Comparison

CNN Weather vs Windly

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

Head to head
About

CNN Weather

Get real-time weather updates and expert storm coverage from meteorologists. This app offers interactive radar, home screen widgets, and forecasts for multiple saved locations, helping you plan and stay informed.

Highlights
  • Expert storm coverage
  • Interactive radar
  • Home screen widgets
  • Multiple saved locations
  • Hourly, daily, and weekly forecasts
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Know more. Plan better. Live easier. CNN Weather combines expert meteorologists, live coverage, and precise radar so you always know what's coming next. New this season: home screen widgets keep your forecast in view, and saved locations let you track weather anywhere that matters to you. Inside the app: Expert-led storm coverage Real insights from real meteorologists. Interactive radar Simplified visuals for a complex sky. Home screen widgets Your forecast, without the extra tap. Multiple saved locations Keep an eye on everywhere you care about. Hourly, daily, and weekly forecasts The details that matter, right on time.

About

Windly

This app provides detailed current weather conditions and forecasts across the entire Apple ecosystem. It offers photorealistic backgrounds, hourly and 10-day predictions, and customizable widgets. Saved locations sync across devices for easy access.

Highlights
  • Photorealistic weather backgrounds
  • 24-hour hourly forecast
  • 10-day temperature trend
  • Home Screen widgets
  • Unlimited favorite locations
  • Offline weather caching
  • Cross-device syncing
Features
Read full description

Windly is a weather app that’s a pleasure to open. A big temperature, a line about your day and a sky that moves on the screen: rain, snow, storms, fog, twilight, stars and the Moon. For iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. No account, no ads, no data collection. HOME SCREEN • A huge temperature and the conditions at a glance • A greeting, a slogan and a description that fit the weather, the time of day and the season • Animated background: rain, snow, hail, lightning, wind, fog, clouds, the Sun by time of day • At night, stars and the Moon with its real phase • A ribbon below: hours, 10 days and the current numbers 10-DAY FORECAST • The next 24 hours with a chart of temperature, precipitation and wind • A list of days: icon, chance of rain, a min–max bar • Tap a day for its hourly forecast, sun arc, daylight, wind, precipitation, pressure, visibility, humidity and UV index • Moon phase, moonrise and moonset, date of the full moon • Weather alerts CITIES • Your current location and any number of favorite cities • City search and quick switching • Favorites sync through iCloud WIDGETS • Small, medium and large Home Screen widgets • Lock Screen widgets: inline, circular, rectangular • Precipitation, hourly entries and the same background as in the app • Choose the city and the refresh rate in Settings MAC AND APPLE TV • Mac: the temperature in the menu bar and a compact window with the weather now, by the hour and your favorite cities; launch at login • Apple TV: weather on the big screen and a detailed forecast OFFLINE AND ACCURACY • Forecasts from Apple WeatherKit • The last weather is available without a network • Celsius and Fahrenheit, wind and pressure units, light and dark theme PRIVACY • Location is used only to get the forecast for your spot • No account, no ads, no trackers The interface is available in English, Russian, German, French and Spanish.

Screenshots

CNN Weather4 screens
Windly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Windly at 100% against CNN Weather's 61%. Windly also leads on device support (4 vs 1). CNN Weather's advantage is chart position (#14 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CNN Weather ships an update fortnightly, Windly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
CNN Weather versus Windly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCNN WeatherWindly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews61.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.2K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size119 MB16 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCNN Interactive Group, Inc.Vladislav Sidelnikov

Customer experience

CNN Weather

All ratings2,179 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive61.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative32.6%

Windly

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

CNN Weather

No in-app purchases

None

Windly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CNN Weather free?
CNN Weather is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Windly free?
Windly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do CNN Weather or Windly have ads?
Neither CNN Weather nor Windly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CNN Weather or Windly?
CNN Weather ships an update fortnightly, and Windly weekly. Most recently, CNN Weather was updated on November 8, 2026 and Windly on November 9, 2026.

Other comparisons