Visual Weather vs Backyard Weather
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Visual Weather
This app visualizes atmospheric conditions, showing individual cloud layers and their height. It offers detailed hourly forecasts with interactive charts for temperature, precipitation, and wind. Understand the sky like never before with dynamic visualizations and a live sun tracker.
- Dynamic pixel-art cloud visualization
- Detailed hourly charts
- Live sun tracker
- 16-day hybrid forecast
- Compact and detailed view modes
- Radar with frame morphing
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Most weather apps just say "Cloudy." Visual Weather shows you exactly how cloudy. Visual Weather is the first app to visualize the atmosphere in depth. Our unique pixel-engine renders High, Mid, and Low cloud layers independently, giving you a true picture of the sky before you even step outside. Why Layers Matter: • Photographers: Know when to expect dramatic high-altitude cirrus clouds versus flat grey stratus. • Outdoor Enthusiasts: Gauge cloud height and conditions instantly for hiking, sailing, or stargazing. • Everyone: Understand the difference between a "sunny day with some clouds" and an "overcast day." Two Ways to Explore: • Compact View: Quick hourly forecast with toggleable rain, wind, and gust overlays. • Detailed View: Swipe through beautiful color-coded charts for temperature, cloud layers, precipitation, wind, and humidity. See exactly how conditions change hour by hour. Live Sun Tracker: Watch the sun's path arc across the sky in real-time. See current altitude, time until sunrise or sunset, and how day length is changing throughout the season. Powered by Precision Data: Using high-resolution HRRR models, we map: • Cloud Cover % (High/Mid/Low) • Precipitation Intensity • Wind Speed, Gusts & Direction • Temperature & Humidity Trends • Sun Position & Day Length Features: • Dynamic Pixel-Art Visualization • 16-Day Hybrid Forecast (HRRR + GFS) • Silky-Smooth Radar with Frame Morphing • Live Sun Tracker with Path & Altitude • Color-Coded Hourly Charts • Compact & Detailed View Modes Visual Weather Pro: Unlock the extended 16-day forecast, unlimited locations, and the full interactive radar loop. Don't just check the weather. Understand the sky. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Backyard Weather
Monitor personal weather stations, aviation weather, and coastal conditions. View current readings, historical charts for up to 11 metrics, and customize units. Offers widgets and a watch app for convenient access to weather data.
- Personal weather station monitoring
- Aviation weather (METAR)
- Coastal conditions (NOAA tides)
- Current conditions and historical charts
- Customizable units and display
- Widgets and watch app support
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**Personal Weather Station & Aviation Weather** Connect a PWS via Weather Underground, monitor aviation weather from any METAR airport, or track tides and coastal conditions from NOAA CO-OPS stations. **Three station types** • PWS — personal weather stations via Weather Underground • METAR — airport observations, updated every few minutes at most US airports • NOAA — tide gauges and coastal stations **Current conditions** Live readings with charts underneath, plus the record high, record low and average for today's date from your station's full archive. Up to 12 metrics depending on station type: temperature, feels like, humidity, wind, dew point, pressure, precipitation, UV, solar radiation, visibility, water temperature, and water level/tide. **Rich history charts** 1-day and 7-day charts you can drag to read exact values, times and wind direction. US airport stations fill in between the hourly reports, so today's line is a curve rather than 24 steps. **Alerts** Get notified when your station crosses a value you choose — a freeze, a gust, an inch of rain — or when it stops reporting altogether. Pressure drops, temperature swings and wind shifts are built in as ready-made rules. **Customisable units & display** 12- or 24-hour time, metric or imperial, and precision options for every number. **Color themes** Nine palettes for your charts and calendars. Preview any of them across every metric before you decide. **Widgets (Supporter)** Graph widgets for any metric over 1 or 7 days, a single-metric widget for one big number, a year-at-a-glance calendar, long-range history charts, a records widget, and Lock Screen complications. **Watch app (Supporter)** Temperature, feels like, humidity, wind, pressure and precipitation as watch complications, with every current metric and its graph in the app itself. **History & Records (Supporter)** Daily detail for any year your station has recorded — airports often reach back decades — plus all-time records, a record high and low for every calendar day, and yearly trends that overlay up to ten years on one chart. Free includes current conditions, 1-day and 7-day charts, one month of history, one alert per station, and three colour themes. Note: a Weather Underground API key is required for PWS stations. METAR and NOAA stations are free and need no API key. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Visual Weather at every 3 days against Backyard Weather's every 3 weeks. Visual Weather also leads on iOS requirement (15.3 vs 17.6). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Visual Weather sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Backyard Weather sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $14.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Visual Weather against 5.0 for Backyard Weather. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
Visual Weather ships an update every 3 days, Backyard Weather every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Visual Weather | Backyard Weather |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.3 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Starbound Logic LLC | Samuel Albrecht |
Customer experience
Visual Weather
Backyard Weather
In-app purchases
Visual Weather
- Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Subscribe for $2.99 / Month$2.99
Backyard Weather
- Backyard Weather Pro1 Month trial$14.991 Year
Questions
Is Visual Weather free?
Is Backyard Weather free?
Which has better reviews, Visual Weather or Backyard Weather?
Do Visual Weather or Backyard Weather have ads?
Which is updated more often, Visual Weather or Backyard Weather?
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