Comparison

Visual Weather vs SkyForge

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Dynamic pixel-art cloud visualization
  • Detailed hourly charts
  • Live sun tracker
  • 16-day hybrid forecast
  • Compact and detailed view modes
  • Radar with frame morphing
Features
Read full description

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/

About

SkyForge

Experience a dynamic, full-screen animated weather map as your primary interface. View detailed radar, wind streams, and temperature overlays, alongside a comprehensive 10-day forecast with interactive charts. Get severe weather alerts and air quality information for your current location or saved cities.

Highlights
  • Full-screen animated precipitation radar
  • Live wind stream visualization
  • 10-day forecast with daily briefs
  • Interactive hourly forecast charts
  • Severe weather watches and warnings
  • Automatic location-based weather
  • Dark and light map themes
Features
Read full description

SkyForge makes the weather radar the whole app — a full-screen, buttery-smooth animated map is your home screen, and everything else floats cleanly on top. RADAR THAT MOVES • Smooth, motion-interpolated radar: the past two hours, then up to an hour of forecast radar where it's available • 3D storms — heavy rain rises off the map as shaded clouds that cast shadows • Live wind streams — thousands of moving particles showing direction and speed • Temperature overlay with a color-graded legend • Show precipitation, temperature and wind together • Fronts & pressure from NOAA's surface analysis • Zoom out far enough and the map becomes a spinning 3D globe, colored with NASA satellite land cover A FORECAST WITH DEPTH • 10-day forecast — tap any day to expand a plain-English brief • Interactive charts for every day: temperature, precipitation, UV, wind, humidity, visibility, and pressure — drag to pinpoint any minute • Hourly forecast, current conditions, "feels like", and high/low • Air quality (US AQI), UV index, sunrise & sunset, dew point, and more BUILT FOR WHERE YOU ARE • Automatic radar and forecast for your current location • Save cities and reorder your list with a long-press • Dark and light map themes that remember your choice SEVERE WEATHER • Live watches, warnings, and advisories from the US National Weather Service, right at the top of your screen when they matter HONEST BY DESIGN • 100% free and ad-free • No account, no sign-up, no tracking • Your location is used only to fetch weather — never stored or sold Weather data from Open-Meteo, LibreWXR, RainViewer, NOAA / National Weather Service, NASA GIBS, Iowa State Mesonet, and OpenWeatherMap.

Screenshots

Visual Weather4 screens
SkyForge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SkyForge at none against Visual Weather's 2. Visual Weather's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Visual Weather sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. SkyForge 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 Visual Weather against 5.0 for SkyForge. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Visual Weather ships an update every 3 days, SkyForge monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Visual Weather versus SkyForge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisual WeatherSkyForge
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.315.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarbound Logic LLCTyler Posey

Customer experience

Visual Weather

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

SkyForge

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Visual Weather

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Subscribe for $2.99 / Month$2.99
None

SkyForge

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Visual Weather free?
Visual Weather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SkyForge free?
SkyForge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Visual Weather or SkyForge?
Visual Weather and SkyForge are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Visual Weather or SkyForge have ads?
Neither Visual Weather nor SkyForge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Visual Weather or SkyForge?
Visual Weather ships an update every 3 days, and SkyForge monthly. Most recently, Visual Weather was updated on October 7, 2026 and SkyForge on October 6, 2026.

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