AuroraPulse vs Swellwire
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AuroraPulse
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Will you see the northern lights tonight? AuroraPulse answers with one number: your chance, from where you are, right now. YOUR CHANCE, NOT JUST A KP AuroraPulse combines the planetary Kp index with your geomagnetic latitude, the cloud above you and how dark the sky is. A high Kp means little under an overcast sky or at noon, and the app says so. LIVE AURORA MAP See the auroral oval from NOAA's OVATION model on a real map, where you stand in relation to it, and which way to look. FORECAST • 3-day Kp forecast with the windows when aurora could reach you • 27-day outlook for planning a trip • Compare a destination: what Kp it needs and the cloud forecast ALERTS THAT RESPECT YOU • One evening notice when aurora is forecast for your location • Optional alert 30 minutes before the peak • Geomagnetic storm and Earth-directed CME alerts, filtered to what can be seen at your latitude SPACE WEATHER, EXPLAINED Solar wind speed, Bz, X-ray flares, sunspot number and active NOAA storm bulletins, with a guide that explains what each number means. WIDGETS AND LIVE ACTIVITY Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, a Live Activity when aurora is possible, and Siri: "What's the aurora forecast in AuroraPulse?" COMMUNITY SIGHTINGS See recent reports near you and add your own. A sighting shares an approximate location (about 10 km), never your exact position. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No ads, no tracking, no sign-up. Your location is used on your device; weather requests use it rounded to about 1 km. Data: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, NASA DONKI, Open-Meteo.
Swellwire
Visualize global ocean conditions with a 3D globe. Get detailed forecasts for swell, wind, and weather at any coastline, from immediate conditions to two weeks ahead. Plan your next surf session or marine activity with comprehensive data.
- Interactive 3D globe with weather overlays
- Live wave height and energy data
- Detailed surf spot forecasts
- Buoy data integration
- Searchable surf spots and buoys
- Favorite spots sync across devices
- 16-day forecast extension (Premium)
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Swellwire turns the world ocean into a planner. Spin the globe, drop into any coast, and read the swell, wind, and weather in seconds—right now, tomorrow, or two weeks out. WHAT YOU GET • Interactive 3D globe with live wave-height, wave-energy, wind, and temperature overlays. Pan, pinch, and tap to explore any shoreline on the planet. • Surf spot forecasts: wave height, period, direction, wind, and a clean at-a-glance read before you commit to the drive. • Buoy data from major coastal networks, surfaced inline on the same map you're already using. • Search any surf spot or NOAA buoy by name and jump straight to its forecast. • Favorite spots sync across devices, so your home break, your travel list, and your weekend backup are all one tap away. • Wave-energy color legend lets you compare a heavy four-foot day against a soft five-foot day at a glance. FREE OR PREMIUM Free includes the full globe, every overlay, and a 7-day forecast for every spot. Premium extends every forecast to a full 16 days — long enough to see swell windows before they're obvious to everyone else. WHO IT'S FOR Surfers planning the next session, the next trip, or the next swell. Sailors, kiters, foilers, divers, and anyone whose day depends on what the ocean is actually doing. WHY A GLOBE INSTEAD OF A FLAT MAP Swell doesn't care about map projections. A storm in the South Indian Ocean lights up reefs in California a week later — on a globe you can see why. Watch a long-period swell wrap around continents in the wave-energy view and a forecast starts to read like a story. ACCOUNT AND PRIVACY Sign in with Google to sync favorites and unlock the 16-day upgrade. Swellwire never posts on your behalf, never sells your data, and never emails you unless you ask. QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK Email support@swellwire.com — we read every message. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AuroraPulse at none against Swellwire's 2. On price, ads, device support 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
Both are free to download. Swellwire sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. AuroraPulse asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | AuroraPulse | Swellwire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christine Martin | Nevada Scientific Inc. |
In-app purchases
AuroraPulse
No in-app purchases
Swellwire
- Swellwire Monthly$4.991 Month
- Swellwire Yearly$39.991 Year









