SwellMap Boat vs Surf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SwellMap Boat
Get detailed marine weather forecasts for hundreds of locations across New Zealand. View 7-day sea and wind graphs, tide information, and receive alerts for your favorite spots. Access forecast maps for rain, temperature, wind, and waves.
- 7-day sea and wind forecast graphs
- Detailed daily forecasts
- Forecast maps (rain, temp, wind, waves)
- Save favorite spots
- Customizable alerts
- SwellMap boat ratings
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SwellMap Boat is based on our popular website SwellMap.co.nz providing you with the latest marine weather predictions for hundreds of boating and fishing locations across New Zealand. SwellMap forecasts are highly accurate and reliable. Forecasts are generated using the latest atmospheric and oceanographic numerical models providing updated information four times daily. SwellMap provides the following features: - 7 day sea and wind forecast graphs to make interpreting the boating conditions ahead easy. - SwellMap boat ratings. - Detailed daily forecasts providing ratings, summaries, sea height, sea direction, swell height, swell direction, swell period, chop height, tides, wind, gusts, sea temperature, sunset and sunrise. - Forecast maps of rain/pressure, temperature, wind, wave height, wave period and sea temperature. - Save your favourite spot forecasts. - Alerts providing you with notifications when locations are forecasted to match your preferred boating conditions. == SwellMap Boat Advert Free subscription details == For an advert free experience of the app you can purchase a monthly subscription. Payment will be charged to iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the current cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's account settings on their iPhone/iPad after purchase. Please find full terms and conditions at: https://swellmap-13fc9.firebaseapp.com/swellmap-app-terms.html
Surf
Get simple, accurate surf forecasts for over 7,000 breaks worldwide. Plan your sessions with detailed wave information, tide times, and mapping to find the best conditions and nearby spots. Access extended forecasts and custom alerts with premium features.
- Detailed surf forecasts
- Wavefinder map
- Live webcam links
- Tide times
- 12-day forecasts
- Custom surf alerts
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Surf-Forecast.com gives you simple, accurate and easy-to-read surf forecasts so you have the best chance of hitting those breaks when the waves are pumping. Built by surfers, for surfers, and trusted by millions of surfers for over 20 years, our updated app lets you see all your favorite surf spots at a glance. Providing detailed surf forecasts for over 7,000 breaks worldwide, our new features let you see further ahead than ever before - giving you plenty of advance warning for when those swells start coming in. Find the best surfing conditions near you and use the rating tool to find exactly when to go. – FREE App Features ⁃ Detailed surf forecasts ⁃ Wavefinder map ⁃ Live webcam links ⁃ Multi-swell component presentation ⁃ Tide times ⁃ Detailed mapping to locate nearby breaks – Surf Premium Benefits ⁃ Access to the full 16 days of our new Wavefinder feature ⁃ Hourly forecasts ⁃ 16 day forecasts ⁃ Custom surf alerts ⁃ Ad-free browsing on our website So what are you waiting for? Grab your board and get exploring. We’ll see you out there! For the full Terms and Conditions of this service please visit: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Surf at 86% against SwellMap Boat's 34%. Surf also leads on ratings volume (997 vs 11) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). 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
Both are free to download. SwellMap Boat sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.49 per month and Surf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Surf holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surf has 997 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of SwellMap Boat's written reviews are positive against 86% of Surf's.
SwellMap Boat ships an update every 3 months, Surf every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SwellMap Boat | Surf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (11 ratings) | 4.9 (997 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.1% of reviews | 86.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 997 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #119 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 138 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wesley Warner | Meteo365 Ltd. |
Customer experience
SwellMap Boat
Surf
Bugs and requests
SwellMap Boat
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Surf
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes or freezes on some devices
- Geolocation issues with break markers
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to manually refresh data
- More detailed tidal/current information
- Expanded location coverage
- Improved accuracy for wave height/conditions
In-app purchases
SwellMap Boat
- SwellMap Boat$1.491 Month
Surf
- Premium Service: Monthly$4.991 Month
- Premium Service (Yearly)$34.991 Year









