Comparison

RainAware vs Windy.com

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

Head to head
About

RainAware

Get precise rain timing and severe weather alerts for your location. Visualize weather data with interactive graphs and maps, and customize notifications to stay informed about changing conditions.

Highlights
  • Rain Clock with precise timing
  • Customizable rain and severe weather notifications
  • Interactive temperature and wind graphs
  • Weather map overlays with watches and warnings
  • Satellite and radar imagery
  • Forecast clock for 8-day outlook
  • Site lists for nearby locations
Read full description

Know exactly when rain will start and stop at your location. RainAware, the original hyperlocal rain app with RainClock, push alerts, live radar, satellite, lightning & storm tracking. ***** INCLUDED IN THE STANDARD VERSION ***** • Rain Clock See rain timing for your location up to 3 hours ahead. Example: “Rain starts in 1 hr 30 min and ends at 4:30 PM.” Background images match the weather outside. • Alerts & notifications Get notified when rain is coming or ending, or when severe weather threatens. Customize alert timing, rain-duration thresholds, proximity settings, and alert frequency. • Regional radar, satellite, and 1-hour precipitation View live weather imagery over a regional domain, then move the domain anywhere to inspect weather there. • Watches, warnings, and advisories View active hazards including severe storms, floods, winter weather, wind, fire, marine alerts, and more. • Weather map overlays Analyze the map with overlays for surface observations, lightning, hurricane tracks, storm reports, moving ship observations, and more. • Landscape mode & fast looping Use landscape mode for a larger map with extra pan and zoom controls. Long-press to burst-loop imagery faster and spot trends. • Current conditions ticker Cycles through the nearest surface observation and also shows nearby lightning, precipitation, and storm reports when relevant. Tap icons to jump to the location. • Interactive graphs View 36-hour trend graphs for temperature, wind, cloud cover, precipitation amount and type. • Forecast Clock See the next 8 days in a concise Today/Tonight format, including sunrise, sunset, and moon phase. • Site lists Quickly check weather for nearby cities, airports, ballparks, speedways, golf courses, and more. Stadium views include wind direction for in, out, or across-field awareness. • Drawing tools Draw on the map, add text, overlay it on weather imagery, and share. • Weather badges Badges show when rapid changes in rain, temperature, clouds, or wind are forecast. Configurable. • Deep customization RainAware includes extensive settings so you can tune the app to your workflow. ***** SUBSCRIPTION FEATURES ***** Subscriptions are available in-app and work across supported devices. • Full-map access View the full weather map without regional limits. • Storm cell tracking Filter storm cells and view motion, hail potential, rotation, and more. • National radar products Includes Echo Tops, Hail Swaths, and Rotation Tracks. • Single-site radar Access reflectivity and velocity products, with options to merge Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico radar into the national view. • Expanded satellite imagery Adds water vapor and colorized visible imagery for enhanced cloud-top analysis. • More alert types Add lightning proximity alerts, severe storm report alerts, and alerts for another location. • RainPro tool Interactively refine precipitation motion for even more precise rain timing. • Environmental fields Display threat areas, VAD wind profiles, isobars, CAPE, updraft helicity, 500 & 850 mb charts & more. • Warning & observation monitor Filter and sort warnings and surface observations. • Advanced surface observations Plot thousands of stations, ships, and buoys, including water temperature and wave height. • Longer loops Animate up to 36 frames and as much as 12 hours ahead on capable devices. • Aviation mode Use FAA sectional maps as an underlay, display flight rules at stations, and view winds aloft at VWP locations. • Advanced drawing tools Draw fronts, time-match drawings to imagery, and create lines, polygons, circles, and squares. • Faster data updates Get more frequent radar, satellite, and surface data refreshes. • Performance controls Manage memory, cache behavior, panning, and image tiling. Coverage is best across the USA and southern Canada. Satellite and local radar coverage also extends from Hawaii to the Caribbean. https://www.rainaware.com/rainaware_coverage_map.webp

About

Windy.com

This app offers advanced weather forecasting with over 50 detailed maps and 15 weather models, including live radar, satellite imagery, and hurricane tracking. It provides customizable alerts for storms, wind, and snow, making it ideal for outdoor activities and aviation.

