Comparison

Lightning Tracker vs Before It Strikes

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

Head to head
About

Lightning Tracker

This app provides real-time lightning strike data on a live map, offering alerts for nearby activity. It helps users plan outdoor activities and stay aware of approaching storms with detailed strike information and weather radar integration.

Highlights
  • Live lightning strike map
  • Nearby strike alerts
  • Ground and intracloud strike types
  • Weather radar integration
  • Closest strike distance and age
  • Optional monthly Pro subscription
Read full description

Lightning Alerts is a live lightning tracker and storm map for nearby strike awareness, powered by enterprise-grade lightning data. Open the map without creating an app account. Check recent strike activity before travel, golf, hiking, boating, surfing, fishing, open-water activities, or everyday weather planning. The map can show both ground-reaching and intracloud strikes. Ground mode helps filter cloud flashes so busy storms are easier to read. What you can see: - Live map of recent strike activity - Nearby alerts for your location or a saved place - No app account required to open the map - Ground-reaching and intracloud strike types - Ground mode to reduce cloud-flash noise - Closest-strike distance, age, direction, and street context - Strike strength, polarity, and detailed strike type - Polarity filter: show only positive or only negative ground strikes - Strength filter and Find > Strongest in view - Weather radar with strikes on the same map - Save one place you care about - Clear controls for alerts, ads, privacy, and analytics - Optional monthly Pro subscription that removes ads Use Lightning Alerts before you head outside, while storms are nearby, or when you want a clearer view of activity around a place. Choose the strike filter, inspect the closest strike, and use notifications to return to the live map when activity changes. Photographers and sprite chasers can show only positive ground strikes, which are less common and often stronger. Tap a strike to see its distance and direction. Lightning Alerts is a weather awareness tool, not an emergency warning system. Always follow official weather alerts, local rules, and venue safety guidance. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Before It Strikes

This app provides real-time severe weather alerts and lightning prediction. It offers a 30-minute safety countdown after lightning strikes and displays high-resolution 3D radar. Receive instant National Weather Service warnings for any saved location.

Highlights
  • Lightning safety countdown
  • Official NWS alerts
  • Hi-res 3D radar
  • Storm Center overview
  • Heads-up storm notifications
  • Apple Watch integration
Features
Read full description

Severe weather, before it happens. You shouldn't find out about a storm when the first bolt hits. Before It Strikes watches the sky for you — pushing official National Weather Service warnings the instant they're issued, tracking storms headed your way, and counting down exactly when it's safe to go back outside. Free. Nationwide. Built for anyone who has to make the call to head inside. -Lightning safety countdown When lightning strikes within 10 miles, a 30-minute timer starts — and resets with every nearby strike, just like the 30-30 rule the pros use. When it reaches zero, you're clear. It lives right on your Lock Screen and Apple Watch. -Official NWS alerts, instantly Tornado, severe thunderstorm, and flash-flood warnings straight from the National Weather Service — for home, the lake house, the kids' school, anywhere you save. With a live expiration countdown, plain-English guidance, and every affected county. - Hi-res 3D radar Crisp, smooth radar you can tilt into 3D and zoom to your own street. 150+ live radar sites, nationwide — pan to any storm in the country. - Storm Center One screen that reads the sky: a 1–5 threat level, live lightning rate, the nearest strike, the next-6-hour outlook, and local storm reports as they land. - See it coming A heads-up when a storm is overhead or heading your way — with tornado, wind, and hail threats in plain words, before the first bolt. - On your wrist The all-clear countdown mirrors to your Apple Watch as a glowing ring — a glance tells you whether it's safe to go back out. - Follows you Save every place you care about, or let it track wherever you are. Loud when it counts, silent when it doesn't. No subscription. No paywall on safety. Every feature, free. A note on safety Official National Weather Service warnings are always the source of truth. Some features — such as lightning prediction and storm scoring — are experimental situational awareness and should never be used in place of official warnings or lightning-safety guidance. When in doubt, seek shelter.

Screenshots

Lightning Tracker4 screens
Before It Strikes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Before It Strikes at none against Lightning Tracker's 1. Before It Strikes also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (7 vs 1). Lightning Tracker's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly). On price, rating, review sentiment and iOS requirement 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. Lightning Tracker sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Before It Strikes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Lightning Tracker against 5.0 for Before It Strikes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Before It Strikes has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lightning Tracker ships an update every 2 days, Before It Strikes weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Lightning Tracker versus Before It Strikes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightning TrackerBefore It Strikes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLightning Alerts OyCody Negri

Customer experience

Lightning Tracker

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Before It Strikes

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lightning Tracker

Subscriptions1
  • Ad-free monthly$0.991 Month
None

Before It Strikes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lightning Tracker free?
Lightning Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Before It Strikes free?
Before It Strikes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lightning Tracker or Before It Strikes?
Lightning Tracker and Before It Strikes are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 7 ratings respectively.
Do Lightning Tracker or Before It Strikes have ads?
Lightning Tracker shows ads; Before It Strikes does not.
Which is updated more often, Lightning Tracker or Before It Strikes?
Lightning Tracker ships an update every 2 days, and Before It Strikes weekly. Most recently, Lightning Tracker was updated on October 15, 2026 and Before It Strikes on October 10, 2026.

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