Comparison

Surf vs Surfy Life

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Detailed surf forecasts
  • Wavefinder map
  • Live webcam links
  • Tide times
  • 12-day forecasts
  • Custom surf alerts
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Surfy Life

This app personalizes surf forecasts by learning your preferences for wave height, wind, and tide. It integrates with your calendar to help you plan your week around optimal surf conditions. Enjoy detailed oceanographic data and a clean interface designed for surfers.

Highlights
  • Personalized surf forecasts
  • Calendar integration
  • On-device AI/ML intelligence
  • Interactive maps
  • Detailed oceanographic data
  • Cross-device sync
Features
Read full description

We built Surfy Life for the surf-obsessed to live a somewhat normal life. Surfy let's you integrate surf conditions with your calendar, train your own personal forecast models, and plan your week around the only thing that really matters. Does your life revolve around surfing? Yeah, us, too. - No ads. Free for kooks. Locals get more features. - Calendar integration for checking the waves before you accept that meeting invite from your boss. - On-device (local model, cloud-free) AI/ML Surfy Intelligence if you want it. - We only ask for your email. We use your stoke prefs to make the app better for everyone. - We're new and growing so let's us know what you want to see at hello@surfy.life! Surfy Life is supported by members like you. Now to get philosophical. Finding the wave you are looking for has always been a matter of timing, intuition, and knowing where the ocean meets the wind just right. Somewhere between the morning and evening offshore, there is a rhythm that every surfer is quietly tracking. Surfy Life was built to help you tune into it. Instead of handing everyone the exact same generic report, Surfy listens for how YOU experience the ocean. As you check the water, rate your sessions, and set your own comfort zones for wave height, wind angle, and tide, the system learns what a good time actually looks like to you. Personalized Surfy Intelligence Surfy takes complex marine forecasts and shapes them around your individual preferences. Over time, it learns whether you are searching for clean two-foot gliders or hollow overhead lines, giving you accurate spot-localized forecasts tailored to your style. Crafted for the Search Beyond the waves themselves, Surfy helps you plan your time around the ocean through a clean, dark-mode interface designed to feel like a quiet moment before dawn patrol. Explore home breaks or far-off coastlines on interactive maps, fine-tune your condition preferences globally or spot by spot, and sync high-stoke window forecasts directly to your native calendar. It keeps your days in rhythm with the swell without having to disappoint your loved ones again. Deep Water Data Beneath the simple interface is a steady feed of oceanography and atmospheric data drawn from NOAA, Open-Meteo, and DWD models. You get clean, detailed breakdowns of primary swells, secondary components, period lengths, wind gusts, and local tide offsets without the clutter. We've built in a lot of options, too. Seamless Travel & Sync Whether you are checking the local break from your desktop before coffee or scouting down the coast from your phone, your saved spots and personal settings travel with you across web and mobile through simple, passwordless sign-in. Respect for Your Privacy Surfy stores only what is needed to refine your forecasts, never sells your email to third parties, and lets you clear your saved preferences whenever you want a fresh start. We are built on open source and open data. The search for the right wave is what it's all about. Drop in with Surfy Life, and tune your existence to the rhythm of the ocean. Thank you to the Local members who support what we do and to everyone who shares the stoke. Surfy Life aka Surfy is dedicated to Syd, Chris (x4), William (x2), Tommy, Rene, Jason, Josiah, Zoee, Jamie, Joe, Van, Holden and Thomas. NYC x SD x JAX. Sharing is caring. "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." - JKZ Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula/ Additional Terms: https://surfy.life/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://surfy.life/privacy/

Screenshots

Surf4 screens
Surfy Life4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Surfy Life at none against Surf's shown. Surfy Life also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks). Surf's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 1) and chart position (#76 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Surf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Surfy Life sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Surf against 5.0 for Surfy Life. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surf has 1K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surf ships an update every 6 weeks, Surfy Life every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Surf versus Surfy Life: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurfSurfy Life
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#76 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size138 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMeteo365 Ltd.Dean Haddock

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

Surfy Life

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Surf

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Service: Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Premium Service (Yearly)$34.991 Year
1 purchases

Surfy Life

Subscriptions1
  • Locals$4.991 Month

Questions

Is Surf free?
Surf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surfy Life free?
Surfy Life is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Surf or Surfy Life?
Surfy Life is rated higher. Surf averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Surfy Life averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Surf or Surfy Life have ads?
Surf shows ads; Surfy Life does not.
Which is updated more often, Surf or Surfy Life?
Surf ships an update every 6 weeks, and Surfy Life every 3 days. Most recently, Surf was updated on November 7, 2026 and Surfy Life on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons