Comparison

Aurora Forecast. vs Tide Charts

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

Head to head
About

Aurora Forecast.

This app acts as an intelligent guide for aurora hunting, leveraging AI and local weather data to provide personalized "Go/No-Go" verdicts. It offers real-time updates, interactive maps, and customizable notifications to help you find the Northern Lights.

Highlights
  • AI Aurora Analyst with personalized Go/No-Go verdicts
  • Real-time Kp-index updates via widgets
  • Apple Watch complications for wrist tracking
  • Interactive aurora probability map
  • 3D globe with real-time aurora visualization
  • Customizable push notifications for storms
Features
Read full description

Aurora Forecast answers one question: can you see the aurora tonight, from where you are? It brings together NOAA space weather, the sky above you, and reports from people nearby who are watching it right now. — SEE IT AS IT HAPPENS — When people near you spot the aurora, their reports appear on the map and on the Home tab, showing how many have seen it within 100 km and how close the nearest one is. Seeing it yourself? Share it in one tap. No account needed, and every location is blurred to about 1 km before anyone else sees it. — KNOW BEFORE THE SKY GLOWS — • NOAA OVATION 30-minute aurora forecast on a map and a 3D globe • Aurora probability for your exact location • Kp index history, 3-day forecast and 27-day outlook • Live solar wind: speed, density and magnetic field (Bz) • Cloud cover, moon phase, sunrise and sunset • Live aurora webcams and real-time images of the Sun • Aurora hotspots: well-known viewing spots, including dark-sky parks • Aurora Guide, plus Stories & News from the world of the aurora — AURORA INTELLIGENCE (ULTIMATE) — One clear answer to "Should I go out now?", weighing the forecast, the clouds above you, the moonlight and reports from people nearby. On iPhones with Apple Intelligence it runs on your device; otherwise it uses our cloud AI. — ALERTS, WIDGETS AND APPLE WATCH — • Aurora alerts for your location (Pro) • Apple Watch complications (Pro) • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets (Ultimate) • Detailed cloud cover by altitude (Ultimate) — ON EVERY SCREEN — iPhone, iPad, and iPhone Duo open or folded, in 32 languages. — SUBSCRIPTIONS — The forecast, maps, live data, webcams and community reports are free. • Aurora Pro, monthly or yearly: aurora alerts and Apple Watch complications • Aurora Ultimate Pro, monthly or yearly: everything in Pro, plus Aurora Intelligence, widgets and detailed cloud cover Prices are shown in the app in your local currency. Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscriptions in Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. Privacy Policy: https://www.tinacinc.com/AuroraForecast/privacy_policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.tinacinc.com/AuroraForecast/terms_of_conditions.html

About

Tide Charts

Access worldwide tidal estimates, lunar data, and weather forecasts. Plan outdoor adventures with ease using current radar and offline predictions. Supports Apple Watch and includes a Today Extension for quick access.

Highlights
  • Worldwide tidal estimates
  • Lunar data
  • Weather forecast
  • Current radar
  • Offline predictions
  • Favorite station management
  • Apple Watch support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Finally a beautiful and simple way to view tides on your mobile device! In addition to worldwide tidal estimates at tide stations, you can see the lunar data, weather forecast, and current radar making your next outdoor adventure as easy to plan as possible. By default, the application will pick the closest tide station to you, but picking a different tide or weather station is as easy as viewing a map of your current location. You can also setup and quickly switch between many stored favorite stations if you need to. No internet access while outdoors? No problem. This app has been designed to give you tidal and lunar predictions without internet access! Tides at a glance • A clear chart of the whole day, with the current height marked and daylight hours shaded (lunar rise and set is the small gray bar on the bottom) • The times and heights of every high and low tide • Swipe left or right to move through the days, or pick a date on the calendar • Swipe down to see sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and the phase of the moon • Subscribe for tide alerts that notify you before a chosen high or low tide • Home Screen widgets with today's tides and the next tide Worldwide Tidal Stations • Nearly 8,000 stations, from the coasts of the United States and Canada to Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America and the Pacific islands • Find the nearest station with one tap, search by name, or browse the map, with satellite imagery when you want it • Keep your favorites one tap away Adjustable Height to Match Your Local Tide Table • Heights use the datum your local charts and tables use: MLLW in the United States, chart datum in Canada, Japan and Korea, LAT in Europe and Australia, MLWS in Peru and Ecuador (or you can choose your own from Mean Sea Level, MLLW, MLW, MLWS or LAT) Weather and Radar • Weather forecast is included for the station's location, with wind, temp, precipitation, and the day's high and low • Animated rain radar with a scrubber, so you can see what is coming Apple Watch • A full-screen tide chart on Apple Watch: turn the Digital Crown to step through highs, lows, sunrise, sunset and moon times, or drag to scrub through the next 30 days • Complications for every watch face, from a tide gauge to a chart of the next 24 hours, in the color you choose • Your favorite and nearby stations, with the current height and the next tide Tides is free with ads, however we do offer a one-time purchase to remove them if you would rather a clean distraction free experience.

