Tides Explorer vs Actual Currents

Tides Explorer — Accurate Tides, Currents, and Marine Weather Tides Explorer is a precision tide and current app for sailors, boaters, paddlers, and swimmers, built on official NOAA data covering over 6,000 stations across the United States and international waters. It helps you understand not just what the water will do, but when and why, using clear charts and reliable predictions you can plan around. Core Features Get accurate tide and current predictions straight from NOAA, with fast search by name or location and interactive charts for exploring and comparing stations. At supported stations, see real observed water levels laid over the prediction (Pro) — so you know what the water's actually doing, not just what it's supposed to do. Save your favorite spots for quick access (Pro), track real-time weather at supported stations — wind, air and water temperature, and barometric pressure (Pro) — and check sun, moon, and twilight times to help plan your time on the water. Plan Around What Matters to You Drag a custom reference line onto any favorite station's chart — on a current station, mark a safe velocity to catch slack water before transiting a pass — and see exactly when you're above or below it. Set alerts for high and low tides, current extremes, your reference line, or slack water itself (Pro), plus new Moon Over Water alerts for when moonrise or moonset lines up with the water near sunset or sunrise. Designed for Apple Platforms Tides Explorer includes Home and Lock Screen widgets and a full Apple Watch app with multiple complications, all optimized for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Built for the Water Ideal for sailing, boating, kayaking, swimming, fishing, and coastal exploration, Tides Explorer delivers dependable marine data without clutter, so you can plan confidently and focus on the water.

Actual Currents brings tidal currents to life with real-time animated particle visualization on a nautical-grade interactive map. See the actual flow of water in your area — not just tide times, but the speed and direction of tidal currents rendered as thousands of flowing particles over a detailed heatmap. Plan your trip with confidence by scrubbing through time to see how currents change throughout the day. FEATURES • Animated tidal current visualization with speed-colored particles and GPU-accelerated heatmap • Time scrubber — view current predictions for any time, past or future • Globe view with global ocean currents when zoomed out • Real-time wind overlay with global weather data • ENC nautical chart data with navigation aids, depth soundings, and depth contours • Satellite, bathymetry, and nautical basemap options • Route planning with current-aware analysis • Trip logging with GPS drift tracking • Location search to jump to any harbor or waterway COVERAGE • US Atlantic coast — Maine to Florida • US Pacific coast — Washington to California • Gulf of Mexico • Global ocean surface currents BUILT FOR BOATERS Whether you're sailing, fishing, kayaking, or navigating commercially, understanding tidal currents is critical for safety and efficiency. Actual Currents gives you an intuitive, visual understanding of water movement that tide tables alone can't provide. SUBSCRIPTION TIERS • Basic (free) — Real-time currents within ±3 hours of now • Pro ($4.99/mo) — Full historical and forecast access • Unlimited ($39.99/yr) — Full historical and forecast access with 7-day free trial Terms of Use: https://www.actualcurrents.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://www.actualcurrents.com/privacy.html