# AIM Weather vs Thunderly

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Thunderly at none against AIM Weather's 1. Thunderly also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 15 months). AIM Weather's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. AIM Weather sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per year. Thunderly asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for AIM Weather against 4.3 for Thunderly. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thunderly has 2.6K ratings behind it against 153, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 43% of AIM Weather's written reviews are positive against 58% of Thunderly's.

AIM Weather ships an update every 15 months, Thunderly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | AIM Weather | Thunderly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (153 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aim-weather/id533658587/reviews)** | [4.3 (2.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thunderly/id1341334743/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 153 | **2.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 42.6% of reviews | **57.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 15 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 129 MB | 113 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mende App Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/423474216) | [Jan Plesek](https://appshunter.io/developer/579661449) |

## What reviewers say

### AIM Weather

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aim-weather/id533658587)

Get accurate, detailed local weather forecasts with spoken rain alerts and interactive radar maps. This app provides hourly and 7-day forecasts, satellite imagery, and marine information for the United States.

**Highlights:** Spoken rain alert notifications, Powerful radar view, Home screen weather widget, Hourly and 7-day forecasts, Interactive weather maps, Marine and moon phase information

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscription to Remove Ads | $3.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📊 Impressive displays and graphs
- 👍 Easy to learn and use
- ✅ Accurate weather information
- 🗺️ Excellent map feature
- 💡 Detailed weather information

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💥 Frequent crashes
- ❌ App won't stay open
- 📍 Incorrect location data
- 🗑️ Cannot delete default locations
- 📉 Poor quality graphics/animation

**Reported bugs**

- Consistent crashes on iPad with latest update
- App crashes every time on opening
- App won't stay open, closes immediately
- Default favorite locations reappear after deletion
- App crashes and won't open after initial use

**Requested features**

- Allow users to set favorite locations
- Fix the issue with preloaded favorites reappearing
- Improve location accuracy
- Allow deletion of default locations
- Fix West Virginia weather glitch


### Thunderly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thunderly/id1341334743)

Visualize real-time lightning strikes globally on an interactive map. Explore weather data like clouds and precipitation, and measure distances to storms. You can even simulate lightning flashes with your camera.

**Highlights:** Real-time global lightning map, Accurate day/night cycle, Real-time clouds and precipitation layers, Lightning history layer (last hour), Zoomable map detail, Storm distance measurement, Simulated lightning flashes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Awesome app
- 🌩️ Great for tracking storms
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics
- 🔊 Realistic sound effects
- 🌍 Global coverage

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🔌 App not working/functional
- 🕰️ App no longer updated
- 🔇 Sound/vibration issues
- 📱 Compatibility problems on older devices

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on launch
- Globe not rendering properly
- Lightning data not updating in real-time
- Incorrect lightning strike detection

**Requested features**

- Add ability to track past lightning strikes
- Implement distance/location-based alerts
- Include weather data and radar
- Add support for landscape mode and iPad
- Provide more customization options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is AIM Weather free?

AIM Weather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Thunderly free?

Thunderly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, AIM Weather or Thunderly?

AIM Weather is rated higher. AIM Weather averages 4.4 out of 5 from 153 ratings, while Thunderly averages 4.3 from 2.6K ratings.

### Do AIM Weather or Thunderly have ads?

AIM Weather shows ads; Thunderly does not.

### Which is updated more often, AIM Weather or Thunderly?

AIM Weather ships an update every 15 months, and Thunderly every 3 weeks. Most recently, AIM Weather was updated on September 23, 2026 and Thunderly on September 26, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*