Comparison

The Wave Clock vs BeachSea

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

Head to head
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!

About

BeachSea

Features
Read full description

BeachSea tells you whether the sea looks okay at your beach right now, in plain language, the evening before and while you are standing on the sand. Save the beaches you swim at and BeachSea shows the wind, waves, water and air temperature, the tide trend and sunset for each one, in the beach's own local time. It reads those numbers for you rather than leaving you to interpret them, and it stays quiet when there is nothing worth saying. The warning it exists for is offshore wind. Wind blowing from the beach out to sea flattens the water near the shore, so it looks inviting while it pushes anything that floats away from land. Tell BeachSea which way your beach faces and it can see that happening, along with a swell that is turning rough and water cold enough to cut a swim short. It also tells you when conditions favour rip currents, and teaches you what to do about one: how to spot the gap in the breaking waves from the beach, and how to get out by swimming parallel to the shore instead of fighting the pull. It never claims to know where a rip is, because nothing can. After heavy rain it mentions runoff, which is why health authorities everywhere suggest waiting a day before swimming. At European beaches it also shows the official bathing water rating when that rating is Poor or Sufficient. Before you go in, tap "I'm going in the water". The screen turns black with huge text, keeps itself awake, and shows one arrow pointing back to shore with the distance, plus the wind and a plain word if things are turning. It needs no signal once it is open. With an Apple Watch, the arrow moves to your wrist. Pick Swim, Surf, Paddle or Boat and your watch runs the session as a workout of that type, saved to Fitness, pointing you back to shore with its own GPS and compass. Your phone can stay on the sand: the watch already has the forecast, and it buzzes if conditions turn while you are out. A home screen widget keeps your beach a glance away, and an optional morning alert reaches you around 8am at the beach, not on your own clock, when a morning looks rough. BeachSea is guidance, not a guarantee. Conditions change faster than any forecast and no app can see the water in front of you, so obey the posted flags, swim near lifeguards, and when in doubt, stay out. Available in English, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. No account, no advertising and no tracking. Made by My Daily Apps.

Screenshots

The Wave Clock4 screens
BeachSea4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: The Wave Clock at 15.6 against BeachSea's 17.0. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
The Wave Clock versus BeachSea: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Wave ClockBeachSea
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size153 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWave Cast, LLCShyam Steenhaut

In-app purchases

None

The Wave Clock

No in-app purchases

None

BeachSea

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Wave Clock free?
The Wave Clock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BeachSea free?
BeachSea is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do The Wave Clock or BeachSea have ads?
Neither The Wave Clock nor BeachSea shows ads.

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