Comparison

PCB Surf Flags vs WAWA 30A

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

Head to head
About

PCB Surf Flags

Get instant updates on rip current risk at Panama City Beach with this app. It uses the familiar color-coded flag system and offers multiple ways to stay informed, including home screen widgets and Apple Watch complications.

Highlights
  • Rip current risk alerts
  • Color-coded flag system
  • Home screen widget
  • Banner notifications
  • Apple Watch complication
  • Live beach webcam
Features
Read full description

The Panama City Beach, Florida - Surf Flags Advisory App This app allows you to quickly see the currently advised risk of rip current at Panama City Beach, using the familiar color-coded flag system. So quick, you don't even need to open the app! Offering several ways see, pick whichever you prefer: - A widget to place on your Home Screen - Banner notifications when the flags change - A complication and app for the Apple Watch Plus, the app offers information for additional ways to track the status: - How to receive text notifications - Links to the official webpages - A webcam to see the beach live

About

WAWA 30A

Get a daily beach briefing with a score from 0-10 based on real-time conditions like wind, waves, and temperature. Plan your perfect beach day with hour-by-hour forecasts and activity-specific scoring. Includes sunrise/sunset times, moon phases, and local recommendations.

Highlights
  • Daily beach score (0-10)
  • Hour-by-hour forecast scrubber
  • Activity-aware scoring
  • Sunrise/sunset and golden hour times
  • 7-day outlook
  • Live beach flag status (30A)
  • Audio briefing (Cap's Recap)
Features
Read full description

KNOW YOUR BEACH SCORE. BEFORE. WAWA 30A is a daily beach briefing that scores every beach day 0–10 so you never waste a trip. One number, grounded in real conditions, before you leave the house. Born on Florida's Scenic Highway 30A and built for beach lovers everywhere, WAWA 30A turns 12+ data points — wind, waves, water temperature, UV, tides, weather, visibility, and more — into one simple score you can trust. YOUR DAILY BRIEFING - Beach score 0–10 at a glance - Plain-language summary of what today actually looks like - Hour-by-hour scrubber so you can plan your window - Auto-refresh as conditions change ACTIVITY-AWARE SCORING Switch the score to match your plan. Beach day, surfing, sunrise photography, sunset viewing, and more — the score recalculates for what matters to you. SUN + MOON - Sunrise and sunset times with golden hour windows - Sunset quality score (0–10), driven by cloud cover, humidity, and visibility - Moon phase, illumination, and days to the next full or new moon - Tide correlation with lunar phase THIS WEEK - 7-day outlook with peak-score day flagged - Daily highs, lows, wind, and rain probability - Best and worst hours at a glance LOCAL PICKS (30A) Hand-picked local spots — restaurants, shops, experiences — from people who actually live here, each one served up with a short film of the place. CAP'S RECAP (NEW IN 2.0) Tap Cap and get a 30-second audio briefing of your beach day — score, conditions, sun, tides — narrated aloud while you pack the car. LIVE BEACH FLAGS (30A) Real-time beach flag status for every 30A beach, sourced directly from the South Walton Fire District. Green, yellow, red, double-red, and purple (marine pests) updates as they happen. For beaches outside 30A, flag status is predicted algorithmically from current conditions. NATIONWIDE COVERAGE Search any beach in the United States. Handpicked curation for 30A: - Rosemary Beach - Alys Beach - Seacrest Beach - Seaside - WaterColor - Grayton Beach - Blue Mountain Beach - Santa Rosa Beach Plus one-tap access across Florida's Gulf Coast, the East Coast, the West Coast, and everywhere in between. PRIVACY FIRST - No accounts, no sign-ups, no personal data collected - Location services are optional, and only used to find nearby beaches - Your preferences stay on your device SUBSCRIPTION WAWA 30A Premium is an auto-renewing subscription with a 3-day free trial, then $1.99/month or $14.99/year. Full access to every card, every beach, every feature. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://wawa30a.com/privacy-policy.html DATA SOURCES Weather and marine data from the National Weather Service, NOAA, and Open-Meteo. Beach flag data for 30A from the South Walton Fire District. Score calculations and sunset quality scoring are original to WAWA 30A. Built by beach lovers. Grounded in real data. Designed to make every beach day count.

Screenshots

PCB Surf Flags1 screens
WAWA 30A3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PCB Surf Flags at none against WAWA 30A's 2. PCB Surf Flags also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. WAWA 30A sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. PCB Surf Flags asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PCB Surf Flags against 5.0 for WAWA 30A. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PCB Surf Flags ships an update every 6 weeks, WAWA 30A every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PCB Surf Flags versus WAWA 30A: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPCB Surf FlagsWAWA 30A
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael HowardJake Marcum

In-app purchases

None

PCB Surf Flags

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

WAWA 30A

Subscriptions2
  • WAWA 30A Premium$1.991 Month
  • WAWA 30A Premium Annual$14.991 Year

Questions

Is PCB Surf Flags free?
PCB Surf Flags is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is WAWA 30A free?
WAWA 30A is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PCB Surf Flags or WAWA 30A?
PCB Surf Flags and WAWA 30A are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do PCB Surf Flags or WAWA 30A have ads?
WAWA 30A shows ads; PCB Surf Flags does not.
Which is updated more often, PCB Surf Flags or WAWA 30A?
PCB Surf Flags ships an update every 6 weeks, and WAWA 30A every 3 months. Most recently, PCB Surf Flags was updated on October 20, 2026 and WAWA 30A on October 16, 2026.

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