Cyclone vs SwellMap Boat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cyclone
Track hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones globally with real-time satellite imagery and detailed forecasts. Explore interactive maps with current weather, 10-day predictions, and sunrise/sunset times. Enjoy smooth animations and customizable playback for a comprehensive weather overview.
- Live satellite imagery
- Hurricane and storm tracking
- Interactive map exploration
- 10-day weather forecasts
- Customizable animation playback
- Global weather data
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Stay informed and prepared with Cyclone, the comprehensive weather app delivering real-time insights and stunning visuals. Live Satellite Imagery Experience high-resolution cloud cover animations for North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and parts of Russia. Powered by trusted sources like NOAA-NASA GOES, EUMETSAT, SPC, and GDAC for accurate, global weather data. Track Storms Worldwide Monitor hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones with precise projected paths and detailed forecasts. Toggle between ground station data and satellite imagery for a complete view of weather conditions. Interactive Exploration Navigate dynamic terrain, satellite, or standard maps with smooth zoom and pan functionality. Access current weather, 10-day forecasts, and sunrise/sunset times in an intuitive pop-up window. Seamless and Customizable Enjoy fast performance and fluid animations, even on low-bandwidth networks. Control animation playback and speed for a tailored experience.
SwellMap Boat
Get detailed marine weather forecasts for hundreds of locations across New Zealand. View 7-day sea and wind graphs, tide information, and receive alerts for your favorite spots. Access forecast maps for rain, temperature, wind, and waves.
- 7-day sea and wind forecast graphs
- Detailed daily forecasts
- Forecast maps (rain, temp, wind, waves)
- Save favorite spots
- Customizable alerts
- SwellMap boat ratings
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SwellMap Boat is based on our popular website SwellMap.co.nz providing you with the latest marine weather predictions for hundreds of boating and fishing locations across New Zealand. SwellMap forecasts are highly accurate and reliable. Forecasts are generated using the latest atmospheric and oceanographic numerical models providing updated information four times daily. SwellMap provides the following features: - 7 day sea and wind forecast graphs to make interpreting the boating conditions ahead easy. - SwellMap boat ratings. - Detailed daily forecasts providing ratings, summaries, sea height, sea direction, swell height, swell direction, swell period, chop height, tides, wind, gusts, sea temperature, sunset and sunrise. - Forecast maps of rain/pressure, temperature, wind, wave height, wave period and sea temperature. - Save your favourite spot forecasts. - Alerts providing you with notifications when locations are forecasted to match your preferred boating conditions. == SwellMap Boat Advert Free subscription details == For an advert free experience of the app you can purchase a monthly subscription. Payment will be charged to iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the current cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's account settings on their iPhone/iPad after purchase. Please find full terms and conditions at: https://swellmap-13fc9.firebaseapp.com/swellmap-app-terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
Cyclone and SwellMap Boat both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 61% of Cyclone's written reviews are positive against 34% of SwellMap Boat's. Cyclone also leads on ratings volume (98 vs 11). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Cyclone sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SwellMap Boat sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Cyclone against 4.6 for SwellMap Boat. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cyclone has 98 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Cyclone's written reviews are positive against 34% of SwellMap Boat's.
Cyclone ships an update every 5 months, SwellMap Boat every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.
| Parameter | Cyclone | SwellMap Boat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (98 ratings) | 4.6 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.0% of reviews — better | 34.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 98 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 132 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Elecont LLC | Wesley Warner |
Customer experience
Cyclone
SwellMap Boat
Bugs and requests
Cyclone
Reported bugs
75 issues- Notifications for watch zones needed
- Ads make quick checks impossible
- Ads force clicks
- Ads are too intrusive
- Interface is poor
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- Hard to read
- Not easy to see current location
- Limited coverage areas
- Satellite panels do not load
- Useless app for certain cyclones
- No satellite reception for Australia
- Inaccurate data
- App appears unsupported
- Not working
- Waste of money
- Clouds not shown for weeks
- Graphics need enhancement
- Bad cloud depiction
- Limited to see developing lows
- Slow updates
- Not for Russian users
- App is clunky
- Only works for America
- Paid for it, cannot restore purchase
- Needs updates
- Force you to click ads
- CM is too intrusive
- Satellite images are too rough
- Maps are outdated
- Poor coverage
- Badly designed interface
- Doesn't show cyclone near NZ
- Not informative enough
- Hard to read
- Not easy to see immediately where storm is
- Doesn't show radar for southern Gulf of Mexico
- Doesn't cover Caribbean Sea
- Limited to see potential developing lows
- Not for Russian users
- Rubbish app
- Satellite images are too rough
- Maps are outdated
- Apple cannot restore purchase
- Cyclones no longer showing up
- App not updated for years
- Clouds not shown for weeks
- Satellite panels do not load
- Only loads 1/3 of Australia
- Fails to provide basic forecasts
- No panels from east coast Australia to west coast US
- No improvement over free software
- Satellite images are too rough
- Maps are outdated
- Does not cover south half of Gulf and Caribbean
- Not showing tropical cyclone Wintson (category 5)
- No Cyclone Winston and no tracking anywhere
- Doesn't even register Cat 5 cyclone
- Does not show radar for southern half of Gulf of Mexico
- Tropical storm not tracked
- Not shown on radar, not mentioned
- Cannot see cloud mass off coast of Australia
- Limited to see potential developing lows
- Cannot see cloud mass out of the coast of Australia
- Limited to see potential developing lows
- Not for Russian users
- Weather not shown over Russia
- Image cut off at Russian borders
- Hardly works
- No weather on Google map
- Satellite images are too rough
- Most cloud situation unclear
- Maps from two hours ago
- Hard to tell what's going on
- Graphics need enhancement
- No color scales for satellite interpretation
Requested features
17 requests- Ability to notify users of watch zones
- More detail of the Pacific
- Key to explain color-coded storm intensity
- Highlight approximate storm location
- More informative feedback on cyclone intensity (wind strength, speed)
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- Strength meter with different colored icons for intensity changes
- Live tracking like Windy
- Sort functions for locations
- Add storm surge and potential impact information
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Key for cyclone icon colors
- Explain what different colors mean
- More enhancement of cloud images
- Color scales for satellite interpretation
- Show cyclones before Kamchatka, not just Russian border
- All information in Russian
SwellMap Boat
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cyclone
- Remove Ads & Limits$1.99
SwellMap Boat
- SwellMap Boat$1.491 Month
Questions
Is Cyclone free?
Is SwellMap Boat free?
Which has better reviews, Cyclone or SwellMap Boat?
Do Cyclone or SwellMap Boat have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cyclone or SwellMap Boat?
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