Surflens vs Riptyde
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Surflens
This app uses AI to automatically record your surf rides when you place your iPhone on the beach. It processes and edits clips instantly, even offline, allowing you to review and improve your surfing.
- AI-powered automatic wave recording
- Apple Watch camera control
- Instant offline clip processing
- Built-in surf video editor
- Optimized camera and battery performance
- Session review and progress tracking
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Catch your wave. Surflens catches you. Surflens turns your iPhone on the beach into an AI-powered surf camera — helping you capture, review, and improve your surfing with ease. No filmer. No extra gear. Just your phone and the ocean. Plan your sessions around the surf forecast — and capture every wave when it matters most. Features: AI Surf Camera Place your iPhone on the beach (tripod or stable surface), and Surflens will automatically detect and record surfers riding waves — including you. Your camera acts as a smart wave tracker, capturing every ride in its view. Control from your wrist Use your Apple Watch as a surf watch to control the camera and see exactly where the lens is pointing — so you stay in frame during your surf session. Instant clip processing — even offline Your surf videos are processed instantly — enhanced, cropped, and ready to share. No internet required. Built-in surf video editor turns raw surf footage into clean clips. Optimized for performance Surflens automatically adapts camera settings and battery usage so you can capture more waves without interruption. Review and improve Watch your sessions, review your rides, and track your progress over time. Built for surfers No action camera. No drone. No complicated setup. Just your phone on the beach — and your waves, captured. Surflens is designed to make surf filming simple, accessible, and part of every session. Because every surfer deserves to see their ride. Our Terms of Use: https://surflens.ai/terms
Riptyde
This app provides detailed surf forecasts for the West Coast, offering a "RAD Score" for each spot based on swell, tide, and wind data. It features hour-by-hour charts, historical data, live cams, and social sharing capabilities for surfers.
- Real-time Advanced Data (RAD) score
- Hour-by-hour surf condition charts
- 10-day forecast outlook
- Historical surf data (Throwback Mode)
- Live surf cams and spot previews
- Crew check-ins and secret spot sharing
- AI-powered written surf reports
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Riptyde is a surf forecasting app for the West Coast, built with a loud 1980s surf-graphics attitude and a serious data engine underneath. It pulls live NOAA buoy readings, tide predictions, marine swell models, and hourly wind forecasts, then turns them into one honest answer: is it worth paddling out? THE RAD SCORE Every spot gets a RAD (Real-time Advanced Data) score from 0 to 10, tuned to that break's real character: its ideal swell window, period band, tide preference, and wind sensitivity. Riptyde ranks the full swell stack (primary, secondary, tertiary), prices wind chop and windsea, and shows you the "why" behind every number with a factor-by-factor breakdown. A day's score averages the two windows surfers actually use, dawn patrol and the evening glass-off, so a spot that fires for one hour at dusk can't fake a great day. HOUR-BY-HOUR CHARTS Swipe through surf quality, wave height, tide, and wind charts for every day in a 10-day outlook. Tap any hour to see its limiting factor. The best window of the day is highlighted so you can plan your session accordingly. THROWBACK MODE Rewind any spot up to 10 days into the past. See the full report for the day you scored (or the day you skipped), with the same scores, charts, and conditions the forecast engine would have shown. SPOTS AND CAMS Browse a curated West Coast catalog from San Diego through Northern California, plus cam-backed beaches in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Filter, sort, and explore on the map. Watch live cams where available, with honest previews and source links for the rest. SURF WITH YOUR CREW Check in at a spot and share live condition reports with your friends. See where your crew is in the lineup on the map and on spot pages. Drop secret spots as private map pins, get forecasts for them, and share them only with the people you choose. AI SURF REPORTS Link your own OpenAI or Anthropic API key and get a daily written surf report in Riptyde's voice: a dawn patrol read, an afternoon outlook, and a straight verdict (GO, WORTH A LOOK, or NOT WORTH IT). Your key stays on your device and is never stored on our servers. LOG YOUR SESSIONS Keep a private log of your surf sessions with conditions, boards, and notes. Track your stats over time. RIPTYDE PRO Riptyde Pro features are currently available to all signed-in users without a subscription purchase. Explore secret spots, share reports with your crew, and add swell alerts to your calendar. AI surf reads require your own OpenAI or Anthropic API key and consent to share forecast data; your AI provider's usage charges apply. Existing Riptyde subscriptions continue to renew until cancelled through your Apple Account settings. Core forecasting is free: every spot, every chart, the RAD score, throwback, cams, favorites, and session logging. Riptyde Pro unlocks AI surf reports, crew check-ins and secret spot sharing, and swell alert calendar actions. Pro is an auto-renewable subscription, monthly or annual. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, and the subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://riptyde-privacy.pages.dev/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Surf data comes from NOAA, the National Weather Service, and Open-Meteo. Forecasts are estimates. Always check conditions in person and surf within your ability.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Riptyde at none against Surflens's shown. Riptyde also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). Surflens's advantage is ratings volume (20 vs 1) and monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). On price 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
Both are free to download. Surflens sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Riptyde sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Riptyde holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surflens has 20 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Surflens ships an update fortnightly, Riptyde weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Surflens | Riptyde |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (20 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 20 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 132 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Workstories, Inc. | Michael Zick |
Customer experience
Surflens
Riptyde
In-app purchases
Surflens
- Surflens Plus (Monthly)$7.991 Month
- Surflens Plus (Yearly)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Riptyde
- Riptyde Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Riptyde Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year









