Comparison

Surf Sessions vs Surf Blackball

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

Head to head
About

Surf Sessions

Effortlessly track your surfing sessions by automatically downloading buoy data for waves, wind, and tide. Integrate your workouts with the Health App to estimate calories burned and maintain a comprehensive fitness plan. Your data remains private and securely stored on your device.

Highlights
  • Automatic buoy data download
  • Session recording and rating
  • Calorie burn estimation
  • Health App integration
  • Private iCloud backup
  • Secret spot protection
Features
Read full description

Surf Session makes it really easy to track your surfing. Just setup surf spots with a parking location, enable auto-record, and every time you finish surfing your phone will automatically download some buoy data (waves, wind, and tide) and notify you to record it. You can even rate your session right from the notification. You can also integrate your surfing into an overall fitness plan. This app will estimate the calories you burned while surfing and then share your surfing workouts with the Health App. All of your data is stored on your phone and backed up in your private iCloud space. The developer cannot see your location or data. You secret spots will remain secret. Please provide feedback. I will do my best to fix bugs and improve this app.

About

Surf Blackball

This app offers a land-based training system designed to improve surfing performance by focusing on strength, mobility, and endurance. It targets the specific mechanics of paddling, pop-ups, and breath control, making elite training accessible to all levels.

Highlights
  • Land-based surf training system
  • Improves strength, mobility, endurance
  • Targets paddling, pop-up, breath control
  • Bodyweight movements
  • Fusion of conditioning and recovery
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Blackball, a surf wellness community founded by professional surf coach and ex-WSL competitor, Luke Stedman, where passion meets purpose. We’re not just about riding waves; we’re about living better, stronger, and more connected lives. Our land-based training system is built on the same regimen that powered Luke’s elite career and continues to help today’s top surfers reach peak performance. But Blackball isn’t just for pros; it’s for everyone striving to break through personal barriers and hit their next level. Our training is designed to help you push your limits, increasing your functional strength, mobility, and endurance—all with a sharp focus on improving your surfing. Blackball training programs are a powerful fusion of strength training, aerobic conditioning, agility, mobility, and active recovery, but what sets us apart is that every workout trains the exact mechanics required to fuel your surfing performance. ​ Each workout is crafted with bodyweight movements targeting the six core elements essential for surfing: paddling, pop-up, compression/extension, weight shifting, rotation, and breath control. We’re not just building fitness; we’re tuning your body to maximize the potential in every wave. Read our full Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy: https://passion.io/terms-of-service https://passion.io/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Surf Sessions4 screens
Surf Blackball3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Surf Blackball at 100% against Surf Sessions's 0%. Surf Blackball also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.6) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 27.0). Surf Sessions's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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

Surf Blackball holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Surf Sessions's written reviews are positive against 100% of Surf Blackball's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Surf Sessions versus Surf Blackball: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurf SessionsSurf Blackball
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings57 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS27.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB90 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristopher SladeThe Progression Lab LLC

Customer experience

Surf Sessions

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral66.7%
Negative33.3%

Surf Blackball

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Surf Sessions

No in-app purchases

None

Surf Blackball

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surf Sessions free?
Surf Sessions is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Surf Blackball free?
Surf Blackball is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surf Sessions or Surf Blackball?
Surf Blackball is rated higher. Surf Sessions averages 3.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Surf Blackball averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Surf Sessions or Surf Blackball have ads?
Surf Blackball shows ads; Surf Sessions does not.
Which is updated more often, Surf Sessions or Surf Blackball?
Surf Sessions ships an update every 2 months, and Surf Blackball every 2 months. Most recently, Surf Sessions was updated on October 7, 2026 and Surf Blackball on October 12, 2026.

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