Live Lightning vs Lightning 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.
Lightning Tracker
Monitor real-time lightning strikes on a map with detailed information like time and distance. Receive background notifications for nearby activity and customize your detection radius. View current weather conditions alongside lightning alerts.
- Real-time lightning strike map
- Strike details (time, distance)
- Background monitoring and notifications
- Customizable detection radius (1-50 miles)
- Current weather conditions view
- Lightning strike expiration (15 minutes)
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Track and monitor lightning strikes in realtime nearby to your location, with Lightning Tracker Live. Lightning strikes are presented on a map view, where you can tap on each marked lightning strike for more details, including: • Time of strike • Distance from your current location Lightning strikes will appear on the map view in realtime & will expire after 15 minutes, keeping you up to date with only the latest lightning activity all the time. The app will also work when in the background, periodically checking for any lightning strikes & notifying you if any do occur. As a default setting, the app will check/monitor at a radius of 25 miles within your location for lightning activity. This can be customized in the app settings from anywhere between 1 & 50 miles. Your chosen radius value will be saved for future use. Other features include an option to view your current weather conditions. We hope that you find this app useful. Please reach out to us via email support if you have any feedback or questions. Subscription: Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. If your subscription is subject to any promotional discount, the discount will expire upon the end of the current period and you'll be charged the standard rate upon renewal. Go to your iTunes Account under subscriptions to manage your membership and to turn auto-renew off. Your iTunes Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Privacy Policy: https://goingmerry.xyz/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://goingmerry.xyz/terms-conditions/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Lightning Tracker at 4.4 against Live Lightning's 2.9. Lightning Tracker also leads on ratings volume (172 vs 10). Live Lightning's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. Lightning Tracker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Live Lightning asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lightning Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lightning Tracker has 172 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 27% of Live Lightning's written reviews are positive against 8% of Lightning Tracker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Live Lightning ships an update monthly, Lightning Tracker every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Live Lightning | Lightning Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (10 ratings) | 4.4 (172 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.7% of reviews — better | 8.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 172 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 4 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 |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bertrand Kerautret | Going Merry LLC |
Customer experience
Live Lightning
Lightning 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
Lightning Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Live Lightning
No in-app purchases
Lightning Tracker
- Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
- Premium Weekly$1.997 Days
- Premium Weekly$2.997 Days
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- Premium Yearly$6.991 Year
- Premium Yearly$9.991 Year
- Premium Yearly$19.991 Year
Questions
Is Live Lightning free?
Is Lightning Tracker free?
Which has better reviews, Live Lightning or Lightning Tracker?
Do Live Lightning or Lightning Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Live Lightning or Lightning Tracker?
Other comparisons
