The Buoy vs Flyby
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Buoy
Get real-time marine weather data directly from buoys, including swell, wind, and tides. Track conditions for up to 7 days with live updates and customizable alerts. Log your sessions with photos and notes, and access historical data.
- Live buoy measurements
- Swell, wind, and tide data
- 7-day forecast
- Customizable alerts
- Session logging
- Home/Lock Screen widgets
- Siri integration
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The Buoy shows you the swell measured at sea by real buoys, live, with the wind and the tide. Not a model's estimate: the measurement. For everyone who heads out on the water: surfing, kiting, windsurfing, sailing, boating, fishing, diving, paddling or swimming. Height, period, direction, energy: every reading comes from a buoy published by services like NOAA, Cerema (Candhis), Puertos del Estado, Rijkswaterstaat and MET Norway. Where there's no buoy, satellites from ESA, EUMETSAT, Copernicus and CNES fill the gaps. LIVE • Every buoy around you on one map • Charts from 6 hours to 7 days, measurement and forecast overlaid • The tide at the nearest station • Real wind at the nearest weather station • The reading for any past day ALWAYS AT HAND • Alerts: know as soon as the swell changes at your buoys • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets • A Live Activity to follow a buoy while the swell comes in • Siri: "How's the sea in The Buoy?" YOUR LOGBOOK • Save a session with a photo or video, a note and tags • Tide and wind are added for you • Find the sessions with similar conditions • Share a reading as an image FORECAST • A forecast map with swell bands and isobars • Three models to choose from: MFWAM, ECMWF WAM and GFS Wave Feet or meters, °F or °C. In English, French and Spanish. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Flyby
This app provides drone pilots with a flight-readiness snapshot, factoring in wind, visibility, rain, daylight, and magnetic conditions. It helps users make informed decisions before takeoff by offering a simple Fly Score and detailed hourly updates tailored to their aircraft and flying preferences.
- Flight-ready snapshot with Fly Score
- Hourly weather and condition updates
- Customizable aircraft profiles
- Daylight and timing planning tools
- Flight history log
- Map previews with airspace context
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Know before you launch. Flyby turns wind at height, gusts, rain, visibility, and daylight into one Fly Score for your drone, so you know whether it’s a good time and place to fly. Built for drone pilots, not generic weather browsing. Open Flyby for the quick answer at your location or a saved launch spot, then go deeper when you need to. KNOW THE CONDITIONS • Fly Score: wind, gusts, rain, clouds, visibility, daylight, and Kp index in one number, explained factor by factor • Wind at height: wind at 33, 262, and 394 ft, not just on the ground, checked against your drone’s limit • Hourly charts for score, wind, rain, clouds, and visibility • Pilot limits: start Careful, Standard, or Flexible, then tune every threshold PLAN THE FLIGHT • Flight windows: Flyby picks out the best stretch of each day • Flight plans with a go/no-go verdict from the forecast for your window • Forecast alerts when a plan’s conditions really change • A preflight checklist on every plan • Sunrise, sunset, golden hour, blue hour, and daylight wherever you fly • Usable flight time, with battery reserve and accessory load CHECK THE AIRSPACE • FAA ceilings and LAANC availability on the map, free for everyone • Save launch spots and compare their conditions side by side KEEP EVERY FLIGHT • A logbook with routes, conditions, totals, and notes • Import GPX tracks to fill in launch point, distance, altitude, and duration • Flight cards: share a postcard of a flight with your best shot • Home Screen widgets for Fly Score, the sun arc, and your Flyby scene YOUR DRONE, YOUR WAY • Presets for popular drones, or build your own aircraft profile • Free Flight: fly around a 3D town, and race Gate Run with Game Center achievements FLYBY PASS Flyby is free to use. Flyby Pass, monthly, yearly, or lifetime, adds: • Flyby Guides: parks, waterfronts, and viewpoints near your launch • Scan or import your own drone in 3D • Hourly detail and charts beyond today • Live Activities for planned flights on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • Unlimited launch spots, flight plans, aircraft, and collections, plus more map styles PRIVATE BY DESIGN Flyby follows the O13 Standard. Your places, plans, and flights are stored on your iPhone. No ads, no ad tracking, and only minimal anonymous analytics. IMPORTANT Flyby is for planning and weather context, not authorization. Always verify local rules, temporary flight restrictions, LAANC requirements, manufacturer guidance, aircraft condition, people, wildlife, and launch access before flying. Privacy Policy: https://www.onethirteen.co/apps/flyby/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.onethirteen.co/apps/flyby/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Flyby at free against The Buoy's free with in-app purchases. Flyby also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). The Buoy's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. The Buoy sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Flyby sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Flyby holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively.
The Buoy ships an update every 3 weeks, Flyby every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Buoy | Flyby |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 97.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 96 MB | 123 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thomas Cailhol | Nicholas Dapolito |
Customer experience
The Buoy
Flyby
In-app purchases
The Buoy
- Monthly wax supply$2.991 Month
- Monthly wax supply$3.991 Month
- Monthly wax supply$8.991 Month
- Wax supply$2.99
- Wax supply$3.99
- Wax supply$8.99
Flyby
- Flyby Pass (Monthly)$3.991 Month
- Flyby Pass (Yearly)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Flyby Pass (Lifetime)$79.99









