Comparison

Epicenter vs Seismic Watch

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

Seismic Watch

Visualize global seismic activity with this app. It clusters nearby earthquake events to show the frequency of activity in specific regions, allowing for detailed examination of recent seismic occurrences.

Highlights
  • Visualize seismic activity
  • Cluster nearby events
  • Show activity frequency by region
  • Zoom in for fine-grained analysis
  • Global earthquake data
Features
Read full description

Seismic Watch is the easiest way to visualize recent seismic activity throughout the world. Our algorithm clusters nearby events to provide you the frequency of seismic activity in a specific geographical region. It also allows to zoom in on a specific region to get a more fine-grained frequency of recent earthquakes.

Screenshots

Epicenter4 screens
Seismic Watch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Seismic Watch at 5.0 against Epicenter's 4.4. Seismic Watch also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.3 vs 17.4). Epicenter's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and ratings volume (39 vs 2). On price, 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. Seismic Watch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Seismic Watch 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 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Epicenter ships an update every 4 days, Seismic Watch fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Epicenter versus Seismic Watch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEpicenterSeismic Watch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (39 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings39 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.49.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJess TaylorVikas Sharma

Customer experience

Epicenter

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

Seismic Watch

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Epicenter

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

Seismic Watch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Epicenter free?
Epicenter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Seismic Watch free?
Seismic Watch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Epicenter or Seismic Watch?
Seismic Watch is rated higher. Epicenter averages 4.4 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while Seismic Watch averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Epicenter or Seismic Watch have ads?
Neither Epicenter nor Seismic Watch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Epicenter or Seismic Watch?
Epicenter ships an update every 4 days, and Seismic Watch fortnightly. Most recently, Epicenter was updated on October 16, 2026 and Seismic Watch on October 4, 2026.

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