Comparison

Windrose Radar vs VortexWeather

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

Head to head
About

Windrose Radar

Features
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Check rain radar, compare forecasts and plan time outdoors. Windrose brings everyday weather, optional alerts and specialist tools together on iPhone and iPad. EVERYDAY WEATHER — FREE • A 7-day forecast, 12 hours of detail and modeled current conditions. • Observed rain radar with a timeline you can scrub, where coverage is available. • Estimated rain timing and a one-hour rain chart in 15-minute forecast steps. • A standard 30-minute Focus Window suggestion, checked against a full hourly forecast block. • UV, sunrise, sunset and modeled air quality where available. • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, plus rain Live Activities. • Current location and two saved places, Home/Work shortcuts, backup export and private iCloud place sync. Official warnings remain free in Hong Kong, the United States and participating European and nearby countries. Check the affected area, issuing authority and valid times. Optional notifications depend on permission, connectivity and iOS background scheduling; emergency delivery is not guaranteed. European warning notifications cover red-level warnings; other supported warnings remain visible in the app. MORE DETAIL WITH WINDROSE PRO • Up to 16 forecast days, 48 hourly hours and a six-hour rain chart. • Custom Focus Window duration, rain, gust and temperature preferences. • Experimental future radar: motion estimates from available observed frames, up to three hours ahead, with decreasing reliability over time. • Infrared satellite cloud imagery where coverage is available. • An interactive pressure map with isobars, highs and lows, illustrative flow and supported tropical-cyclone tracks. Pressure readings are sampled or interpolated model estimates. • Marine forecasts for waves, swell, sea state, sea temperature, currents, wind and gusts where available. • Aviation reports and tools: METARs, TAFs, reporting airports, SIGMET information, modeled winds aloft and a density-altitude calculator. • Unlimited saved places and no ads. MAKE IT YOURS Choose your units and appearance, then reorder or hide dashboard cards. Forecast validity and download times are shown separately, with clear messages when data is missing, stale or unavailable. Coverage varies by location and product. Use official warnings and briefings for safety decisions. Marine and aviation tools provide awareness, not navigation or flight-planning authority. The app interface, widgets and Live Activities support 50 languages. Official narratives and place names may retain their supplied language. SUBSCRIPTIONS Pro is available monthly or annually. The App Store shows current prices, billing periods and any introductory offer you are eligible for before purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings at least 24 hours before renewal or trial end. Restore purchases in the app. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://mwsupplylimited.github.io/windrose/privacy.html

About

VortexWeather

Features
Read full description

VortexWeather turns raw NOAA data into fast, interactive weather maps — hurricanes, radar, satellite, lightning, and full numerical models, all in one app. Free to download and use. Features marked (Basic) or (Pro) require a paid auto-renewable subscription — see Subscriptions below. TROPICAL & HURRICANES • Live storm tracks and forecast cones from the National Hurricane Center • Wind radii and tropical watches/warnings • Spaghetti plots from 35+ forecast models (Basic) • Historical storm tracks (Basic) • GPU-accelerated 3D hurricane viewer with wind particle animations and isosurfaces (Pro) RADAR & SATELLITE • National and single-site NEXRAD radar (reflectivity & velocity) • 3D NEXRAD volume scan viewer with cross sections and cell isolation (Pro) • GOES satellite imagery • Satellite animation (Basic) • Real-time lightning FORECAST MODELS • GFS and ECMWF surface temperature, dewpoint, pressure, humidity, and wind — free with a VortexWeather account • Animated surface wind particle flow — free with a VortexWeather account • Upper-air heights and winds, CAPE, precipitation, cloud cover, and more (Basic) • High-resolution HRRR model and animated wind barbs (Basic) SEVERE, AVIATION & MORE • SPC outlooks, WPC forecasts, and live NWS alerts (Basic) • Aviation hazards: SIGMET/AIRMET/PIREP and METARs (Basic) • USGS earthquakes SUBSCRIPTIONS VortexWeather is free to download, with ads. A paid subscription removes ads and unlocks the features marked above: • VortexWeather Basic — $4.99 per month or $50.90 per year • VortexWeather Pro — $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year; includes everything in Basic plus the features marked (Pro) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://vortexweather.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://vortexweather.com/privacy VortexWeather is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Always rely on official sources such as the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center for life-safety decisions.

Screenshots

Windrose Radar4 screens
VortexWeather4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: VortexWeather at 15.1 against Windrose Radar's 17.0. 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. Windrose Radar sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and VortexWeather sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Windrose Radar versus VortexWeather: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWindrose RadarVortexWeather
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days—
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthew WongVORTEXWEATHER LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Windrose Radar

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
4 purchases

VortexWeather

Subscriptions4
  • Basic Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Basic Annual$50.901 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Annual$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Windrose Radar free?
Windrose Radar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VortexWeather free?
VortexWeather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Windrose Radar or VortexWeather have ads?
Both Windrose Radar and VortexWeather show ads.

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