Comparison

PredictWind vs Swell Signal

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

Head to head
About

PredictWind

Access highly accurate marine weather forecasts and advanced tools for wind, waves, and currents. Plan your voyages, optimize routes, and stay informed with real-time data and alerts for safer and more enjoyable time on the water.

Highlights
  • Accurate marine weather forecasts
  • Wind, wave, and current data
  • Weather Routing for optimal routes
  • Departure Planning summaries
  • High-resolution forecast maps
  • Live wind observations and webcams
  • Weather alerts
Features
Read full description

Accurate marine weather forecasts and powerful tools utilizing wind, wave and currents, save you time, keep you safe and ensure you get the most out of every day on the water. Access the world’s top-ranking forecast models for reliable and accurate wind and weather data, including ECMWF, AIFS, ICON, UKMO, GFS, and more. Our very own PWAi, PWG & PWE models deliver unmatched accuracy in the short-to-medium range. View high resolution marine weather maps for wind, gust, CAPE, wave, rain, cloud, pressure, air temperature, sea temperature, ocean data and solunar. Suitable for sailing yacht, powerboat and any other marine weather activity. In addition to marine forecasts, PredictWind also provides a suite of powerful marine weather tools to save you time and keep you safe at sea using Wind, Wave, Tidal and Ocean currents. Weather Routing takes your start and end points then calculates your route factoring in tides, currents, wind and wave data, depth and your Sailing Yacht or Powerboats unique dimensions to give you the best route for comfort or speed. Departure Planning quickly summarizes the forecast marine weather conditions you’ll encounter along your route if leaving on day 1, 2, 3, or 4. Use this data to select the perfect departure date, every time for your Sailing Yacht or Powerboat. ADDITIONAL FEATURES - Daily Briefing: Powerful marine weather data condensed into a simple text forecast. - Maps: High resolution forecasts maps with animated streamlines, wind barbs or arrows. - Tables: The ultimate dashboard for detailed analysis of Wind, Wave, Rain and more. - Graphs: Compare multiple marine forecasts at the same time. - Live Wind Observations and Webcams: Know what’s happening with the weather right now at your local spot. - Local Knowledge: Hear about the best marine spots, amenities and activities at your destination. - Weather Alerts: Set your preferences then get alerts when conditions are just the way you like them for Wind, wave and other parameters. - Ocean Data: See what’s happening under the waves with ocean and tidal currents, and sea temperature. - GPS Tracking: Get a free customized GPS tracking page for your blog or website showing wind data overlaid. - AIS Data: View over 280,000 vessels worldwide on the AIS network to see marine traffic. Terms and conditions: https://www.predictwind.com/about-us/terms-and-conditions
 Privacy policy: https://www.predictwind.com/about-us/privacy-policy

