Comparison

PeakFlows vs River Rat

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

Head to head
About

PeakFlows

Features
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PeakFlows is a river level and forecast app for whitewater kayakers. Over 450 curated rivers across 36 countries, free to use, no paywalled levels. WHAT IT ANSWERS Is it on. That is the question every paddler asks when they look at a river gauge. PeakFlows translates the raw number into a straight answer: low, medium, sweet spot, high, flood. For every river, every hour. No more screenshots of graphs in the WhatsApp group. No more asking the one person in the club who always seems to know. You open the app, you look at the card, you know. LIVE FROM OFFICIAL GAUGES Level data updated every 15 minutes from official national monitoring authorities: OPW in Ireland, the Environment Agency in England, SEPA in Scotland, USGS in the US, BOM in Australia, NVE in Norway, Vigicrues in France, and a dozen more, plus the volunteer RiverSpy network and the PegelAlarm service for rivers they cover. The same data hydrologists use, turned into a paddling verdict. EVERY RIVER EARNS ITS PLACE Over 450 runs, hand-picked. If it's in PeakFlows, it's whitewater worth paddling. No navigation gauges, no flat water, no rivers that never make a wave. 36 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Norway, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and more. COMMUNITY SWEET SPOT Gauge numbers don't tell you if a river is good. Paddlers do. Every river has a sweet spot band voted on by the people who run it. When enough votes come in, the sweet spot shifts to match reality. FORECAST BUILT ON HYDROLOGY PeakFlows forecasts river levels using rainfall, soil saturation, catchment terrain, and how each river actually responds to weather. A forecast specific to your river, not a generic regional rain estimate. Full four-day forecast with Pro. GROUP TRIP Create a trip, invite your crew. The Heads Up button pushes live conditions to everyone on the trip. Free for all paddlers. Not an emergency service: in any life-threatening situation call 112 or 999. WHAT YOU GET FREE Every river. Every level. Every sweet spot. Group Trip coordination. Hazard alerts. Curated photos. Always. WHAT PRO ADDS Full four-day forecast with predicted levels at 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, 72h and 96h. Unlimited push alerts. Home Screen widget. Seasonal context. Historical percentiles. EUR 12.99 per year. 30-day free trial, no payment details required. DATA SOURCES River levels from official national monitoring authorities: OPW (Ireland): gov.ie/en/organisation/opw Environment Agency (England): environment.data.gov.uk/flood-monitoring SEPA (Scotland): sepa.org.uk USGS (United States): waterdata.usgs.gov Bureau of Meteorology (Australia): bom.gov.au/water NVE (Norway): nve.no Vigicrues (France): vigicrues.gouv.fr RiverSpy (Ireland, volunteer community gauge network): riverspy.net PegelAlarm (Austria / Croatia / Wales, free community gauge service): pegelalarm.at DISCLAIMER PeakFlows is an independent app by Peak Media Limited. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government entity. We report live river levels published by official agencies and add our own independent forecasts. For recreational planning only, always check conditions in person. Save your home river and check it before you load your boat.

About

River Rat

Features
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Montana rivers don't wait. River Rat gives paddlers, fly fishers, and rafters a clean read on 39 rivers across Montana and Idaho – before you load the truck. Know if it's runnable, not just the CFS number. Live readings are automatically classified: too low, bony, ideal, pushy, too high. You see the verdict, not just the number. Plan a trip, not just a day. Save your rivers. Open the Trip Planner, pick a date, and see which runs will be in shape. The weekend digest gives you the one-line read before you open anything. Hatches: type, timing, and fly patterns. Active, approaching, and fading windows by species – salmonflies, PMDs, caddis, and more – with fly patterns and timing notes built around water temperature, not calendar guesses. What's in the detail view: • Real-time water temperature + fish thermal stress alerts (67°F stress, 70°F danger) • Water clarity signal with 24-hour trend • Gage height • Rapids and hazards with class ratings • 7-day weather: air temp highs/lows and precip probability Set alerts. Stop babysitting gauges. Set a threshold – "notify me when the Blackfoot hits ideal" – and let it fire when conditions land. No polling required. Everything saves locally. 39 rivers across Montana and Idaho. Built for the people who actually run them. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PeakFlows4 screens
River Rat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: River Rat at every 10 days against PeakFlows's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PeakFlows ships an update monthly, River Rat every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and August 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
PeakFlows versus River Rat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPeakFlowsRiver Rat
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMark SheilsEvil Twin Enterprises, LLC

In-app purchases

None

PeakFlows

No in-app purchases

None

River Rat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PeakFlows free?
PeakFlows is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is River Rat free?
River Rat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PeakFlows or River Rat have ads?
Neither PeakFlows nor River Rat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PeakFlows or River Rat?
PeakFlows ships an update monthly, and River Rat every 10 days. Most recently, PeakFlows was updated on September 20, 2026 and River Rat on August 22, 2026.

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