Comparison

Thunder Buddy Weather vs WeatherExt

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

Head to head
About

Thunder Buddy Weather

Monitor weather alerts for important locations and contacts 24/7. Receive real-time notifications for severe weather and easily check on your contacts' safety with one-tap messages.

Highlights
  • 24/7 weather monitoring for saved locations
  • Real-time severe weather alerts
  • Live radar with animated storms
  • One-tap safety check messages
  • Push notification responses
  • Customizable alert sensitivity
Features
Read full description

Where’s your Thunder Buddy? When the forecast turns serious, you think about people: Mom at home, a friend across town, family along the coast. Thunder Buddy brings their weather and yours together, so you can follow changing conditions and check in with the people you care about. WEATHER FOR YOUR PEOPLE See conditions around your Buddies’ shared locations alongside your own forecast. Organize family and friends into Circles, and keep favorite places close—from home and work to a loved one’s neighborhood. BUDDIES ON ANY PHONE Your people don’t all carry the same phone. Invite family and friends with a link, and connect as Buddies whichever phone they use. PUT YOUR PEOPLE ON THE RADAR Explore animated radar with saved places, Buddies, and weather-warning areas on the same map. Focus on a Circle or a location, open an alert for details, and follow hurricane information when storms are active. CHECK IN WHEN WEATHER CHANGES Receive National Weather Service alert notifications for monitored places and Buddy locations. An active warning leads your Today screen and appears on your Lock Screen, with the time left and who has checked in. Send a personal check-in and see their reply. Everyday forecasts help you stay connected between storms, too. SHARING IS YOUR CHOICE For each Buddy, you answer one question: what can they see? Nothing, the weather at a saved place, or where you are, for as long as you choose. One Privacy screen shows everything anyone can see, and lets you pause it all. Allowing the app to use your location never shares it with anyone. Saved places work with location off. Updates while the app is closed are optional and a separate choice; your phone controls their timing, and a shared location may show the last available update. A shared saved place does not confirm that someone is physically there. HURRICANE MODE When a tropical storm or hurricane is active, follow its official forecast cone and track on the map, and work through a household prep checklist. The cone shows the probable track of the storm’s center, not the size of the storm. YOUR WEATHER, ACROSS APPLE DEVICES • iPhone and iPad: a redesigned Home, Buddy weather, Circles, radar, alerts, and hourly and daily forecasts. • Widgets: place weather, Buddy weather, check-ins, and radar at a glance, refreshed when a warning or check-in arrives. • Messages: an animated Bolty sticker pack, and stickers you can add to a check-in. • Apple Watch: favorite places and Buddies, weather, and supported check-ins on your wrist. • Apple TV: a household weather dashboard with radar, Buddy and place forecasts, a ten-day outlook, and sign-in using your phone. START WITH YOUR INNER CIRCLE New Thunder Buddy Free accounts include two saved places and weather monitoring for two Buddies, plus your current-location weather, check-ins, radar, widgets and Lock Screen warnings. Existing accounts keep their previous allowance. An optional Thunder Buddy Premium subscription adds: • Look after them for me: automatic check-ins for a Buddy during a warning for sudden severe weather, with one text message if they don’t answer. • Your places and Buddies shown against a hurricane’s forecast cone. • Places saved just for a trip, and a forecast sent before a plan. • Unlimited places and Buddies, and alerts by text. Subscription options and pricing are shown in the app. Built for U.S. weather coverage. Weather alerts depend on available source data, connectivity, notification permissions, and the freshness of the monitored location. Thunder Buddy is not an emergency service or a substitute for official warnings and evacuation instructions. Never rely on a single source for emergency alerts. Privacy Policy: https://thunder-buddy.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

WeatherExt

Get detailed weather forecasts with animated skies, hourly and daily predictions, and interactive radar maps. Customize your view with various themes and access essential information on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. An optional subscription unlocks advanced features like tide times and weather alerts.

Highlights
  • Animated weather visualizations
  • Hourly and 7-day forecasts
  • Interactive radar maps
  • Customizable themes
  • Apple Watch app and complications
  • Widget support
  • Multiple location saving
Features
Read full description

See your weather at a glance with WeatherExt for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. ANIMATED SKIES Clouds, sunshine, rain, snow, fog, and nighttime skies move with the weather. Moon phases reflect the date, and the Atmosphere theme follows the weather. Choose Dynamic, Atmosphere, Paper & ink, Temperature, Rain outlook, Wind, or Daylight for the app, widgets, and Apple Watch. Atmosphere supports Light, Dark, or System appearance. YOUR DAY AND WEEK AHEAD See current conditions, daily highs and lows, and a brief outlook for your day. Browse hourly forecasts and up to seven days ahead. Explore an hour with an interactive timeline, or open a day for charts and conditions. INTERACTIVE RADAR Play the radar timeline or open the full-screen map to pan and zoom. View the latest imagery and available forecast frames for your location. YOUR PLACES AND WIDGETS Save cities and swipe between their forecasts. Use Current Location while the app is open, or search for a city without granting location access. Add widgets to keep your forecast close at hand. WEATHER ON YOUR WRIST The companion Apple Watch app shows current weather, hourly and daily forecasts, complications, and Smart Stack widgets. WEATHEREXT PRO An optional subscription unlocks: • High and low tide times, heights, and charts near supported U.S. coastal stations on iPhone and iPad. • More saved locations. • A choice of additional weather providers available for your region. • Weather alerts • Rain notifications Privacy Policy: https://weatherextension.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Thunder Buddy Weather4 screens
WeatherExt4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: WeatherExt at every 2 days against Thunder Buddy Weather's monthly. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Thunder Buddy Weather sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and WeatherExt sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. 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 Thunder Buddy Weather against 5.0 for WeatherExt. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thunder Buddy Weather ships an update monthly, WeatherExt every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Thunder Buddy Weather versus WeatherExt: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThunder Buddy WeatherWeatherExt
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThunder BuddyTim Leland

Customer experience

Thunder Buddy Weather

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

WeatherExt

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Thunder Buddy Weather

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium Annual$14.991 Year
2 purchases

WeatherExt

Subscriptions2
  • WeatherExt Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • WeatherExt Pro Yearly$32.991 Year

Questions

Is Thunder Buddy Weather free?
Thunder Buddy Weather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is WeatherExt free?
WeatherExt is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thunder Buddy Weather or WeatherExt?
Thunder Buddy Weather and WeatherExt are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Thunder Buddy Weather or WeatherExt have ads?
Neither Thunder Buddy Weather nor WeatherExt shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thunder Buddy Weather or WeatherExt?
Thunder Buddy Weather ships an update monthly, and WeatherExt every 2 days. Most recently, Thunder Buddy Weather was updated on October 31, 2026 and WeatherExt on November 6, 2026.

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