About

Swell Signal

Features
Read full description

Big ships make rideable waves. Swell Signal tells you which ones, where the wave lands, and what time to be standing on the beach. I built it at Three Tree Point in Burien, Washington, after too many afternoons of guessing. A container ship would go by, the water would come alive twenty minutes later, and I was still in the car. So the app watches every large vessel nearby over live AIS, runs real ship wake physics on each one, and puts the answer on your Lock Screen: the boat, how good the wave should be, and the clock time it passes your spot. WHAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU OPEN IT A dark nautical chart of the Sound with every tracked ship on it, state ferries and sailings included. Tap one for its size, speed, the wake it throws and a 3D view. The headline is always a time, like "2:20 PM, in 18 min", because that decides whether you grab the board. Nothing coming? It says so. PICK THE SPOTS YOU RIDE Search for a beach, address or landmark, or drop a pin on the water, and Swell Signal forecasts for that exact point: which ships matter, when their wake arrives, and how good it should be. Save up to twelve. For a pin, your location is read only if you tap the button. TIDE, DONE PROPERLY NOAA tides for the beaches you choose: a curve you can scrub, thirty days of highs and lows, the current and slack water, sun and moon. WIND YOU CAN TRUST Forecast models corrected against local buoys. A beginner view with the short answer, an expert view with every model. WIDGETS FOR EVERYTHING Next Boat, Tide, Wind, and a Swell Board that puts all three together, on the Home and Lock Screens. Or turn a spare iPad into a wall display. RATE THE WAVE After a predicted wave passes, the app asks how it was: three sliders, ten seconds. Every rating tunes the model for that spot. SWELL SIGNAL PRO An optional subscription that sends a push before a ship is predicted to pass a pin you chose. Set how big a wave is worth a buzz, pick lead times, snooze a pin or mute a ship from the notification, and set quiet hours and a daily limit. Alerts fire where ships are tracked (below). An alert is a heads-up, not a guarantee: never rely on one for navigation or safety. LINEUP, FOR WHEN YOU ARE ON THE WATER Part of Swell Signal Pro. On the tow boat, see where and when each wake reaches you, how big it should be, and a red keep-out zone around every hull. Record saves the boat track, speeds and wakes met to your account. Tick RODE IT on the wakes you rode: a tick matched to an archived wave and met outside every keep-out zone is verified, and ship cards count riders with a verified ride on its wake in the last 30 days. Three monthly plans, all with the same alerts and LINEUP; Supporter and Patron put more toward the live ship feed. The app shows each plan's price for your region before you subscribe. No free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically each month unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. HONEST ABOUT WHAT IT IS The chart, pins, tide, wind, ferries, widgets, wave ratings and display mode are free and stay free. No ads or cross-app tracking. An account is optional (a handle and a password, deletable any time) and only needed to rate waves, record sessions or sync pins. Drop a pin anywhere: in most busy waters, ships that broadcast their position show up within minutes. Lanes and the sharpest pass times run from San Diego to Prince Rupert, up the Columbia River to Portland, and along the Texas Gulf. A forecast is not a safety system. Ship wakes come from working vessels in shipping lanes. Stay 300 ft off every hull, never cross a bow, read the water yourself, and treat every prediction as a maybe. Data: NOAA tides and currents, ferry schedules, live vessel traffic, public wind models and buoys. Terms of Use: https://swell-signal.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://swell-signal.com/privacy

Screenshots

PredictWind4 screens
Swell Signal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Swell Signal at every 2 days against PredictWind's every 9 days. PredictWind's advantage is chart position (#22 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PredictWind sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Swell Signal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PredictWind ships an update every 9 days, Swell Signal every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
PredictWind versus Swell Signal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPredictWindSwell Signal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (33K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings33K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#22 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPredictWind LimitedJohn Hanks

Bugs and requests

PredictWind

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes on some devices
  • Inconsistent performance across different locations
  • Subscription issues and billing problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved integration with other apps and charts
  • More frequent weather model updates
  • Earlier weather forecast updates
  • Ability to customize alert settings
  • Improved offline functionality

Swell Signal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

PredictWind

Subscriptions10
  • Basic - Monthly7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Basic - 3 Monthly7 Days trial$12.003 Months
  • Basic - Annual7 Days trial$29.001 Year
Show 7 more
  • Standard - Monthly7 Days trial$49.001 Month
  • Standard - 3 Monthly$99.003 Months
  • Professional - Monthly7 Days trial$99.001 Month
  • Standard - 3 Monthly7 Days trial$99.003 Months
  • Standard - Annual7 Days trial$249.001 Year
  • Professional - 3 Monthly7 Days trial$249.003 Months
  • Professional - Annual7 Days trial$499.001 Year
3 purchases

Swell Signal

Subscriptions3
  • Alerts$5.001 Month
  • Supporter$10.001 Month
  • Patron$20.001 Month

Questions

Is PredictWind free?
PredictWind is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Swell Signal free?
Swell Signal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PredictWind or Swell Signal have ads?
Neither PredictWind nor Swell Signal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PredictWind or Swell Signal?
PredictWind ships an update every 9 days, and Swell Signal every 2 days. Most recently, PredictWind was updated on November 6, 2026 and Swell Signal on October 31, 2026.

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