Comparison

Bolted vs Lightning Tracker & Thunder

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 & Thunder

Features
Read full description

See lightning strikes in real time — on a live map, on your wrist, and in push alerts when storms move toward you. Lightning Tracker shows where thunder is happening right now: individual strikes colour-coded by age, storm hotspots with strike rate and drift, precipitation radar, a world overview of active regions, and strike history you can scrub through like a timeline. WHY LIGHTNING TRACKER • Real-time lightning map centred on your location • Nearest-strike distance, direction, and trend (closing in or moving away) • Storm cells with strike count, rate per minute, and drift direction • Animated precipitation radar overlay • World view of active storm regions worldwide • Strike history with playback — see what already happened • Flash-to-Bang timer — estimate distance from flash to thunder • Storm-risk forecast and official severe-weather alerts nearby • Push notifications for lightning near your saved locations • Home Screen widget and Apple Watch — glanceable updates everywhere STAY AHEAD OF THE STORM Save alert locations for home, work, the ball field, or anywhere that matters. Choose your radius and quiet hours. Premium unlocks unlimited locations, background alerts, radar, storm rate and drift, and the full 24-hour history. Built for iPhone and iPad. IMPORTANT: Lightning Tracker is for informational use only. Always follow official local warnings and seek shelter when thunderstorms are near. Data coverage varies by region. Download Lightning Tracker and know when thunder is getting close — before you hear it. Terms: https://lightningtracker.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/terms.html Privacy: https://lightningtracker.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Bolted4 screens
Lightning Tracker & Thunder4 screens

Verdict

The call

Bolted and Lightning Tracker & Thunder are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 & Thunder sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bolted ships an update fortnightly, Lightning Tracker & Thunder weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Bolted versus Lightning Tracker & Thunder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBoltedLightning Tracker & Thunder
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHitt Foundry LLCFeynman EinsteinAI Note Taker OU

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bolted

Subscriptions2
  • Bolted Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Bolted Pro Annual$24.991 Year
2 purchases

Lightning Tracker & Thunder

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly Subscription$5.997 Days
  • Yearly Subscription$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Bolted free?
Bolted is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lightning Tracker & Thunder free?
Lightning Tracker & Thunder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bolted or Lightning Tracker & Thunder have ads?
Neither Bolted nor Lightning Tracker & Thunder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bolted or Lightning Tracker & Thunder?
Bolted ships an update fortnightly, and Lightning Tracker & Thunder weekly. Most recently, Bolted was updated on October 25, 2026 and Lightning Tracker & Thunder on November 1, 2026.

Other comparisons