Highlights
  • Live weather radar & satellite
  • Over 50 weather maps
  • 15+ weather models
  • Hurricane tracker
  • Customizable weather alerts
  • Aviation-specific forecasts
  • Air quality index
Features
Read full description

A UNIQUE WEATHER FORECAST VISUALISATION While most weather forecasting apps rely solely on free global models, Windy has gone a step further by investing heavily in the most accurate weather models available, always at the highest possible resolution, to deliver you the most accurate forecasts in the world. LIVE WEATHER APP - WEATHER RADAR & SATELLITE (Now with Precipitation Type & Lightning tracker) Radar is a highly valued tool for weather forecasting. To provide you with the most accurate radar imagery, we constantly expand our resources so that rain, snow, and storms don't catch you by surprise. Trusted radar sources include NOAA, Met Office, Météo France, DWD, JMA, IMD, BoM & more. The global satellite composite is created from NOAA, EUMETSAT & Himawari data. MORE THAN 50 WEATHER MAPS - Rain radar, Satellite and a unique combined layer of Radar & Satellite images (blue, infrared, visible) - Hurricane tracker, Weather warnings & Extreme forecast - Wind forecast: Wind speed, Wind gusts & Accumulation, models comparison, data from live Weather stations - Temperature: Humidity, Pressure, Dew point, live data from Weather stations - Rain: Thunder & storms, Rain accumulation, Thunderstorms, Precipitation type, CAPE-index - Aviation: Clouds, Cloud tops, Cloud base, Visibility (LIFR, IFR, MVFR, VFR), Fog, Icing, Clear air turbulence, Thermals, Freezing altitude - Marine Forecast: Waves, Swell, Wave power, Tide forecast, Currents, Sea temperature - Solar activity: Solar power, UV index, Wet-bulb temperature - Snow: Snow depth, New snow, Snow density - Air Quality: Air Quality Index (AQI) with Pollen (CAMS), NO2, PM 2.5, Aerosol, SO2, Ozone layer, Surface ozone, CO concentration, Dust mass - Soil moisture, Moisture anomaly, Drought intensity, Fire Danger, Fuel moisture MORE THAN 15 WEATHER MODELS Global weather models: - meteoblue - AI forecast - ECMWF - GFS by NOAA - ICON by DWD Local weather models: - HRRR by NOAA - NAM by NOAA - HRDPS by MSC - ICON-EU by DWD - ICON-D2 by DWD - UKV by Met Office - AROME-HD by Météo France - ALADIN by CHMI - NEMS by meteoblue - MSM by JMA - ACCESS-C by BoM LIVE RAIN, STORM ALERTS & CUSTOM WEATHER ALERTS Want to know before the storm hits near you while you hike, bike or spend time outdoors? You can now access live weather alerts or set up your custom weather alert for wind, sunshine, or new snow. HURRICANE TRACKER FOR STORM TRACKING With Windy's hurricane tracker, you can track the past and projected path of a hurricane or a storm. Windy doesn't rely on just one hurricane model, but will give you all the forecasts available for a storm or hurricane. WINDY MADE FOR PILOTS - 16 altitude levels from the surface to 13.5km/FL450 - 50k+ Airports searchable by ICAO and IATA, including runway info, decoded & raw METAR, TAF & NOTAMs - Detailed Airgram and Meteogram: temperature and dew point, wind speed and wind gusts, pressure, precipitation, altitude cloud cover, freezing altitude - Thermals forecast - Route planner WINDY MADE FOR OUTDOOR SPORTS, SURF & BOATING - 67K+ global webcams - Summer & winter outdoor topographic maps by Mapy.com - 4.5K+ Surfing spots - 12.1K+ Paragliding spots - 4.3K+ Kiting spots - Boating tide forecast - Sun & Moon tracker - Plugins with buoy data WINDY AS A WEATHER WIDGET ON YOUR DEVICE Get the weather now on your iPhone, MacOS, iPad, CarPlay & Apple Watch, from forecast, Radar, METAR, Weather stations & Wind, ready for your travels and outdoor sports. WINDY PREMIUM — FORECAST LIKE A PRO - 1-hour & 15-day outlook with 4–6× daily updates - Radar/Satellite 24h loops & 1-year archives - More maps (Tide Forecast) - Model comparison to find the best model Terms of Use: https://account.windy.com/agreements/windy-terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://account.windy.com/agreements/windy-privacy-policy GET IN TOUCH Join us on social media or at community.windy.com to discuss weather-related topics, report bugs, or suggest a new feature. Contact us directly at info@windy.com.

