Comparison

Live Lightning vs BlitzortungLive

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Real-time lightning display
  • Europe area coverage
  • Save lightning history
  • Reload lightning maps
  • Near real-time tracking
Features
Read full description

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.

About

BlitzortungLive

Monitor lightning strikes in near real-time on a map. Receive push alerts for detected strikes in a customizable area. Supports multiple languages and displays historical strike data.

Highlights
  • Live lightning strike display
  • Historical strike visualization
  • Customizable push alerts
  • Multi-language support
  • Real-time map view
Features
Read full description

See thunderstorms the moment they happen. BlitzortungLive shows lightning strikes from the worldwide Blitzortung.org community network on the map in near real time – now together with precipitation radar, thunderstorm forecasts and wind, so you can see at a glance where a storm is, how strong it is and where it is heading. LIVE LIGHTNING • New strikes appear within seconds and fade from yellow to red as they age • Lightning map with the strikes of the last hours (lightningmaps.org) • Strike counter for the visible area • Optional sound for new strikes WEATHER RADAR & FORECAST • Precipitation radar for Germany and neighbouring regions, updated every 5 minutes • Animated timeline: the last two hours plus a 2-hour nowcast • Forecast images are clearly marked – you always know whether you see measured or predicted data • Satellite cloud images and animated wind THUNDERSTORMS • Current and forecast thunderstorm areas across Europe • Thunderstorm tracks in Germany with direction, speed and warning level • Lightning density map • Instability (Lifted Index) shows where thunderstorms can develop LOOK BACK • Scroll back through the last two hours of radar – each image shows the lightning the app received at that time while it was open THUNDERSTORM ALERT • Push notification when lightning is detected near you • Choose the alert area on the map or use your location, radius from 1 to 300 km (0.6 to 186 mi) MADE FOR TODAY'S IPHONE AND IPAD • Completely redesigned for iOS 17 and later • Smooth map with GPU rendering – zoom and pan without waiting • Dark Mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and Reduce Motion support • 12 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil) and Russian FREE – NO ADS, NO TRACKING BlitzortungLive is free and contains no advertising and no tracking. ABOUT BLITZORTUNG.ORG BlitzortungLive is an additional service of the Blitzortung.org project, a community network of volunteers operating lightning detection stations all over the world. Coverage and accuracy depend on the stations in each region. For general questions about Blitzortung.org or to join the network with your own station, please visit www.blitzortung.org and read the documentation and FAQ first. DATA SOURCES Weather data: Deutscher Wetterdienst (CC BY 4.0), satellite data EUMETSAT. Instability: NOAA GFS (model data). Lightning: Blitzortung.org. BlitzortungLive is not an official warning service. In case of danger, follow the warnings of your national weather service.

Screenshots

Live Lightning2 screens
BlitzortungLive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BlitzortungLive at 75% against Live Lightning's 27%. BlitzortungLive also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.9) and ratings volume (665 vs 10). Live Lightning's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). On price 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BlitzortungLive holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BlitzortungLive has 665 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 75% of BlitzortungLive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Live Lightning ships an update monthly, BlitzortungLive every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Live Lightning versus BlitzortungLive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLive LightningBlitzortungLive
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (10 ratings)4.5 (665 ratings) — better
Positive reviews26.7% of reviews75.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10665 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBertrand KerautretMarco Bauer

Customer experience

Live Lightning

All ratings10 ratings
Positive30.0%
Neutral30.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews101 reviews
Positive26.7%
Neutral10.9%
Negative62.4%

BlitzortungLive

All ratings665 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews267 reviews
Positive75.3%
Neutral7.5%
Negative17.2%

User reviews

Live Lightning

From 10 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Works perfectly fine
  • 👍 Accurate and up-to-date data
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 No ads
  • 👍 Useful for hikers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App not working
  • 🐛 Connection errors
  • 🐛 Alerts not working
  • 🐛 Inaccurate detection
  • 🐛 Crashes on open

BlitzortungLive

From 665 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Real-time lightning tracking
  • 📍 Accurate location of strikes
  • 🔔 Useful alerts and notifications
  • 🌐 Global coverage
  • 🆓 Free app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Inconsistent detection of strikes
  • 🗺️ Outdated or inaccurate map data
  • 🔍 Lack of detailed strike information
  • 💰 Intrusive advertising

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
Show 14 more
  • 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
Show 5 more
  • 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

BlitzortungLive

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Delayed or missing strike notifications
  • Inaccurate location of strikes
  • Issues with map updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Customizable alert radius
  • Historical lightning data
  • Weather radar integration
  • Ability to report missing strikes
  • Option to remove ads

In-app purchases

None

Live Lightning

No in-app purchases

None

BlitzortungLive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Live Lightning free?
Live Lightning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BlitzortungLive free?
BlitzortungLive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Live Lightning or BlitzortungLive?
BlitzortungLive is rated higher. Live Lightning averages 2.9 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while BlitzortungLive averages 4.5 from 665 ratings.
Do Live Lightning or BlitzortungLive have ads?
BlitzortungLive shows ads; Live Lightning does not.
Which is updated more often, Live Lightning or BlitzortungLive?
Live Lightning ships an update monthly, and BlitzortungLive every 6 months. Most recently, Live Lightning was updated on October 11, 2026 and BlitzortungLive on October 15, 2026.

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