Comparison

Ocean Watch vs Swift Tides

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

Head to head
About

Ocean Watch

Access tide predictions for over 3,300 stations across the US and Caribbean. Visualize tide data with stunning graphics and an interactive almanac. Plan your activities with offline access to predictions and custom notes.

Highlights
  • 3,300+ tide stations
  • Stunning graphics and visualizations
  • Offline tide predictions
  • Interactive almanac
  • Integrated station map
  • Custom notes and images
Features
Read full description

Find your tide. Ocean Watch tracks tides at 3,300+ stations on every US coast, on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. It works offline. • Offline forecasts. Decades of data and the prediction engine are built in, so the tide is there when the signal isn't. • Tidemarks. Set a height so you know when the water will float your dock or expose your beach. • Beauty with insight. Interactive graphs and visualizations that let you feel the flow over time. • Plan ahead. The Almanac lets you travel into the future and pick your window for fishing, sailing, surfing or paddling. • The big picture. The Weeks at a Glance view lets you see the monthly trends as the moon waxes and wanes. • The little picture. Apple Watch, no iPhone needed. Every station on your wrist, with always-on complications. • Widgets. The tide on your Home Screen and everywhere else. • Area Map. See what's here and where you're going. • Share and export. Send the current tide as a picture, or export a week as CSV or PDF. • Your place is special. We've supplied gorgeous local photographs for many areas, and you can add your own. Stations outside the US and Caribbean have limited support.

About

Swift Tides

Get accurate tide predictions for surfing, fishing, or boating. Access NOAA data for your favorite coastal locations.

Highlights
  • Tide prediction data
  • NOAA data source
  • Supports surfing
  • Supports fishing
  • Supports sailing
Features
Read full description

Whether you like surfing, fishing, or sailing around on your boat, this app displays tide prediction data from NOAA for all of your favorite locations.

Screenshots

Ocean Watch4 screens
Swift Tides3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Swift Tides at free against Ocean Watch's paid. Swift Tides also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 74%) and iOS requirement (11.3 vs 26.0). Ocean Watch's advantage is ratings volume (2.7K vs 17) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ocean Watch holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ocean Watch has 2.7K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of Ocean Watch's written reviews are positive against 88% of Swift Tides's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Ocean Watch versus Swift Tides: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOcean WatchSwift Tides
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.7K ratings) — better4.6 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews73.6% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.7K — better17
Update frequencyEvery 9 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.011.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size137 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlue Bright Labs LLCTodd Williams

Customer experience

Ocean Watch

All ratings2,733 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive73.6%
Neutral12.3%
Negative14.2%

Swift Tides

All ratings17 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

Bugs and requests

Ocean Watch

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when trying to open tide station details
  • Tide data sometimes stuck on wrong location
  • Apple Watch app not syncing or updating correctly
  • Issues with the app's widget not displaying accurate information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add water temperature and wind speed data
  • Improve Apple Watch complication to show more detailed tide information
  • Expand coverage to more locations, especially in Canada and other countries
  • Add ability to set tide alerts or notifications
  • Improve stability and reliability to reduce crashes

Swift Tides

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Ocean Watch

No in-app purchases

None

Swift Tides

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ocean Watch free?
Ocean Watch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Swift Tides free?
Swift Tides is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ocean Watch or Swift Tides?
Ocean Watch is rated higher. Ocean Watch averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.7K ratings, while Swift Tides averages 4.6 from 17 ratings.
Do Ocean Watch or Swift Tides have ads?
Neither Ocean Watch nor Swift Tides shows ads.

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