Comparison

SurfMap vs Current

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

Head to head
About

SurfMap

Get personalized surf forecasts tailored to your skill level at thousands of global surf spots. Understand why conditions are rated a certain way and receive warnings for dangerous tides. Log your sessions and discover new surf locations with detailed guides.

Highlights
  • Personalized surf ratings by skill level
  • Hourly wave, wind, and tide graphs
  • AI-powered session enjoyment prediction
  • Customizable spot settings and warnings
  • Detailed surf guides for popular regions
  • Apple Watch session tracking
  • Siri integration for quick forecasts
Features
Read full description

SurfMap rates the surf for your level at more than 5,000 spots around the world. For each spot, it shows you the best hours to go and tells you why. RATED FOR YOUR LEVEL • Tell SurfMap if you're a beginner, an intermediate or an advanced surfer, and every hour of the week gets a rating for you. • Each rating gives its reason in plain words, like "The size is ideal for your level" or "There's too much wind for clean waves". • When the tide makes a spot dangerous, a warning sign shows next to its rating. • Rate your sessions and the AI adds a personal score that predicts how much you'll enjoy each hour. It runs on your iPhone and learns only from your own sessions. MAKE EACH SPOT YOURS • Tell SurfMap which tides work at your spot, which ones are dangerous and how big the waves really get there, and the ratings take it into account. • Save your favorite spots. Around 6:30 pm, SurfMap tells you if one of them looks good tomorrow, and it stays quiet when nothing is worth the trip. • Home Screen widgets show the spot you pick, or the closest spot wherever you are, and the Surf Size widget puts the wave size first. FIND WHERE TO SURF • The Forecast tab shows the week's best days, then every spot around you with its size, wind and best hours. • Hourly graphs show the waves, wind, tide and weather. Drag across the day to check any hour. • On the map, one pick tells you which spot to surf, when to go and why. • Search spots, towns and guides by the name locals use or the one travelers know. WHERE THE FORECAST COMES FROM • Waves, wind and weather come from global wave and weather models, refreshed twice a day for the next seven days. The ratings are SurfMap's own reading of them. • Tides are predicted for each spot from its own tidal constants, the same method behind printed tide tables. 16 SURF GUIDES • The guides cover Ericeira, Peniche, the Algarve, Hossegor, both sides of the Basque Country, Galicia, Asturias, Cornwall, the west coast of Ireland, Fuerteventura, Taghazout, Bali, the Mentawai Islands, Siargao and Sri Lanka. • Each guide says which spot suits your level, the tide that makes it work and the hazards to watch out for. ASK SIRI • "Hey Siri, does it surf today in Huntington Beach with SurfMap?" Siri answers with your rating and the best window, and a tap opens the spot. • With Apple Intelligence, ask SurfMap anything, like "Is tomorrow better than today at Huntington Beach?" Siri questions need iOS 26. APPLE WATCH • Track your session from your wrist, with no phone in the water. The watch counts your waves, and notices missed waves and wipeouts too. • Follow your heart rate, calories and paddle distance live, and keep the GPS track. If your watch runs out of battery, the session isn't lost. • The watch shows conditions and tide for your spots, and its complications can follow the closest spot. YOUR SURF LOG • Every session goes into your log with its conditions and the board you rode, and each month gets its own recap page. • Share a spot's forecast, a session or a whole month as an image. • The Stats page keeps your records, your firsts and the conditions of your best sessions, and the Stamp book gives every spot you surf its own stamp. • Surf workouts go to Apple Health and count toward your rings. SurfMap has no ads. Please note: All features in SurfMap require a subscription. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Current

Get detailed, physics-based surf forecasts for over 1,000 surf breaks. View 16-day outlooks including swell, wind, tide, and surf heights. Features animated maps and unique spot statistics like water temperature and breaker type.

Highlights
  • 16-day surf forecast
  • Animated wind, current, and swell maps
  • Detailed spot statistics
  • Water temperature with wetsuit recommendations
  • Custom spot forecasting
  • Hourly forecast for first 10 days
Read full description

Current gives you physics-based surf forecasts for more than 1,000 breaks across California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and the East and Gulf Coasts. Current is part of a movement to create more accurate and detailed surf forecasts. What you get: • 16-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, plus water temperature with a wetsuit pick • Secret spots - draw your own spot anywhere on the coast and get a full forecast for it The 10-day forecast is free for every spot. Upgrade to Current Premium for the full 16-day forecast, future-day spot stats, and future-day map overlays. Forecasts are estimates. Always check real conditions and surf within your limits. CURRENT PREMIUM (optional subscription) The hourly surf forecast is free for days 1–10. Premium unlocks days 11–16, plus future-day map overlays (surf height, wind, currents, water temperature) and future-day spot stats. Premium Monthly: [monthly price]/month. Premium Annual: [annual price]/year. Both auto-renew. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews 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

SurfMap4 screens
Current4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SurfMap at weekly against Current's every 3 weeks. Current's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. SurfMap sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.00 per 7 days and Current sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for SurfMap against 4.5 for Current. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 40 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of SurfMap's written reviews are positive against 71% of Current's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SurfMap ships an update weekly, Current every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SurfMap versus Current: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurfMapCurrent
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (40 ratings)4.5 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings40 — better17
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB35 MB
Age rating12++4
DeveloperGuillaume BernosColin Weaver

Customer experience

SurfMap

All ratings40 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral2.5%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Current

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

SurfMap

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Plan$3.007 Days
  • Monthly Plan$6.991 Month
  • Annual Plan14 Days trial$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$99.00
2 purchases

Current

Subscriptions2
  • Current Premium$4.991 Month
  • Current Premium Annual$29.991 Year

Questions

Is SurfMap free?
SurfMap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Current free?
Current is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SurfMap or Current?
Current is rated higher. SurfMap averages 4.5 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while Current averages 4.5 from 17 ratings.
Do SurfMap or Current have ads?
Neither SurfMap nor Current shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SurfMap or Current?
SurfMap ships an update weekly, and Current every 3 weeks. Most recently, SurfMap was updated on November 8, 2026 and Current on November 10, 2026.

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