# Blue Map vs Seaside Buoy

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Blue Map at none against Seaside Buoy's 4. Blue Map also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Seaside Buoy's advantage is ratings volume (892 vs 2) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Seaside Buoy sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Blue Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

Blue Map holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Seaside Buoy has 892 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Blue Map's written reviews are positive against 56% of Seaside Buoy's.

Blue Map ships an update every 2 weeks, Seaside Buoy every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Blue Map | Seaside Buoy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blue-map/id838211758/reviews)** | [4.6 (892 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seaside-buoy/id1240094859/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **892** |
| Positive reviews | **64.5% of reviews** | 55.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 127 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [北京市朝阳区公众环境研究中心](https://appshunter.io/developer/838211761) | [ENC Data](https://appshunter.io/developer/1240094858) |

## What reviewers say

### Blue Map

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blue-map/id838211758)

Access global environmental data, including air and water quality, corporate emissions, and ecological information. Participate in environmental protection by reporting pollution, sharing data, and tracking your low-carbon actions. Visualize environmental conditions with interactive maps and receive AI-driven insights and health alerts.

**Highlights:** Real-time environmental quality data, Corporate emissions and performance tracking, Public pollution reporting and action, Interactive environmental maps, AI-powered data insights, Personalized health and environmental alerts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Seaside Buoy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seaside-buoy/id1240094859)

Access live scientific data from ocean buoys globally. View water temperature, swell height, and more from public scientific organizations. Features include automatic closest buoy selection, map browsing, favorites, and distance/bearing calculations.

**Highlights:** Live buoy data worldwide, Water temperature and swell height, Automatic closest buoy selection, Map and list browsing, Favorite buoys, Distance and bearing to buoy

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🙏 Thanks
- 👍 Great app and useful
- 👍 Very well built and extremely useful
- 👍 So useful!
- 👍 Real information, what a concept!

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⚠️ Doesn't track where you are
- 🙄 Nag nag nag
- 😕 Accurate info - I just don't care what the ride was 4 days ago!
- ⚠️ Stopped working June-2023
- ⚠️ Illegible print

**Reported bugs**

- Graph view doesn't render properly
- Crashes every time tried using it
- Stopped loading buoy data suddenly

**Requested features**

- Add swell info
- Add Celsius temperature display


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Blue Map free?

Blue Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Seaside Buoy free?

Seaside Buoy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Blue Map or Seaside Buoy?

Blue Map is rated higher. Blue Map averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Seaside Buoy averages 4.6 from 892 ratings.

### Do Blue Map or Seaside Buoy have ads?

Seaside Buoy shows ads; Blue Map does not.

### Which is updated more often, Blue Map or Seaside Buoy?

Blue Map ships an update every 2 weeks, and Seaside Buoy every 3 weeks. Most recently, Blue Map was updated on October 22, 2026 and Seaside Buoy on October 15, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*