Screenshots

RainAware4 screens
Windy.com4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Windy.com at Free against RainAware's $4.99. Windy.com also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (89% vs 51%). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Windy.com is free to download; RainAware costs $4.99 up front. RainAware sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Windy.com sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Windy.com holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Windy.com has 79K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of RainAware's written reviews are positive against 89% of Windy.com's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RainAware ships an update every 2 weeks, Windy.com every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
RainAware versus Windy.com: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRainAwareWindy.com
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (1.1K ratings)4.8 (79K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.9% of reviews88.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.1K79K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#14#4 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRainAware LLCWindyty, SE

Customer experience

RainAware

All ratings1,067 ratings
Positive71.1%
Neutral5.2%
Negative23.6%
Written reviews171 reviews
Positive50.9%
Neutral9.4%
Negative39.8%

Windy.com

All ratings78,968 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews3,765 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative8.0%

User reviews

RainAware

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick and Accurate
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Very dependable
  • 👍 Pretty accurate
  • 👍 Reliable - Accurate - Worth Every Penny

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Worse lately
  • 🐛 Very disappointed
  • 🐛 do not waste your money
  • 🐛 You never Know!
  • 🐛 Not reliable

Windy.com

From 79K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌊 Accurate weather forecasts
  • 🌍 Comprehensive global coverage
  • 🔍 Detailed weather data and models
  • 🛥️ Useful for marine/sailing activities
  • 🛫 Valuable for aviation planning

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Overwhelming number of features and options
  • 🔍 Small text and cluttered interface on mobile
  • 🤖 Occasional app crashes or stability issues
  • 💰 Paywall for some advanced features
  • 🌐 Lack of offline functionality

Bugs and requests

RainAware

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • JSON could not be serialized because of error: The data couldn't be read because it isn't in the correct format. [47

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Push notifications to alert you to rain within 3 hours

Windy.com

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Map dragging issues on newer iPhone models
  • Inconsistent temperature display units
  • Premium features not always working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add weather front data on isobar charts
  • Improve font size and layout for better readability
  • Provide option to hide webcams or certain layers
  • Implement weather warning notifications
  • Add support for Apple Watch and other wearables

In-app purchases

3 purchases

RainAware

Subscriptions2
  • RainAware Suite - Monthly$6.991 Month
  • RainAware Suite - Annual$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • RainAware Suite - Day Pass$0.99
9 purchases

Windy.com

Subscriptions4
  • Donate 3 EUR/USD a month$2.991 Month
  • Windy Premium$2.991 Month
  • Donate 6 EUR/USD a month$5.491 Month
Show 1 more
  • Windy Premium2 variants$24.991 Year
One-time5
  • Donate approx 5 EUR/USD$4.99
  • Donate approx 10 EUR/USD$9.99
  • Donate approx 20 EUR/USD$19.99
Show 2 more
  • Windy Premium$29.99
  • Donate approx 50 EUR/USD$49.99

Questions

Is RainAware free?
RainAware costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Windy.com free?
Windy.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RainAware or Windy.com?
Windy.com is rated higher. RainAware averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Windy.com averages 4.8 from 79K ratings.
Do RainAware or Windy.com have ads?
Neither RainAware nor Windy.com shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RainAware or Windy.com?
RainAware ships an update every 2 weeks, and Windy.com every 3 weeks. Most recently, RainAware was updated on September 25, 2026 and Windy.com on September 28, 2026.
Which is more popular, RainAware or Windy.com?
RainAware currently peaks at #14 in the App Store charts, and Windy.com at #4. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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