Screenshots

Aurora Forecast.4 screens
Tide Charts4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Tide Charts at free with in-app purchases against Aurora Forecast.'s subscription. Tide Charts also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 32%) and ratings volume (114K vs 4.9K). Aurora Forecast.'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, 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. Aurora Forecast. sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Tide Charts sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tide Charts holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tide Charts has 114K ratings behind it against 4.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of Aurora Forecast.'s written reviews are positive against 69% of Tide Charts's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aurora Forecast. ships an update weekly, Tide Charts every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Aurora Forecast. versus Tide Charts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAurora Forecast.Tide Charts
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (4.9K ratings)4.8 (114K ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.0% of reviews68.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.9K114K — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#110#31 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB104 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTINAC Inc.7th Gear

Customer experience

Aurora Forecast.

All ratings4,875 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews331 reviews
Positive32.0%
Neutral13.0%
Negative55.0%

Tide Charts

All ratings113,466 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral2.3%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews516 reviews
Positive68.6%
Neutral7.2%
Negative24.2%

User reviews

Aurora Forecast.

From 4.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent app with nice graphs
  • 🌟 Accurate with current solar activity and short-term forecast
  • 🌟 Fantastic amount of information about the sun and aurora
  • 🌟 Alerts help plan for aurora viewing
  • 🌟 Comprehensive data and visuals

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes or freezes
  • ⚠️ Inaccurate forecasts and predictions
  • ⚠️ Notifications not working as expected
  • ⚠️ Difficult to interpret data and graphs
  • ⚠️ Biased towards Northern Hemisphere

Tide Charts

From 114K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Clear tide information
  • 👍 Useful for planning activities
  • 💡 Comprehensive data including weather and moon phases
  • 🤖 Accurate and reliable
  • 🌟 Great app for Apple Watch

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inaccurate tide data in some locations
  • 🙈 Intrusive and unskippable ads
  • 🤯 Ads crashing the app
  • 🤔 Confusing UI and navigation
  • 🤖 Unreliable Apple Watch complications

Bugs and requests

Aurora Forecast.

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Forecast data not updating
  • App crashing on startup
  • Incorrect location data
  • Alerts not working as intended

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Southern Hemisphere aurora
  • Improve location-based forecasting and alerts
  • Provide more user-friendly explanations of data and graphs
  • Allow customization of notification settings
  • Expand coverage to include more regions

Tide Charts

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Tide data off by several hours
  • Tide graph not displaying correctly
  • App crashing on ad dismissal
  • Apple Watch complications freezing

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to set custom locations
  • Improved accuracy and data sources
  • Option to purchase ad-free version
  • Landscape mode support
  • More detailed tide height information

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Aurora Forecast.

Subscriptions4
  • Alerts (Monthly)3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Aurora Ultimate Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Aurora Alerts(Yearly)7 Days trial$12.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Aurora Ultimate Pro (Yearly)3 Days trial$19.991 Year
1 purchases

Tide Charts

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Aurora Forecast. free?
Aurora Forecast. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tide Charts free?
Tide Charts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Aurora Forecast. or Tide Charts?
Tide Charts is rated higher. Aurora Forecast. averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.9K ratings, while Tide Charts averages 4.8 from 114K ratings.
Do Aurora Forecast. or Tide Charts have ads?
Tide Charts shows ads; Aurora Forecast. does not.
Which is updated more often, Aurora Forecast. or Tide Charts?
Aurora Forecast. ships an update weekly, and Tide Charts every 3 weeks. Most recently, Aurora Forecast. was updated on October 23, 2026 and Tide Charts on October 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Aurora Forecast. or Tide Charts?
Aurora Forecast. currently peaks at #110 in the App Store charts, and Tide Charts at #31. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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