Comparison

Epicenter vs Earthquake M4.5+

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

Head to head
About

Epicenter

Explore global earthquake activity from the past 30 days on an interactive globe. View detailed information, animate seismic events over time, and customize map displays. Includes companion apps for Apple Watch and a Today Widget for quick access to recent data.

Highlights
  • 30 days of global earthquake data
  • Interactive rotatable and zoomable globe
  • Earthquake details (magnitude, depth, source)
  • Date scroller and animation
  • Customizable map terrain and fault lines
  • Apple Watch app for recent data
  • Today Widget for quick access
Features
Read full description

Epicenter — Global Earthquake Monitoring & Alerts Track global seismic activity with timely earthquake notifications, one of the most comprehensive earthquake catalogs available on a mobile device, and powerful tools for exploring earthquakes in space and time. Built on trusted public seismic reporting agencies, Epicenter helps you monitor, understand, and visualize earthquakes worldwide. MONITOR EARTHQUAKES THAT MATTER TO YOU Receive timely notifications for significant earthquakes worldwide and monitor the places and seismic regions that matter most to you. • Worldwide earthquake notifications • Location-based notifications • Watched locations important to you • Watched seismic regions • Notification history and earthquake summaries • Built on multiple trusted global and regional seismic reporting agencies EXPLORE EARTHQUAKES WORLDWIDE View one of the most detailed interactive earthquake maps available on a mobile device. • Worldwide catalog of 25,000+ recent earthquakes updated from multiple public seismic reporting agencies • Interactive 3D globe with pan and zoom • Explore earthquake distributions beneath the Earth's surface with interactive 3D Seismicity • Time Explorer with day-by-day or hour-by-hour playback • Earthquake List View with sorting, filtering, and search • Filter the List View for non-earthquake events like landslides, quarry blasts, explosions, and more • Fly directly to earthquakes and locations of interest UNDERSTAND GLOBAL SEISMICITY Understand earthquakes as part of a larger geological system. • Magnitude and depth visualization • Worldwide plate boundaries • Global fault datasets • Detailed earthquake data • Multiple terrain styles • Geological descriptions and annotations BUILT FOR APPLE DEVICES Designed to feel at home across the Apple ecosystem. • New - Home Screen Widgets • iPhone and iPad support • Light and Dark modes • Apple Watch companion • Mac compatibility via iPad support BUILT BY A SEISMOLOGIST • Designed for accuracy, transparency, and insight. PREMIUM FEATURES Epicenter+ expands Epicenter with advanced notifications, enhanced visualizations, and deeper exploration tools. Everything you enjoy in Epicenter remains free. No ads. Epicenter+ supports continued development of worldwide earthquake monitoring and analysis tools. Epicenter delivers timely notifications as earthquake solutions are published by trusted public seismic reporting agencies. Because Epicenter relies on published earthquake solutions rather than earthquake early warning infrastructure, it is not an earthquake early-warning system and should not be relied upon for emergency response or life-safety decisions. Epicenter+ Subscription Terms When you purchase an Epicenter+ subscription, payment will be charged to your Apple Account. Your subscription begins with a 30-day free trial. Unless canceled before the trial ends, your subscription will begin automatically and your Apple Account will be charged. Subscriptions are billed automatically at the beginning of each monthly or annual billing period and renew until canceled. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period. Manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal at any time in Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions on your device or through the App Store. To avoid being charged for the next billing period, auto-renewal must be turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends. If you cancel, your subscription remains active until the end of the current billing period. When your Epicenter+ subscription ends, the app automatically returns to its standard free mode. All billing and refunds are handled by Apple. Epicenter cannot process refunds directly. Refund requests must be submitted to Apple and are granted at Apple's discretion. Privacy Policy: https://seismology.rocks/epicenter Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Earthquake M4.5+

Visualize recent earthquakes worldwide on an interactive map. Identify epicenters, your current location, and nearby nuclear power plants. Filter by magnitude 4.5+ and view data updated at frequent intervals.

Highlights
  • Interactive earthquake map
  • Nuclear power plant locations
  • Magnitude 4.5+ filter
  • Real-time updates
  • Data from USGS and Wikipedia
Features
Read full description

Stay informed with Earthquake M4.5+, your trusted source for real-time earthquake alerts worldwide. Monitor significant seismic events (magnitude 4.5 and above) with reliable USGS data, interactive maps, and instant notifications. This app displays a map showing earthquakes and nearby nuclear power plants. You can browse recent earthquakes around the world, and selecting one from the list will display it on the map. A red pin marks the epicenter, a green pin shows your current location, and purple pins indicate the nearest nuclear power plants (the first and second closest to the epicenter). By pressing the Details button on the map, you can view detailed earthquake information; tapping the Nuclear button will show information about the nearby nuclear power plants. Only earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.5 or higher are displayed. You can filter events by day, week, or month. Data for the day and week views is updated every 5 minutes, while the month view updates every 15 minutes. Earthquake data is sourced from the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey), and nuclear power plant information is sourced from Wikipedia.

Screenshots

Epicenter4 screens
Earthquake M4.5+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Epicenter at 80% against Earthquake M4.5+'s 0%. Epicenter also leads on ratings volume (39 vs 1). Earthquake M4.5+'s advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Epicenter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Earthquake M4.5+ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Earthquake M4.5+ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Epicenter has 39 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Epicenter's written reviews are positive against 0% of Earthquake M4.5+'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Epicenter ships an update every 4 days, Earthquake M4.5+ weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Epicenter versus Earthquake M4.5+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEpicenterEarthquake M4.5+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (39 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings39 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.415.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJess TaylorKAZUYUKI TAJIMA

Customer experience

Epicenter

All ratings39 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral7.7%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%

Earthquake M4.5+

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Epicenter

Subscriptions2
  • Epicenter+ Monthly1 Month trial$1.991 Month
  • Epicenter+ Annual1 Month trial$9.991 Year
None

Earthquake M4.5+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Epicenter free?
Epicenter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Earthquake M4.5+ free?
Earthquake M4.5+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Epicenter or Earthquake M4.5+?
Earthquake M4.5+ is rated higher. Epicenter averages 4.4 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while Earthquake M4.5+ averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Epicenter or Earthquake M4.5+ have ads?
Neither Epicenter nor Earthquake M4.5+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Epicenter or Earthquake M4.5+?
Epicenter ships an update every 4 days, and Earthquake M4.5+ weekly. Most recently, Epicenter was updated on September 23, 2026 and Earthquake M4.5+ on September 24, 2026.

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