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB68 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)PINELLAS, COUNTY OF

Customer experience

FEMA

All ratings1,025 ratings
Positive62.8%
Neutral9.0%
Negative28.2%
Written reviews246 reviews
Positive69.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative22.0%

Ready Pinellas

All ratings52 ratings
Positive34.6%
Neutral5.8%
Negative59.6%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive13.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative81.1%

Bugs and requests

FEMA

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Alerts not showing up in the app
  • Locations being repeatedly deleted
  • Inability to add or update locations
  • Notification badge not clearing properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Customizable notification settings
  • Ability to view past/archived alerts
  • Integration with other weather/emergency apps
  • Improved mapping and location services

Ready Pinellas

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

FEMA

No in-app purchases

None

Ready Pinellas

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FEMA free?
FEMA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ready Pinellas free?
Ready Pinellas is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FEMA or Ready Pinellas?
FEMA is rated higher. FEMA averages 3.7 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Ready Pinellas averages 2.5 from 52 ratings.
Do FEMA or Ready Pinellas have ads?
Neither FEMA nor Ready Pinellas shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FEMA or Ready Pinellas?
FEMA ships an update every 2 months, and Ready Pinellas every 3 months. Most recently, FEMA was updated on October 13, 2026 and Ready Pinellas on October 5, 2026.

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