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

This app uses AI to provide personalized surf forecasts based on your skill level and preferred spots. It offers an interactive map for viewing conditions and custom alerts to never miss a great session.

Highlights
  • AI-powered personalized forecasts
  • Interactive map with live conditions
  • 7-day surf planning
  • Customizable alerts
  • Tide and crowd level tracking
  • Skill-level adaptation
Features
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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 "Ideal size for your level" or "Too much wind". • 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. FIND WHERE TO SURF • See which spots around you, or which of your favorites, look good today, tomorrow, this weekend or later in the week. • Hourly graphs show the waves, wind, tide and weather. Drag across the day to check any hour. • The nearby forecast shows seven days for every spot around you. Open the week in landscape, or compare two spots side by side. • 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. • Your profile keeps your records and a stamp for each new spot and each new country. • 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 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.

Highlights
  • Physics-based surf forecasts
  • Wave break type prediction
  • Swell partitions and timeline
  • Lull duration and wave energy
  • Water temperature
  • Multi-day forecast (premium)
Currently charting
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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

SurfMap4 screens
Current4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Current at freemium against SurfMap's subscription. Current also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and chart position (#176 vs unranked). SurfMap's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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 $1.99 per 7 days 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Current holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 40 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of SurfMap's written reviews are positive against 80% of Current's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SurfMap ships an update every 6 days, Current fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
SurfMap versus Current: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurfMapCurrent
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (40 ratings)4.7 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings40 — better14
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
Best chart rank—#176 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB40 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 ratings14 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

SurfMap

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Plan$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Plan$6.991 Month
  • Annual Plan14 Days trial$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$99.00
1 purchases

Current

Subscriptions1
  • Current Premium$4.991 Month

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 4.7 from 14 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 every 6 days, and Current fortnightly. Most recently, SurfMap was updated on October 22, 2026 and Current on October 8, 2026.

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