Comparison

Wind App vs FD Viewer

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

Head to head
About

Wind App

This app displays current local wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. It offers customizable units, a live compass, and background color changes based on wind strength. Share wind data or check it quickly on your Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Current local wind speed and direction
  • Live compass for wind direction
  • Customizable wind speed units
  • Background color changes with wind speed
  • Hourly wind updates
  • Apple Watch app for quick lookup
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Do you want to go sailing, windsurfing, biking or just out of the door? This application shows the current local outdoor wind speed (in beaufort, mph, km/h and knots) and direction, measured by a nearby weather station for which it uses your current location. Features: - The background color changes with the wind speed - The direction of the wind is shown on a live compass - Change between different wind speed units (beaufort, mph, km/h, m/s, knots) - Change arrow poining direction to either from wind or to wind (weather vane) - The wind is automatically updated every hour - The location is automatically updated when you move more than 5 miles/10km - The current wind date can be shared - Support for iPhone X - Support for the iPad multitasking (split view..) Runs on the Apple Watch: - wind speed and direction - the background color changes with the wind speed - wind mill speed indicates wind speed - watch app and glance interface for a quick lookup

About

FD Viewer

Access and read detailed text weather products from the National Weather Service. This app reformats Area Forecast Discussions into a user-friendly interface, allowing easy navigation through sections and offices.

Highlights
  • Read Area Forecast Discussions (AFDs)
  • View NWS offices on a map
  • List offices by distance or alphabetically
  • Paginated section navigation
  • User-friendly reformatting of weather data
Features
Read full description

Area Forecast Discussions (AFDs) are a text weather product released by the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices to inform and elaborate on the public forecast. FD Viewer presents each office on a map and also displays a list of offices sorted by distance or alphabetically. Selecting an office will display the latest Forecast Discussion paginated by section. Swipe right or left to navigate through each section. This app merely reformats the web-based AFD information in a user-friendly format. All credit for the forecast information goes to all the hardworking people at the NWS. TBD: I plan to support in-app glossary popups that will describe some of the more arcane acronyms and phrases used in the forecast text.

Screenshots

Wind App4 screens
FD Viewer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: FD Viewer at Free against Wind App's $0.99. FD Viewer also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). Wind App's advantage is chart position (#113 vs unranked) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). On 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

FD Viewer is free to download; Wind App costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FD Viewer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wind App has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wind App ships an update every 3 months, FD Viewer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and June 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Wind App versus FD Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWind AppFD Viewer
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating2.3 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#113 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS7.0.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPiet JonasNeil Cormia

Customer experience

Wind App

All ratings6 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral9.5%
Negative61.9%

FD Viewer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Wind App

No in-app purchases

None

FD Viewer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Wind App free?
Wind App costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is FD Viewer free?
FD Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Wind App or FD Viewer?
FD Viewer is rated higher. Wind App averages 2.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while FD Viewer averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Wind App or FD Viewer have ads?
Neither Wind App nor FD Viewer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wind App or FD Viewer?
Wind App ships an update every 3 months, and FD Viewer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Wind App was updated on September 28, 2026 and FD Viewer on June 5, 2026.

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