Comparison

Swella vs Surfmate

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

Head to head
About

Swella

Connect with women who surf, whether you're at a local break or traveling. Plan surf sessions and trips, discover nearby surfers, and build confidence in the water. Find your surf sisters and never paddle out alone again.

Highlights
  • Create surfer profile
  • Share surf sessions and trips
  • Discover nearby women surfers
  • Connect by location, dates, and level
  • Chat and plan surf meetups
  • Build confidence in the lineup
Features
Read full description

Swella is the first app for women who surf, helping you connect with women nearby or while traveling, plan sessions or trips, and feel more confident in the lineup. Whether you’re heading to a new surf spot, planning a surf trip, or simply hoping not to paddle out alone, Swella helps you find other women surfing in the same place, at the same time, and at a similar level. Create and share surf sessions or trips, discover women surfers nearby, and start conversations to plan your next surf. With Swella, you can: • Create your surfer profile • Share your next surf session or trip • Discover women surfers nearby • Connect based on location, dates, and level • Chat and make plans to surf together • Explore curated surf trips, retreats, and experiences Swella helps you find surf sisters, feel more comfortable in the lineup, and surf with more confidence wherever you are. Built for every woman who’s ever looked around the lineup for another woman. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Surfmate

Connect with fellow surfers, log your sessions with detailed notes and photos, and discover local and global surf events. Find surf buddies nearby and organize your favorite surf spots.

Highlights
  • Log surf sessions with photos and notes
  • Find nearby surfers and connect
  • Discover surf events worldwide
  • Share live spot checks
  • Organize and save surf spots
  • Build a surfer profile
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the Surfmate Community - where surfers connect. Capture your sessions, discover surf events, and find your next surf buddy. Capture your surf journey Log every session with photos, notes, ratings, boards, and conditions. Tag your surf mates so they can copy the session into their own journal. Build your personal surf diary and relive every wave—from your very first ride to your best day ever. Find surfers nearby Meet surfers who share your favorite spots, have surfed the same breaks, or are attending the same events. Turn on **Open to Connect** to find surf buddies nearby, control who can discover you, and receive personalized surfer recommendations. Stay connected Follow friends, chat 1:1 or in groups, customize your feed, receive notifications when friends log new sessions, and stay connected with your surf community. Discover surf events Explore contests, festivals, film tours, community meetups, surf trips, and local events around the world. See events directly on the surf map, join community chats, publish that you'll attend, and connect before you even arrive. Share live spot checks Post real-time beach updates with videos and current conditions. Spot Checks are linked to surf spots and disappear automatically after 24 hours. Organize your surf spots Forget your Google Maps list. Save your favorite surf spots with tides, wave type, webcam links, photos, and personal notes. Keep spots private, share them only with friends, or discover more than 4,000 surf spots worldwide. Your surf life, organized Track the countries you've surfed, collect your favorite spots, build your surfer profile, and keep all your surf memories in one place. Built around your privacy Use Surfmate however you like. Keep everything private as your personal surf journal, or become part of a global surf community. You decide what you share and who can discover you. Your surf memories, favorite spots, surf mates, and surf events — all in one place. Your Surf. Your Story.

Screenshots

Swella4 screens
Surfmate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Surfmate at none against Swella's 2. Surfmate also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment 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. Swella sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Surfmate asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Swella ships an update monthly, Surfmate every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Swella versus Surfmate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSwellaSurfmate
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB151 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperRita MarquesJolie Bast

Customer experience

Swella

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Surfmate

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Swella

Subscriptions2
  • Swella Plus Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Swella Plus Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
None

Surfmate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Swella free?
Swella is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surfmate free?
Surfmate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Swella or Surfmate have ads?
Neither Swella nor Surfmate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Swella or Surfmate?
Swella ships an update monthly, and Surfmate every 9 days. Most recently, Swella was updated on October 30, 2026 and Surfmate on November 11, 2026.

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