Comparison

The Wildfire Tracker vs Tower 5

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

Head to head
About

The Wildfire Tracker

Stay informed about wildfires globally with a comprehensive map and weather tracker. Receive real-time alerts, detailed updates, and air quality data to ensure safety. Plan your activities with accurate weather forecasts and wind maps.

Highlights
  • Interactive wildfire map
  • Real-time wildfire alerts
  • Weather forecasts
  • Air Quality Index (AQI) data
  • Animated wind map
  • Push notifications for bookmarked locations
Features
Read full description

The Wildfire Tracker: wildfire maps, weather forecasts and air quality information for life in the US and your travels abroad. Check fires near your home, saved locations or next destination. Explore wildfire activity across the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia with data from trusted government agencies and NASA satellites. EXPLORE WILDFIRE MAPS View satellite-detected fire hotspots, reported wildfires and available fire boundaries on an interactive map. Check affected areas near your home, saved locations or next travel destination. Track wildfires across the United States to see active incidents and available details about affected areas. Monitor forest fires across Canada to check wildfire activity near your community or travel destination. Explore fire hotspots and burned areas across Europe to see where fires have been detected and which areas have been affected. View bushfire boundaries across Australia to understand the extent of affected areas and how close they are to places you care about. STAY INFORMED AT HOME AND AWAY Receive wildfire alerts for your saved locations and your automatically detected current location. View US National Weather Service warnings, watches, alerts and statements as interactive polygons. Press and hold a polygon to read the details. Check fire activity near your destination before and during your trip. Save locations to quickly revisit the places you care about. CHECK WEATHER AND WIND Access weather forecasts for locations worldwide. View temperature, precipitation amount and probability, wind speed and direction, visibility, humidity and pressure. Explore the animated wind map to understand wind conditions around affected areas. MONITOR AIR QUALITY Check the Air Quality Index at home or at your destination. Explore hourly air quality forecasts for up to 84 hours. See the primary pollutant and detailed pollutant information with Premium. MAKE THE MAP YOURS Choose standard, hybrid or satellite maps. Find places using text search, your current location or a tap on the map. Save locations for quick access. Filter fires by type, size and date first detected to focus on the information that matters to you. TRUSTED DATA SOURCES Our sources include the National Interagency Fire Center, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, NASA, the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), part of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, and Geoscience Australia. Available fire details and update frequency vary by source and region. GET THE WILDFIRE TRACKER PREMIUM Extended 14-day weather forecasts. Hourly weather forecasts. Detailed air pollutant information. Ad-free usage. Stay informed about wildfires, understand conditions around you and plan safer travels. Payment will be charged to your App Store account when you confirm your purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you turn off auto-renewal or cancel at least 24 hours before the current subscription or trial period ends. Your account will be charged for renewal according to your chosen plan. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited if you purchase a Premium subscription during the trial. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://retenica.com/privacy_policy Terms: https://retenica.com/terms_of_use

About

Tower 5

Read full description

Tower 5 is the easiest way to understand wildfire risk in your neighborhood — and across the United States. Whether you own a home in a fire-prone area, work in insurance underwriting, or just want to know when smoke is coming, Tower 5 puts the same federal data fire managers rely on into one map you can actually read. LIVE WILDFIRE INTELLIGENCE - Active fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center - Satellite hot-spot detections from NASA FIRMS, refreshed throughout the day - Fire weather warnings from the National Weather Service - Smoke plumes from NOAA's Hazard Mapping System - A 96-hour rainfall timeline (past 24h to next 72h) - Real-time air temperature and surface wind across the country WILDFIRE RISK CONTEXT - Historical fire perimeters going back over a century - U.S. Drought Monitor severity, refreshed weekly - Tap any location to see every signal stacked in one popup PROPERTY RISK PROFILE Search any U.S. address to generate a comprehensive wildfire-risk profile: - Wildfire Hazard Potential rating - Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) classification - Future climate-adjusted burn probability - Surface fuel model — what would carry a fire here - Historical fires within 16 miles - Closest fire stations, hospitals, evacuation shelters Profiles are saved to your account so you can compare properties or revisit them later. PREMIUM (OPTIONAL) Tower 5 Premium unlocks advanced map layers — Hazard Potential, Future Risk, Energy Release Component, Surface Fuel Models, Wind, Drought, Hospitals, Shelters, and Power Lines — plus unlimited saved property profiles and PDF/CSV export. 7-day free trial, then $9.99/month. Subscription is managed at tower5.org/upgrade. WHO IT'S FOR - Homeowners in fire-prone areas - Insurance underwriters and risk analysts - Real estate buyers researching a property - Land managers and emergency planners - Anyone who's ever wondered "how close is that fire?" DATA SOURCES National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), NASA FIRMS, NOAA, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, LANDFIRE, National Weather Service, U.S. Drought Monitor, USGS SILVIS Lab, Department of Energy / HSIP. Per-layer attribution is available inside the app. LIMITATIONS Tower 5 is informational only. The app does not replace Wireless Emergency Alerts, NWS broadcasts, or guidance from your local fire authority. Always cross-check critical decisions with official sources. PRIVACY Tower 5 collects only the minimum data needed to authenticate your account and run your risk profiles. We do not sell user data. No third-party advertising SDKs. Privacy policy: https://tower5.org/privacy Terms of service: https://tower5.org/terms

Screenshots

The Wildfire Tracker4 screens
Tower 53 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tower 5 at none against The Wildfire Tracker's 16. The Wildfire Tracker's advantage is chart position (#98 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence, ads 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. The Wildfire Tracker sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Tower 5 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
The Wildfire Tracker versus Tower 5: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Wildfire TrackerTower 5
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (173 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews41.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings173 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#98 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size216 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRetenica SP Z.O.OSnoflo.org LLC

In-app purchases

15 purchases

The Wildfire Tracker

Subscriptions15
  • Wildfire Tracker Full Access3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Access3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Access3 Days trial$5.997 Days
Show 12 more
  • Weekly Access!$5.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium Access$5.997 Days
  • Weekly Access!$6.997 Days
  • Weekly Access!3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium Access3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Access$9.991 Month
  • Annual Premium Access$19.991 Year
  • Wildfire Tracker Full Access$29.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Access2 variants$29.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Access1 Month trial$49.991 Year
  • Annual Full Access$49.991 Year
  • Annual Full Access$79.991 Year
None

Tower 5

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Wildfire Tracker free?
The Wildfire Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tower 5 free?
Tower 5 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do The Wildfire Tracker or Tower 5 have ads?
Neither The Wildfire Tracker nor Tower 5 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Wildfire Tracker or Tower 5?
The Wildfire Tracker ships an update fortnightly, and Tower 5 fortnightly. Most recently, The Wildfire Tracker was updated on October 12, 2026 and Tower 5 on September 25, 2026.

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