Comparison

天气圈 vs VortexWeather

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

Head to head
About

天气圈

Features
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以天气为中心圈,在这里聚集了一群气象爱好者,让我们共同探索与发现气象的奥秘,参与台风交流(台风论坛)分享与交流天气的见闻~天气圈——让天气连接你我Ta!

About

VortexWeather

Access detailed weather data including hurricanes, radar, satellite, and forecast models. Offers free basic features and paid subscriptions for advanced capabilities like 3D viewers and extended forecast data.

Highlights
  • Live storm tracks and forecast cones
  • NEXRAD radar and satellite imagery
  • Forecast radar and satellite animation
  • Numerical forecast models (GFS, ECMWF)
  • Real-time lightning detection
  • 3D hurricane and radar viewers (Pro)
Features
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VortexWeather turns raw NOAA data into fast, interactive weather maps — hurricanes, radar, satellite, lightning, and full numerical models, all in one app. Free to download and use. Features marked (Basic) or (Pro) require a paid auto-renewable subscription — see Subscriptions below. Available in English, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) and Thai. TROPICAL & HURRICANES • Live storm tracks and forecast cones from the National Hurricane Center • Wind radii and tropical watches/warnings • Spaghetti plots from 35+ forecast models (Basic) • Historical storm tracks (Basic) • Storm wind and precipitation animation with max wind swath and rain totals (Pro) • GPU-accelerated 3D hurricane viewer with wind particle animations and isosurfaces (Pro) RADAR & SATELLITE • National and single-site NEXRAD radar (reflectivity & velocity) • Forecast radar: loops continue into the HRRR model's forecast (Basic) • 3D NEXRAD volume scan viewer with cross sections, cell isolation, and tornado rotation tools (Pro) • GOES and Himawari satellite imagery • Satellite animation (Basic) • Real-time lightning FORECAST MODELS • GFS and ECMWF surface temperature, dewpoint, pressure, humidity, and wind — free with a VortexWeather account • Animated surface wind particle flow — free with a VortexWeather account • Upper-air heights and winds, CAPE, precipitation, cloud cover, and more (Basic) • High-resolution HRRR model and animated wind barbs (Basic) SEVERE, AVIATION & MORE • SPC outlooks, WPC forecasts, and live NWS alerts (Basic) • Aviation hazards: SIGMET/AIRMET/PIREP and METARs (Basic) • USGS earthquakes SUBSCRIPTIONS VortexWeather is free to download, with ads. A paid subscription removes ads and unlocks the features marked above: • VortexWeather Basic — $4.99 per month or $50.90 per year • VortexWeather Pro — $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year; includes everything in Basic plus the features marked (Pro) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://vortexweather.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://vortexweather.com/privacy VortexWeather is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Always rely on official sources such as the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center for life-safety decisions.

Screenshots

天气圈3 screens
VortexWeather4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: 天气圈 at none against VortexWeather's 4. 天气圈 also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence 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. VortexWeather sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. 天气圈 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

天气圈 ships an update every 3 weeks, VortexWeather fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
天气圈 versus VortexWeather: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter天气圈VortexWeather
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer健 陈VORTEXWEATHER LLC

In-app purchases

None

天气圈

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

VortexWeather

Subscriptions4
  • Basic Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Basic Annual$50.901 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Annual$99.991 Year

Questions

Is 天气圈 free?
天气圈 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VortexWeather free?
VortexWeather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do 天气圈 or VortexWeather have ads?
VortexWeather shows ads; 天气圈 does not.
Which is updated more often, 天气圈 or VortexWeather?
天气圈 ships an update every 3 weeks, and VortexWeather fortnightly. Most recently, 天气圈 was updated on November 7, 2026 and VortexWeather on November 6, 2026.

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