Tides vs its rivals

Side-by-side comparison against Tides's closest competitors — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel.

Tides
This App
Core Identity
DeveloperJatisari Inovasi StudioSurfline/Wavetrak雪平 王Paul DemersDaniele FruzzettiAtomski SoftwareCleto May
CategoryWeatherWeatherWeatherWeatherWeatherWeatherWeather
PlatformiOSiOS, AndroidiOS, AndroidiOSiOSAndroid, iOSiOS, Android
Store Metrics
Rating0.0 / 54.7 / 55.0 / 54.2 / 55.0 / 50.0 / 50.0 / 5
Ratings Count029,620210100
PriceFreeFreeFreeFree$2.99FreeFree
Release DateSep 10, 2024Oct 12, 2010May 13, 2024Jan 22, 2022Jan 19, 2012Nov 1, 2014Jan 20, 2026
Last UpdatedDec 12, 2025May 18, 2026Mar 23, 2026Jan 3, 2026Apr 3, 2025Dec 8, 2022Apr 29, 2026
Sentiment & Reviews
Sentiment-mixed-mixed---
Score-55/100-50/100---
Praises-
  • Accurate surf forecasting and live camera feeds provide essential daily planning tools for local surfers
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  • Local air quality sensor data provides clear and simple utility for daily monitoring
  • Watch complications offer convenient access to air quality metrics without opening the phone
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Complaints-
  • Aggressive paywalling of previously free features creates significant friction and perceived lack of value
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  • Unreliable connection to air quality sensors prevents consistent real-time measurement for users
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Requests-
  • Customizable home screen widgets are requested to allow quick viewing of surf reports without app entry
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Strategic Intel
Strengths
  • Native Apple Watch complications provide immediate utility for beachgoers
  • Clean, ad-free interface reduces cognitive load for casual users
  • 1000+ live cam network creates visual verification moat
  • Apple Watch integration drives high-intent session logging
  • Filter-based search mechanism enables rapid identification of optimal surf windows
  • Global spot coverage provides immediate utility for travelers
  • Local-only LAN polling ensures data privacy for sensor owners
  • Watch complication integration provides ambient data access
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Weaknesses
  • Zero monetization strategy limits long-term development
  • Lack of proprietary data sets forces reliance on standard public tidal information
  • $99.99/year premium tier above category median
  • Persistent account synchronization errors disrupt paid access
  • 0-rating on Android platform indicates critical stability or adoption failure
  • Lack of visual verification (camera feeds) limits trust compared to industry leaders
  • Frequent sensor connection failures reported by users
  • Manual network dependency management increases user friction
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Pricingfreesubscriptionsubscriptionfreepaidfreefree
MomentumMaintenanceActiveActiveMaintenance-Maintenance-
Update Cadence1 versions5 versions, ~10d avg4 versions1 versions-5 versions-

Compare Tides head-to-head

Disclosure: Independent intel to help mobile builders succeed.

AI-powered analysis with editorial review, built from publicly available sources. Marlvel.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tides, its developer, the app publisher, Apple, or Google Play. All trademarks, logos, and screenshots referenced remain the property of their respective owners.

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