Swell Intel vs Current
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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/
Current
Get detailed, physics-based surf forecasts for California breaks. See wave height, how waves break, swell details, wind, tide, and water temperature. A free daily forecast is available, with premium features for multi-day predictions and advanced statistics.
- Physics-based surf forecasts
- Wave break type prediction
- Swell partitions and timeline
- Lull duration and wave energy
- Water temperature
- Multi-day forecast (premium)
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Current gives you physics-based surf forecasts for every break In California and the East and Gulf Coasts. Current is part of a movement to create more accurate and detailed surf forecasts. What you get: • 8-day surf forecast for every spot - swell, wind, tide, surf heights, and ratings • An animated map - wind, currents, and swell in motion, surf height painted along the coastline • Spot stats you won't find anywhere else - set height, breaker type, peakiness • Secret spots - draw your own spot anywhere on the coast and get a full forecast for it Today's forecast is free for every spot. Upgrade to Current Premium for multi-day forecasts, detailed surf-zone statistics, and map overlays. Forecasts are estimates — always check real conditions and surf within your limits. - Support URL: https://currentsurf.com · Marketing URL (optional): https://currentsurf.com · Privacy Policy URL: https://currentsurf.com/privacy CURRENT PREMIUM (optional subscription) Premium Monthly - $4.99/month, auto-renews. Unlocks the full 8-day forecast everywhere: future-day map overlays, future-day spot stats, and up to 100 secret spots. Today's forecast is always free. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews monthly unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store settings. Privacy Policy: https://currentsurf.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://currentsurf.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Swell Intel at 5.0 against Current's 4.7. Swell Intel also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%) and update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). 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. Swell Intel sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Current sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Swell Intel holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Swell Intel's written reviews are positive against 80% of Current's.
Swell Intel ships an update every 6 days, Current fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Swell Intel | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (11 ratings) — better | 4.7 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 14 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Swell Intel LLC | Colin Weaver |
Customer experience
Swell Intel
Current
In-app purchases
Swell Intel
- Swell Intel Premium Monthly14 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Swell Intel Premium Plus14 Days trial$2.991 Month
Current
- Current Premium$4.991 Month







