Comparison

StrikeCast vs Lightning Radar

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

Head to head
About

StrikeCast

This app provides real-time lightning strike distance and live alerts on a map. Save locations to receive notifications when lightning is detected nearby, even when you're away. It offers a clean interface with no ad clutter.

Highlights
  • Real-time lightning strike distance
  • Live map of lightning activity
  • Customizable alerts for saved locations
  • Distance in miles or kilometers
  • Approaching and moving-away trends (Pro)
  • Animated weather radar (Pro)
Read full description

How close is the lightning? StrikeCast: Lightning Tracker puts the answer front and center. See the approximate distance to the nearest detected strike in miles/km, follow activity on a clean live map, and set alerts for the places you care about. DISTANCE AT A GLANCE • See the nearest detected strike without searching through the map • View distance in miles or kilometers • Check when the latest nearby strike was detected • Explore latest strikes and lightning hotspots • Built on NOAA GOES satellite lightning data ALERTS FOR PLACES THAT MATTER Save a location and choose an alert radius. StrikeCast can notify you when lightning is detected nearby, even when you are somewhere else. Monitor home, work, school, or any place you want to keep an eye on. CALM, CLEAR DESIGN No noisy dashboard and no ad clutter. When the area is quiet, StrikeCast says so. When lightning is nearby, the distance stays easy to find. UPGRADE TO PRO • Real-time strike data with no added free-tier delay • Approaching and moving-away trends • More saved locations and flexible alert radii • Animated weather radar • 12-hour thunderstorm forecast • Extended lightning range PRIVACY FIRST No ads. No cross-app tracking. Your location is used to calculate distance and power the alerts you choose. Lightning detection has inherent latency and location uncertainty. Distances are approximate. StrikeCast is informational and is not a substitute for official weather warnings or emergency guidance. Privacy Policy: https://strikecast.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://strikecast.app/terms

About

Lightning Radar

Track lightning strikes globally in real time with live alerts and detailed storm information. View strike locations, distances, and directions on an interactive map, and receive notifications as storms approach.

Highlights
  • Real-time lightning strike map
  • Customizable lightning alerts
  • Lock screen and Dynamic Island storm updates
  • Nearby radar and strike distance
  • Live chart of nearby storm activity
  • Search and save locations
  • Private by design, no tracking or ads
Features
Read full description

Lightning Radar shows you where lightning is striking, around you and around the world, in real time. LIGHTNING ALERTS Now you can be warned before a storm reaches you. Turn on Lightning Alerts and get a notification when strikes land within your chosen radius, around where you are and around any saved places you choose to watch. The alerts step up as a storm closes in, and they are tuned not to over-notify: once it is right on top of you, they stop repeating. Tap an alert to jump straight to that strike on the map. Alerts stay off until you switch them on, and you can turn them off any time. Turn on Background location and they can follow you as you move, still sending only the same coarse grid cell, so you stay covered on the road as well as at home. ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN While a storm is nearby, a Storm Live Activity keeps the nearest-strike distance on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show the live count of strikes near you at a glance. NEARBY RADAR See the closest strike to you at a glance: how far away it is, which direction it's in, and how long ago it hit. An animated radar dial sweeps through the strikes within your chosen range and turns to your compass heading, so "up" is the way you're facing. Set the range anywhere from 5 km out to 5,000 km. NEARBY ACTIVITY A live chart shows strikes per minute near you over the last several minutes, so you can tell whether a storm is building or moving off. Tap any strike to jump straight to it on the map. LIVE WORLD MAP Every strike detected by the Blitzortung.org volunteer network appears within seconds. From each one a ring spreads outward at the speed of sound, the way thunder travels, so you can watch a storm move and sense how far off it is. MADE TO EXPLORE • Search any place and jump to it • Save the spots you care about for one-tap access • Switch between a light or dark map • Distances in kilometres or miles • A live readout shows how far behind real time the feed is running IN YOUR LANGUAGE Lightning Radar is translated into 35 languages, from the map and the radar to alerts, widgets and the Storm Live Activity. It follows the language your phone is set to, or you can give the app a language of its own in Settings. Distances, dates and times follow whichever you pick. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no sign-up, no tracking, no ads, no third-party analytics. The map and radar run entirely on your device: your precise location is used only to place the radar around you and never leaves your phone. Lightning Alerts are the one exception, and only if you turn them on. To work out which strikes are near you, the app sends an anonymous notification token, your alert radius, and a coarse location: a grid cell roughly a fifth of your radius across, never your exact position. That goes to our own server (on our own hardware in the EU), is used only to find nearby lightning and deliver the alert through Apple, and is tied to no identity. Turn alerts off and it is deleted. ABOUT THE DATA Strike data comes from Blitzortung.org, a community network of volunteer-run detectors, and is free for personal, non-commercial use. Coverage isn't perfect and strikes can be missed or delayed, so please don't rely on Lightning Radar for anything safety-critical.

Screenshots

StrikeCast4 screens
Lightning Radar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lightning Radar at 5.0 against StrikeCast's 3.0. Lightning Radar also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (12 vs 2). StrikeCast's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.1). On price, ads 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. StrikeCast sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Lightning Radar asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lightning Radar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lightning Radar has 12 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StrikeCast ships an update every 4 days, Lightning Radar monthly. Both last shipped on September 14, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
StrikeCast versus Lightning Radar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrikeCastLightning Radar
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings212 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKirill ProskurinKoode

Customer experience

StrikeCast

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Lightning Radar

All ratings12 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

StrikeCast

Subscriptions3
  • StrikeCast Pro$4.997 Days
  • StrikeCast Pro$12.991 Month
  • Lightning Tracker: Distance Pro3 Days trial$33.991 Year
None

Lightning Radar

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StrikeCast free?
StrikeCast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lightning Radar free?
Lightning Radar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, StrikeCast or Lightning Radar?
Lightning Radar is rated higher. StrikeCast averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Lightning Radar averages 5.0 from 12 ratings.
Do StrikeCast or Lightning Radar have ads?
Neither StrikeCast nor Lightning Radar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StrikeCast or Lightning Radar?
StrikeCast ships an update every 4 days, and Lightning Radar monthly. Most recently, StrikeCast was updated on September 14, 2026 and Lightning Radar on September 14, 2026.

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