Live Lightning vs Storm Distance Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Live Lightning
Track real-time lightning strikes across Europe. View current lightning maps and save historical data. Follow lightning evolution with a minimal time delay.
- Real-time lightning display
- Europe area coverage
- Save lightning history
- Reload lightning maps
- Near real-time tracking
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This application allows to display in real time the lightning impact of the Europe area (only). The data are kindly provided by http://www.blitzortung.org. It also permits to save the current lightning history and reload a particular lightning maps. It can be useful to follow the lightning evolution in near real time (around 5 minutes of time shift). Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Storm Distance Tracker
Measure the distance to a storm by timing the interval between seeing lightning and hearing thunder. This tool uses the difference in the speed of light and sound to provide an estimated distance.
- Calculate storm distance
- Uses lightning and thunder timing
- Calculates based on speed of light and sound
- Simple tap interface
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Calculate the distance of lightning and find out how far away the storm is. This app calculates distance using the difference between the speed of light and sound. Tap a button when you see the lightning and then again when you hear the thunder and the app will tell you how far away it is using a time difference between the two.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Storm Distance Tracker at 3.7 against Live Lightning's 2.9. Storm Distance Tracker also leads on ratings volume (101 vs 10). Live Lightning's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Storm Distance Tracker sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Live Lightning asks for nothing beyond the download.
Storm Distance Tracker holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Storm Distance Tracker has 101 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Live Lightning's written reviews are positive against 33% of Storm Distance Tracker's.
Live Lightning ships an update monthly, Storm Distance Tracker every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Live Lightning | Storm Distance Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (10 ratings) | 3.7 (101 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.7% of reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 101 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bertrand Kerautret | DOUBLE U s.r.o. |
Customer experience
Live Lightning
Storm Distance Tracker
Bugs and requests
Live Lightning
Reported bugs
19 issues- Connection loss errors
- Widget disappeared after iOS 18 update
- Alerts not functioning for years
- App doesn't detect lightning even when close
- No notifications received if app is not active
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- No notifications or nearby strikes during a storm
- App doesn't launch
- App not connecting to server
- Previous strikes don't always draw on map
- App crashes after receiving data
- App crashes when editing settings
- App crashes on zoom/orientation change
- Map locked without unlock option
- App shows incorrect location (e.g., Africa, Atlantic)
- App shows very old or static data (e.g., 6 strikes)
- App broken on iOS 7
- No map showing, only strikes
- Badge is annoying, flash signs too large
- Distance radius difficult to adjust
Requested features
10 requests- Update app for iOS 18 widget
- Implement working alerts/notifications
- Fix connection issues
- Improve accuracy of lightning detection
- Convert times to local time
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- Add contact option for developers
- Improve German translation
- Allow zooming and orientation changes without crashing
- Add a color scale for detection time
- Notification on icon based on distance filter
Storm Distance Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Live Lightning
No in-app purchases
Storm Distance Tracker
- Remove ads$1.99
- Remove Ads$2.99
- Remove Ads$4.99
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- Remove Ads$9.99
Questions
Is Live Lightning free?
Is Storm Distance Tracker free?
Which has better reviews, Live Lightning or Storm Distance Tracker?
Do Live Lightning or Storm Distance Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Live Lightning or Storm Distance Tracker?
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