Surf vs Swell Intel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Surf
Get simple, accurate surf forecasts for over 7,000 breaks worldwide. Plan your sessions with detailed wave information, tide times, and mapping to find the best conditions and nearby spots. Access extended forecasts and custom alerts with premium features.
- Detailed surf forecasts
- Wavefinder map
- Live webcam links
- Tide times
- 12-day forecasts
- Custom surf alerts
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Surf-Forecast.com gives you simple, accurate and easy-to-read surf forecasts so you have the best chance of hitting those breaks when the waves are pumping. Built by surfers, for surfers, and trusted by millions of surfers for over 20 years, our updated app lets you see all your favorite surf spots at a glance. Providing detailed surf forecasts for over 7,000 breaks worldwide, our new features let you see further ahead than ever before - giving you plenty of advance warning for when those swells start coming in. Find the best surfing conditions near you and use the rating tool to find exactly when to go. – FREE App Features ⁃ Detailed surf forecasts ⁃ Wavefinder map ⁃ Live webcam links ⁃ Multi-swell component presentation ⁃ Tide times ⁃ Detailed mapping to locate nearby breaks – Surf Premium Benefits ⁃ Access to the full 16 days of our new Wavefinder feature ⁃ Hourly forecasts ⁃ 16 day forecasts ⁃ Custom surf alerts ⁃ Ad-free browsing on our website So what are you waiting for? Grab your board and get exploring. We’ll see you out there! For the full Terms and Conditions of this service please visit: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Swell Intel
Get detailed surf forecasts, real-time conditions, and smart alerts to find the best waves. Plan your surf trips with up to 16-day forecasts and easily scan spot conditions at a glance. Receive notifications when conditions meet your standards, ensuring you never miss a good session.
- Detailed surf forecasts up to 16 days
- Real-time wave height, swell, and wind data
- Smart alerts for optimal surf conditions
- At-a-glance spot condition ratings
- Detailed forecast charts (swell, wind, tide)
- Find and save nearby surf spots
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Swell Intel gives you everything you need to score the best waves — detailed surf forecasts, real-time conditions, and smart alerts that tell you when to go. Check the Conditions - Wave height, swell direction, wind speed, and surf quality ratings for every surf spot across the US and Puerto Rico. Forecasts extend up to 16 days so you can plan trips with confidence. At-a-Glance Conditions- Spot cards show morning, midday, and evening ratings at a glance — quickly scan which spots are firing and when the window is best without tapping into every forecast. Surf Alerts - Set a minimum condition rating on your favorite spots and get notified by push notification or email when conditions meet your standards. Never miss a good session again. Detailed Forecast Charts - Dive into swell period and direction, wind barbs, wave energy, tide charts, and sunrise/sunset — all the data you need in one place. Find Nearby Spots - Discover surf spots near your with real-time conditions and ratings. Save your favorites for quick access. Free to Use, More with Premium - Free: 5-day forecast, 5 nearby spots, 5 favorites, 1 alert - Premium Plus: 16-day forecast, 15 spots, 15 favorites, 10 alerts Terms of service - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Swell Intel at none against Surf's shown. Swell Intel also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 6 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 87%). Surf's advantage is ratings volume (940 vs 11) and chart position (#114 vs unranked). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Surf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Swell Intel sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Surf against 5.0 for Swell Intel. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surf has 940 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Surf's written reviews are positive against 100% of Swell Intel's.
Surf ships an update every 6 weeks, Swell Intel every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Surf | Swell Intel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (940 ratings) | 5.0 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 940 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #114 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 138 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Meteo365 Ltd. | Swell Intel LLC |
Customer experience
Surf
Swell Intel
Bugs and requests
Surf
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes or freezes on some devices
- Geolocation issues with break markers
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to manually refresh data
- More detailed tidal/current information
- Expanded location coverage
- Improved accuracy for wave height/conditions
Swell Intel
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Surf
- Premium Service: Monthly$4.991 Month
- Premium Service (Yearly)$34.991 Year
Swell Intel
- Swell Intel Premium Monthly14 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Swell Intel Premium Plus14 Days trial$2.991 Month









