Comparison

Bolted vs Lightning Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Bolted

Receive real-time lightning alerts and safety guidance. Create custom zones to monitor, get shelter countdowns, and receive notifications when it's safe to go outside. Features include live activity updates and Apple Watch integration.

Highlights
  • Real-time lightning monitoring
  • Custom Watch Zones
  • Shelter countdowns
  • Live Activity updates
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Customizable notification frequency
Features
Read full description

Bolted helps you know when lightning is nearby and when it is reasonable to return outside. Great for parents, coaches, and anyone else spending time outside. Create lightning Watch Zones for the places you care about, get lightning alerts when strikes are detected nearby, and follow a clear shelter countdown until conditions improve. Bolted can notify you when the shelter period has ended, show Live Activity updates on your Lock Screen, and keep key status visible from Apple Watch. Features: - Real-time lightning monitoring at current location - See thunder shockwaves in real-time for each strike - GPU-optimized lightning animations and haptics for each strike (you see it and feel it) - Lightning notifications for saved Watch Zones - Countdown to all clear after nearby strikes - All-clear notifications after 30 minutes with no detected lightning - Lock Screen and Dynamic Island Live Activity - Apple Watch Live Activity view - Custom Watch Zone radius - Lightning status: Shelter, Caution, Clear - Recent strike distance and timing - Notification frequency controls - Mute notifications temporarily - Share live storm view with others - Distance metrics in miles or kilometers Terms of Service: https://www.boltedapp.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://www.boltedapp.com/privacy.html

About

Lightning Tracker

Track lightning strikes in real-time with live maps and receive push notifications before storms arrive. View precipitation radar, storm intensity hotspots, and NOAA's severe weather outlook. Rewind up to 24 hours of storm activity.

Highlights
  • Live lightning strike map
  • Push notifications for lightning alerts
  • 2-hour precipitation radar playback
  • Storm intensity hotspots
  • NOAA severe storm outlook
  • 24-hour storm rewind
Features
Read full description

See every lightning strike as it happens — and get a push before the storm is overhead. Lightning Tracker turns NOAA's GOES weather satellite into your personal storm warning system. Strikes appear on the map within seconds of hitting the ground, updated every 20 seconds, so you can watch storm cells form, move, and fade in real time. LIVE STRIKE MAP • Every strike plotted live from NOAA's GOES lightning sensor • Color-coded by age — instantly see where the storm is right now, not 15 minutes ago • Nearest-strike card shows exactly how far away lightning is and which direction it's moving ALERTS THAT FIND YOU • Set your alert radius and get a push notification the moment lightning strikes inside it • Watch multiple places at once — home, the cabin, the ballpark, grandma's house • Alerts work even when the app is closed KNOW WHAT'S COMING • Radar: 2-hour precipitation playback, frame by frame — see the rain that rides with the storm • Hotspots: live storm zones ranked by intensity and distance from you • Forecast: NOAA's official severe-storm outlook for today, tomorrow, and day 3 REWIND THE STORM • Scrub back through 24 hours of lightning, hour by hour • See exactly where last night's storm tracked — and whether it hit your street BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED TO KNOW Golfers, boaters, hikers, coaches, event organizers, storm watchers, and anyone who's ever stood on an open field wondering if that rumble was close. If lightning is within your radius, you'll know before you hear the thunder. LIGHTNING TRACKER PRO Go further with Pro: extend your alert radius up to 186 miles, unlock radar playback and the 24-hour storm rewind, and watch unlimited saved locations. Free users get the live strike map and alerts up to 31 miles — forever. Download now and never get caught in the open again. Privacy Policy: https://lightningmap.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Bolted4 screens
Lightning Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

Bolted and Lightning Tracker are too close to call on the numbers: across 9 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Bolted sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Lightning Tracker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Bolted against 5.0 for Lightning Tracker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 8 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bolted ships an update fortnightly, Lightning Tracker every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Bolted versus Lightning Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBoltedLightning Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings58 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHitt Foundry LLCKurt Higa

Customer experience

Bolted

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Lightning Tracker

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bolted

Subscriptions2
  • Bolted Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Bolted Pro Annual$39.991 Year
2 purchases

Lightning Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • Lightning Tracker Pro Weekly$2.997 Days
  • Lightning Tracker Pro Annual3 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Bolted free?
Bolted is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lightning Tracker free?
Lightning Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bolted or Lightning Tracker?
Bolted and Lightning Tracker are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do Bolted or Lightning Tracker have ads?
Neither Bolted nor Lightning Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bolted or Lightning Tracker?
Bolted ships an update fortnightly, and Lightning Tracker every 4 weeks. Most recently, Bolted was updated on October 9, 2026 and Lightning Tracker on October 22, 2026.

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