Comparison

BlitzortungLive vs Thunderly

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

Head to head
About

BlitzortungLive

Monitor lightning strikes in near real-time on a map. Receive push alerts for detected strikes in a customizable area. Supports multiple languages and displays historical strike data.

Highlights
  • Live lightning strike display
  • Historical strike visualization
  • Customizable push alerts
  • Multi-language support
  • Real-time map view
Features
Read full description

See thunderstorms the moment they happen. BlitzortungLive shows lightning strikes from the worldwide Blitzortung.org community network on the map in near real time – now together with precipitation radar, thunderstorm forecasts and wind, so you can see at a glance where a storm is, how strong it is and where it is heading. LIVE LIGHTNING • New strikes appear within seconds and fade from yellow to red as they age • Lightning map with the strikes of the last hours (lightningmaps.org) • Strike counter for the visible area • Optional sound for new strikes WEATHER RADAR & FORECAST • Precipitation radar for Germany and neighbouring regions, updated every 5 minutes • Animated timeline: the last two hours plus a 2-hour nowcast • Forecast images are clearly marked – you always know whether you see measured or predicted data • Satellite cloud images and animated wind THUNDERSTORMS • Current and forecast thunderstorm areas across Europe • Thunderstorm tracks in Germany with direction, speed and warning level • Lightning density map • Instability (Lifted Index) shows where thunderstorms can develop LOOK BACK • Scroll back through the last two hours of radar – each image shows the lightning the app received at that time while it was open THUNDERSTORM ALERT • Push notification when lightning is detected near you • Choose the alert area on the map or use your location, radius from 1 to 300 km (0.6 to 186 mi) MADE FOR TODAY'S IPHONE AND IPAD • Completely redesigned for iOS 17 and later • Smooth map with GPU rendering – zoom and pan without waiting • Dark Mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and Reduce Motion support • 12 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil) and Russian FREE – NO ADS, NO TRACKING BlitzortungLive is free and contains no advertising and no tracking. ABOUT BLITZORTUNG.ORG BlitzortungLive is an additional service of the Blitzortung.org project, a community network of volunteers operating lightning detection stations all over the world. Coverage and accuracy depend on the stations in each region. For general questions about Blitzortung.org or to join the network with your own station, please visit www.blitzortung.org and read the documentation and FAQ first. DATA SOURCES Weather data: Deutscher Wetterdienst (CC BY 4.0), satellite data EUMETSAT. Instability: NOAA GFS (model data). Lightning: Blitzortung.org. BlitzortungLive is not an official warning service. In case of danger, follow the warnings of your national weather service.

About

Thunderly

Visualize real-time lightning strikes globally on an interactive map. Explore weather data like clouds and precipitation, and measure distances to storms. You can even simulate lightning flashes with your camera.

Highlights
  • Real-time global lightning map
  • Accurate day/night cycle
  • Real-time clouds and precipitation layers
  • Lightning history layer (last hour)
  • Zoomable map detail
  • Storm distance measurement
  • Simulated lightning flashes
Features
Read full description

Do you love storms as we do? Then you’ll love our app. At photorealistic globe you can see real time lightning all around the world. Besides accurate day and night cycle, globe contains real time clouds, precipitation and lightning history layer for last hour. For better resolution you can zoom into map detail. If you zoom really closely to your location, you can use start-stop feature to measure your distance from nearby storm. When no storm is close enough, feel free to “stream” lightnings via your camera flash from opposite side of the world to your living room. ...and one more thing: If you try hard enough we are pretty sure that you’ll find switch for real time aurora. Not as cool as lightning, but also kind of amazing!

Screenshots

BlitzortungLive4 screens
Thunderly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Thunderly at none against BlitzortungLive's shown. Thunderly also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). BlitzortungLive's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 58%). On price, rating, 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BlitzortungLive holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 670 and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of BlitzortungLive's written reviews are positive against 58% of Thunderly's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BlitzortungLive ships an update every 6 months, Thunderly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
BlitzortungLive versus Thunderly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlitzortungLiveThunderly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (670 ratings) — better4.3 (2.6K ratings)
Positive reviews75.3% of reviews — better57.7% of reviews
Number of ratings6702.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarco BauerJan Plesek

Customer experience

BlitzortungLive

All ratings665 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews267 reviews
Positive75.3%
Neutral7.5%
Negative17.2%

Thunderly

All ratings2,596 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative12.6%
Written reviews137 reviews
Positive57.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative35.0%

User reviews

BlitzortungLive

From 670 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Real-time lightning tracking
  • 📍 Accurate location of strikes
  • 🔔 Useful alerts and notifications
  • 🌐 Global coverage
  • 🆓 Free app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Inconsistent detection of strikes
  • 🗺️ Outdated or inaccurate map data
  • 🔍 Lack of detailed strike information
  • 💰 Intrusive advertising

Thunderly

From 2.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Awesome app
  • 🌩️ Great for tracking storms
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics
  • 🔊 Realistic sound effects
  • 🌍 Global coverage

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🔌 App not working/functional
  • 🕰️ App no longer updated
  • 🔇 Sound/vibration issues
  • 📱 Compatibility problems on older devices

Bugs and requests

BlitzortungLive

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Delayed or missing strike notifications
  • Inaccurate location of strikes
  • Issues with map updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Customizable alert radius
  • Historical lightning data
  • Weather radar integration
  • Ability to report missing strikes
  • Option to remove ads

Thunderly

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Globe not rendering properly
  • Lightning data not updating in real-time
  • Incorrect lightning strike detection

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to track past lightning strikes
  • Implement distance/location-based alerts
  • Include weather data and radar
  • Add support for landscape mode and iPad
  • Provide more customization options

In-app purchases

None

BlitzortungLive

No in-app purchases

None

Thunderly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BlitzortungLive free?
BlitzortungLive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thunderly free?
Thunderly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BlitzortungLive or Thunderly?
BlitzortungLive is rated higher. BlitzortungLive averages 4.5 out of 5 from 670 ratings, while Thunderly averages 4.3 from 2.6K ratings.
Do BlitzortungLive or Thunderly have ads?
BlitzortungLive shows ads; Thunderly does not.
Which is updated more often, BlitzortungLive or Thunderly?
BlitzortungLive ships an update every 6 months, and Thunderly every 3 weeks. Most recently, BlitzortungLive was updated on October 21, 2026 and Thunderly on October 17, 2026.

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