# Tides Explorer vs Actual Currents

The clearest difference is price: Actual Currents at Free against Tides Explorer's $5.00. Actual Currents also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and chart position (#143 vs unranked). Tides Explorer's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Actual Currents is free to download; Tides Explorer costs $5.00 up front. Tides Explorer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Actual Currents sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Tides Explorer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 20 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Tides Explorer's written reviews are positive against 60% of Actual Currents's.

Tides Explorer ships an update every 2 months, Actual Currents fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Tides Explorer | Actual Currents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5.00 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[5.0 (25 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tides-explorer/id6446066346/reviews)** | [4.7 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/actual-currents/id6761431005/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25** | 20 |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 60.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#143** |
| Size | 23 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lonnie Millett](https://appshunter.io/developer/1620072866) | [Luka Catipovic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1889586305) |

## What reviewers say

### Tides Explorer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tides-explorer/id6446066346)

This app provides accurate tide, current, and weather predictions using official NOAA data for thousands of stations. Plan your water activities with clear charts, sun/moon information, and customizable widgets.

**Highlights:** Accurate tide and current predictions, Fast station search, Favorites for quick access, Interactive charts, Weather data at stations, Sun, moon, and twilight info, Home and Lock Screen widgets

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime purchase | $3.00 | one-time |


### Actual Currents

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/actual-currents/id6761431005)

**Currently charting:** #143 Top Grossing · Weather (US App Store)

Visualize real-time tidal currents with animated particles and a detailed heatmap on an interactive nautical map. Plan your trips with confidence by scrubbing through time to see how currents change throughout the day, with options for global ocean currents and wind overlays.

**Highlights:** Animated tidal current visualization, Real-time wind overlay, Interactive nautical map, Time scrubber for predictions, Route planning with current analysis, Global ocean currents view

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Unlimited monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Yearly | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Tides Explorer free?

Tides Explorer costs $5.00, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Actual Currents free?

Actual Currents is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Tides Explorer or Actual Currents?

Tides Explorer is rated higher. Tides Explorer averages 5.0 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Actual Currents averages 4.7 from 20 ratings.

### Do Tides Explorer or Actual Currents have ads?

Neither Tides Explorer nor Actual Currents shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Tides Explorer or Actual Currents?

Tides Explorer ships an update every 2 months, and Actual Currents fortnightly. Most recently, Tides Explorer was updated on October 5, 2026 and Actual Currents on October 13, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*