Comparison

Ocean Watch vs The Wave Clock

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

The Wave Clock

This app provides real-time oceanographic data for coastal locations. View wave heights, periods, and tide information at a glance through an intuitive analog interface. Customize updates for your favorite spots.

Highlights
  • Customizable coastal location updates
  • Intuitive analog interface
  • Wave heights and period display
  • Tide heights and trend
  • Real-time oceanographic data
Features
Read full description

Allowing us to view the ocean to us in a brand new way is the Wave Clock! The wave Clock is a simple intuitive clock to see everything we need for our favorite spots on the coast at a glance. The Wave Clock offers: •Customization to give constant updates for your coastal location of interest out of many hundreds of locations •Intuitive analog interface •Wave heights and period •Tide heights and trend The Wave Clock queries real-time oceanographic databases customized to the location of your interest and displays the information in an intuitive analog interface. The Wave Clock app can show you at glance or sit on your desk to give you an accurate view of just what’s happening out there. Just set it up for your location so that you don’t have to search to see what’s happening when it matters … NOW!

Screenshots

Ocean Watch4 screens
The Wave Clock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ocean Watch at 4.8 against The Wave Clock's 4.0. Ocean Watch also leads on ratings volume (2.7K vs 5) and review sentiment (74% vs 57%). The Wave Clock's advantage is monetization model (free vs paid) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ocean Watch has 2.7K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Ocean Watch's written reviews are positive against 57% of The Wave Clock's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ocean Watch ships an update every 9 months, The Wave Clock every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Ocean Watch versus The Wave Clock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOcean WatchThe Wave Clock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.7K ratings) — better4.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews73.6% of reviews — better57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings2.7K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 6 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size137 MB153 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlue Bright Labs LLCWave Cast, LLC

Customer experience

Ocean Watch

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

The Wave Clock

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral14.3%
Negative28.6%

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

The Wave Clock

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Ocean Watch

No in-app purchases

None

The Wave Clock

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ocean Watch free?
Ocean Watch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Wave Clock free?
The Wave Clock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ocean Watch or The Wave Clock?
Ocean Watch is rated higher. Ocean Watch averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.7K ratings, while The Wave Clock averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Ocean Watch or The Wave Clock have ads?
Neither Ocean Watch nor The Wave Clock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ocean Watch or The Wave Clock?
Ocean Watch ships an update every 9 months, and The Wave Clock every 6 months. Most recently, Ocean Watch was updated on November 6, 2026 and The Wave Clock on November 1, 2026.

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