Wavemaps vs TidalMap
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Wavemaps
This app provides detailed wave, surf, and wind forecasts for water enthusiasts and marine professionals. It offers global and nearshore wave modeling, real-time ocean data, and interactive 3D maps to visualize conditions. Users can save favorite locations and access premium features for advanced analysis.
- Global and nearshore wave forecasts
- Custom ultra high-resolution wave models
- Thousands of worldwide locations
- Real-time ocean conditions from buoys
- Interactive 3D-capable maps
- Wave-seabed interaction visualization
- Professional tools and extended forecasts
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Wavemaps — A Professional Wave Forecasting Platform Wavemaps is a professional wave, wind, and marine forecasting platform built for people who spend serious time on or near the water. Surfers, fishers, sailors, captains, lifeguards, marine engineers, and coastal professionals run on the same system: the world's leading wave and marine weather models, refined into hyperlocal forecasts up to 16 days out. MULTI-MODEL COMPARISON Detailed wave forecasts compared side by side across leading global models, including ECMWF and GFS. Read the agreement between models at a glance and make calls with confidence. WAVEMAPS TIME MACHINE Visualize wave and wind forecast maps from 1979 to the present. Replay historical swells, storms, and seasons — and save them as memories to revisit. WAVEMAPS ENERGY COMPASS Our signature swell-direction visualization. See where wave energy is coming from, how it's distributed across components, and how it aligns with the coast you care about. ADVANCED SWELL COMPONENT ANALYSIS Decompose every wave forecast into its swell and wind-wave components — height, period, and direction for each. Know exactly which swell is doing the work. WAVEMAPS HD Ultra-high-resolution nearshore wave forecasts powered by our custom Wavemaps HD engine. For the first time in a forecasting platform, see how waves interact with the seabed — bathymetry, refraction, and shoaling rendered the way you'd see them on a research instrument. Available only in certain regions. WIND FORECASTS High-resolution wind forecasts including gusts, sustained speeds, and direction. Identify offshore, side-shore, and onshore conditions for any spot. THOUSANDS OF LOCATIONS Browse surf spots, fishing zones, and wave buoys worldwide. Save your favorites for personalized forecasts. Add your own spots and pull wave forecasts anywhere in the world. INTERACTIVE 3D MAPS Explore ultra-high-resolution maps of ocean and weather conditions across nearshore and offshore areas. Smooth, GPU-driven 3D visualization helps you understand current conditions and how they're changing over time. PROFESSIONAL FEATURES Premium subscriptions unlock advanced capabilities, extended forecast ranges, and deeper data analysis for users who need traceable, decision-grade ocean intelligence. Terms of Service: https://www.wavemaps.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.wavemaps.com/privacy
TidalMap
Access live tides, marine weather forecasts, and satellite overlays on an interactive chart. Plan your water activities with detailed predictions for wind, currents, and sea conditions. Save spots, record trips, and download charts for offline use.
- Live and predicted tide data
- High-resolution weather and wind forecasts
- 72-hour forecast time-travel
- Sea-surface temperature and water color overlays
- Current and swell forecasts
- River flow and dam release schedules
- Offline chart downloads
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TidalMap puts live tides, marine weather, and forecast overlays on a single interactive chart, so you can read the water before you're on it. Built for the coastal captain, the inshore angler, and the tailwater trout fisherman alike, it pulls the best available data for the exact spot you're looking at and always shows you where it came from and how fresh it is. LIVE & PREDICTED TIDES Predicted and observed water levels from official government tide stations covering the entire US coast, plus Puerto Rico, the USVI, and the Pacific islands. Live gauge pins, interactive tide charts, and a monthly tide calendar. WEATHER & WIND High-resolution wind, precipitation, and cloud forecast overlays across the continental US, plus live offshore buoy observations: wind speed and direction, air and water temps, wave height, and pressure. Animated so you can read the trend, not just a number. FORECAST TIME TRAVEL Scrub forward up to 72 hours with time-travel controls to plan around the wind, the swell, and the rain. SEA-SURFACE TEMP & WATER COLOR Satellite SST, isotherms, and chlorophyll overlays for finding the edges and breaks offshore fishermen chase. CURRENTS & SWELL Surface current and swell forecasts, so you know how the water's moving and what the ride out will feel like. RIVER FLOW & DAM RELEASES Live streamflow gauges with historic-percentile context, plus next-day dam generation schedules. Tailwater anglers are first-class users, not an afterthought. CHARTS & HAZARDS Official raster nautical charts, seamarks, satellite imagery, and bathymetry depth contours with adjustable opacity. Coastal reference notes for the area you're viewing, plus local notices to mariners covering all US coastal districts. SOLUNAR & MOON Major and minor feeding windows, moon phase, illumination, and tidal coefficient, with a solunar force chart overlaid right on the tide calendar. WAYPOINTS & TRIPS Long-press to save a spot with an auto-captured conditions snapshot. Record GPS tracks of your trips, tag conditions for time-travel planning, and sync everything across web and iPhone. OFFLINE CHARTS Download regions before you lose signal, so the chart and your waypoints are there when the bars aren't. COUNTRY-WIDE COVERAGE East Coast, Gulf, West Coast, Puerto Rico, the deep Atlantic, Hawaii, and Alaska, and coverage grows as each upstream source does. BEST-AVAILABLE DATA Every overlay shows the most accurate signal for your spot. Accuracy first, then proximity, then freshness, with the source and age always visible. WHO IS TIDALMAP FOR? Inshore and offshore fishermen. Coastal captains and sailors. Surfers and paddlers checking swell and wind together. Kayakers planning around the current. Tailwater trout anglers watching dam releases. Crabbers, clammers, and beachcombers working the low tide. If your day depends on the water, TidalMap was built for you. FREE 7-DAY TRIAL Try everything free for 7 days. Then TidalMap Premium is $12.99/month or $99.99/year (save 36%). Subscriptions auto-renew until canceled in your App Store settings at least 24 hours before the period ends. QUESTIONS OR IDEAS? We're captains too. Tell us what would make your time on the water better: support@tidalmap.com NOT FOR NAVIGATIONAL USE. Tidal Map is for informational and recreational purposes only. The captain is always responsible for safe navigation. All data is sourced from official US government ocean, weather, and hydrology agencies. Terms of Use (EULA): https://tidalmap.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://tidalmap.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: TidalMap at every 6 days against Wavemaps's every 3 months. TidalMap also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 88%). Wavemaps's advantage is ratings volume (247 vs 4) and chart position (#155 vs unranked). On price, rating, 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. Wavemaps sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per month and TidalMap sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 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 Wavemaps against 5.0 for TidalMap. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wavemaps has 247 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Wavemaps's written reviews are positive against 100% of TidalMap's.
Wavemaps ships an update every 3 months, TidalMap every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Wavemaps | TidalMap |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (247 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 247 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #155 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 119 MB | 79 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Miguel Canals | AdCountant LLC |
Customer experience
Wavemaps
TidalMap
In-app purchases
Wavemaps
- Wavemaps Pro7 Days trial$7.991 Month
TidalMap
- Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
- 1 Year Subscription$99.991 Year









