Surf-Forecast.com is a weather-forecasting app for surfers and water-sports enthusiasts, providing global swell data and tide reports on iOS and Android.
Product velocity
Maintenance
Daily rank 🇺🇸
#196
▲1Weather · free
Sentiment
4.8
4k reviews
Nemesis
My Aurora Forecast & Alerts
The App DNA
What makes this app unique?
Users hire this app to plan sessions around specific wind and swell conditions, relying on its 12-day forecast window to identify optimal surfing windows.
For Surfers, windsurfers, and kitesurfers seeking detailed, long-range environmental data to plan sessions.
What does it look like?
Key features
Visual mapping tool to locate surf breaks and identify current conditions worldwide.
Extended weather and swell forecasting beyond standard short-term windows; gates Premium tier revenue.
Email-based notifications triggered by specific wind or swell conditions; drives retention.
How much does it cost?
Freemium model gates advanced forecasting tools and ad-free browsing behind a subscription to monetize power users.
Velocity
Maintenance developmentnew contentUX improvementsShow more...
Surf-Forecast.com is currently in a maintenance phase, with only two releases recorded over the last six months. The latest version introduced 16-day forecasts and Google sign-in, but the overall cadence is approximately one release every 2.5 to 3 months. Development appears to be focused on platform-specific feature parity and minor utility improvements rather than frequent updates. The current release frequency suggests a stable, low-intensity maintenance cycle.
Who built it?
Meteo365
6 apps tracked · Weather
Surf-Forecast.com
Snow-Forecast.com
Mountain-Forecast.com
Tide-Forecast.com
Mountain-Forecast.comUser Sentiment
What do users think recently?
Review voice lately leans excited. Users appreciate detailed swell and wind data provides reliable planning for surfing and open water swimming and comprehensive global coverage allows users to find forecasts for less popular or remote locations, but report aggressive ad pop-ups and intrusive ui elements disrupt the user experience during forecast checks.
How are ratings & reviews evolving?
What users say, by theme
- Detailed swell and wind data provides reliable planning for surfing and open water swimming
- Comprehensive global coverage allows users to find forecasts for less popular or remote locations
- Clean interface separates swell directions clearly to help users make quick informed decisions
- Aggressive ad pop-ups and intrusive UI elements disrupt the user experience during forecast checks
70 of 70 recent reviews analyzed · high confidence · Excited overall
Read the full review analysisUnlock 2 more frustration themes and 2 user requests, each backed by review evidence.
Access the full report for freeCompetition
Competitive landscape for Surf-Forecast.com
How's the Weather market?
Surf-Forecast.com maintains a strong international presence, holding top-100 grossing positions in the weather category across markets like Spain and Australia. The high grossing rank relative to its free-tier ad volume suggests effective monetization of the core power-user segment.
Read the market outlookThe rivals identified
By JRustonApps B.V.
Both apps target outdoor enthusiasts who rely on real-time environmental data for activity planning, competing for the same mobile screen time and user attention.
- My Aurora Forecast & Alerts integrates live webcams for visual confirmation, while Surf-Forecast.com lacks native camera feeds.
- My Aurora Forecast & Alerts provides real-time SWPC geomagnetic data, whereas Surf-Forecast.com focuses on swell and wind modeling.
- My Aurora Forecast & Alerts offers all functionality for free, while Surf-Forecast.com gates basic settings behind account creation.
My Tide Times - Tables & ChartContender
Surfline: Wave & Surf ReportsContender
TideWise: Tide Chart & WeatherContenderUnlock the head-to-head verdict: where this rival wins, and where it loses.
Access the full report for freeThe Analyst's Read
Key takeaways for Surf-Forecast.com
Where is it heading?
The surf-forecasting market is consolidating around high-fidelity data, and Surf-Forecast.com's 7,000-break database provides a strong defensive position. However, the current ad-heavy UX creates a vulnerability that will erode the user base if competitors continue to offer cleaner, ad-light experiences.
- The latest release added 16-day forecasts, showing active feature investment rather than maintenance-mode stagnation.
- Aggressive ad-popups in the free tier are driving user frustration, which risks long-term retention as cleaner alternatives gain traction.
The SWOT
- 7,000-break global database functions as a B2B-scale distribution barrier
- High-accuracy swell modeling drives daily-active-user habits
- Integrating live camera feeds would address the #1 user request
- Adding tidal coefficients would improve accuracy for niche surfing locations
Next best moves
Remove account-gating for unit measurement settings because reviews flag this as a top frustration → improve new-user conversion.
+ 1 more prioritized moveThe counter-intuitive read
The app's aggressive ad-monetization is not just a…
Read the full takeSince the last report: The product strategy has shifted from feature expansion to addressing user-reported friction, specifically targeting account-gating and data refresh reliability.
Bottom line
Surf-Forecast.com retains power users through superior swell data, but the aggressive ad-monetization and account-gated settings create a churn risk for casual users, so the PM should prioritize a less intrusive free-tier experience to protect the top-of-funnel conversion.
Unlock 2 critical frictions, 2 market threats, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.
Access the full report for freeFAQ
Is Surf-Forecast.com free to use?
Does the app have live webcams?
Can I change units without an account?
Sources
Report last updated