Comparison

Wavemaps vs Spearo

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

About

Spearo

Get a clear go/no-go verdict for spearfishing and freediving with consolidated sea conditions. Predicts water visibility, tides, swell, wind, and temperature for over 1,100 coastal cities.

Highlights
  • Go/no-go dive verdict
  • Water visibility forecast
  • Tides, swell, wind, temperature curves
  • Mapped dive spots
  • Custom point forecasts
  • Home and lock screen widgets
  • Smart alerts
Features
Read full description

No ads, no sign-up. Offline, you still see the last forecast loaded for cities and points you've already opened. See whether it's worth getting in the water today. Spearo (spearo.app) covers spearfishing and freediving in 2,600+ coastal cities across 60+ countries. The forecast comes from our own ML model, which weighs dozens of factors, including swell, wind, tides, rain and water temperature. Most of us check three or four apps before a dive: wind in one, swell in another, tides in a third. Then we drive to the beach and find murky water anyway. Spearo checks swell height and period, wind, visibility and tides to give you a daily verdict before you leave home. Green: there's a window to dive today, and you can see which hours. Yellow: borderline. There's less time to dive and less room for error. Red: there's a good reason to wait, and Spearo shows the next good day. Water visibility forecast Spearo predicts visibility on your coast in meters. Our own ML model works it out from dozens of factors, including swell, wind, tides, rain and water temperature, so a stirred-up sea won't surprise you at the entry point. Murky water doesn't always mean there are no fish, and whether you go in is up to you. Seafloor map & no-take zones A satellite map of your coast with depth contours, plus seafloor detail where we have it, so you can read the bottom before you get in. Marine reserves and no-take zones in 25 countries are marked on the map. They're shown for information only, so always check the current local rules. Tides, swell & wind An hourly marine forecast: wave height, swell period, wind speed and gusts, water temperature, visibility and an hourly tide chart. It runs up to 7 days ahead. The first days are free and the full week comes with Pro. Spearfishing spots 8,000+ mapped spots along the coast (reefs, wrecks and ledges), each with its own forecast. Some spot forecasts require Pro or Ultra. My points Save your own points anywhere on the map: 3 free, 5 with Pro, 10 with Ultra. A reef, a drop-off, a mark you keep to yourself. Spearo builds a full 7-day forecast for those exact coordinates. Dive log After a dive, note what the water was really like: first how well the forecast matched, then visibility in meters, waves and fish activity. Over time you'll see how your spot behaves. Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets Put the week strip and the verdict on your Home Screen, and see today's answer on your Lock Screen. Home Screen widgets can follow your city or any saved point. Alerts A short morning digest for your city or your points, and a heads-up when today's verdict is green at a point you follow. Alerts for one location are free; follow more with Pro. You can manage the morning digest and dive alerts in Settings. Fish & safety Local fish species, minimum sizes where available, and official sea warnings where they're issued. Who it's for Spearfishing · freediving · apnea · snorkeling · open-water swimming · kayak & SUP · rock and shore fishing. For anyone who wants to know what the sea is doing before getting in. Coverage 60+ countries, 2,600+ coastal cities: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, France, Turkey, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Philippines and more. Spearo is available in 9 languages. Some features require a Spearo Pro subscription. Subscriptions renew automatically through the App Store unless canceled. You can manage them in your Apple Account settings. The yearly Pro plan comes with a 7-day free trial; other plans have no trial. If you start it, cancel in your Apple Account settings at least 24 hours before it ends and you won't be charged. Forecast limits A forecast is a guide and it can be wrong. Check conditions on site, respect local rules and seasons, and never dive alone. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Wavemaps4 screens
Spearo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Wavemaps at 88% against Spearo's 0%. Wavemaps also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.6) and ratings volume (236 vs 7). Spearo's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 months) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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. Wavemaps sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Spearo sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Wavemaps holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wavemaps has 236 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Wavemaps's written reviews are positive against 0% of Spearo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wavemaps ships an update every 3 months, Spearo daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Wavemaps versus Spearo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWavemapsSpearo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (236 ratings) — better2.6 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings236 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#128#92 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size119 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMiguel CanalsDiana Dryn

Customer experience

Wavemaps

All ratings186 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral0.5%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

Spearo

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Wavemaps

Subscriptions2
  • Wavemaps Pro7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Wavemaps Pro7 Days trial$59.991 Year
11 purchases

Spearo

Subscriptions8
  • Pro1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Pro$14.991 Year
  • Pro$16.991 Year
Show 5 more
  • Pro$39.991 Year
  • Pro7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Pro7 Days trial$43.991 Year
  • Pro7 Days trial$47.901 Year
  • Ultra$63.901 Year
One-time3
  • Spearo Pro · Lifetime$43.99
  • Spearo Pro · Lifetime$61.99
  • Spearo Pro · Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Wavemaps free?
Wavemaps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Spearo free?
Spearo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Wavemaps or Spearo?
Wavemaps is rated higher. Wavemaps averages 4.9 out of 5 from 236 ratings, while Spearo averages 2.6 from 7 ratings.
Do Wavemaps or Spearo have ads?
Neither Wavemaps nor Spearo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wavemaps or Spearo?
Wavemaps ships an update every 3 months, and Spearo daily. Most recently, Wavemaps was updated on October 28, 2026 and Spearo on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Wavemaps or Spearo?
Wavemaps currently peaks at #128 in the App Store charts, and Spearo at #92. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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