Ocean Watch vs Ocean Tides
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 3,300+ tide stations
- Stunning graphics and visualizations
- Offline tide predictions
- Interactive almanac
- Integrated station map
- Custom notes and images
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• Over 3,300 stations on every coast of the US and beyond. (Note: limited support for stations beyond the US and Caribbean) • Stunning images, graphics and innovative visualizations to make sense of the information you care most about. • Tide predictions anywhere anytime. Sophisticated prediction algorithms and decades of data, all included so you don’t need a data connection. • Interactive Almanac so you can see the future and make your plans. • Integrated Station Map to get the big picture. • Updated design across Watch / iPhone / iPad and Mac • Best-in-class widgets and complications • Make it personal with custom notes and images.
Ocean Tides
Access predicted and measured ocean tide levels for your location. Utilizes official data from The Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services to provide accurate information.
- Predicted ocean tide levels
- Measured ocean tide levels
- Location-based data
- Official data source
- Tide level predictions
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Will show predicted and measured ocean tide levels in your area using data from The Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ocean Watch at 73% against Ocean Tides's 0%. Ocean Watch also leads on ratings volume (2.5K vs 1) and update cadence (every 8 months vs every 18 months). Ocean Tides's advantage is monetization model (free vs paid) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ocean Tides holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ocean Watch has 2.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Ocean Watch's written reviews are positive against 0% of Ocean Tides's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Ocean Watch ships an update every 8 months, Ocean Tides every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ocean Watch | Ocean Tides |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.5K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.3% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.5K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months — better | Every 18 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 10.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 281 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Bright Labs LLC | ID-DESIGN INC. |
Customer experience
Ocean Watch
Ocean Tides
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
Ocean Tides
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ocean Watch
No in-app purchases
Ocean Tides
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ocean Watch free?
Is Ocean Tides free?
Which has better reviews, Ocean Watch or Ocean Tides?
Do Ocean Watch or Ocean Tides have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ocean Watch or Ocean Tides?
Other comparisons
