Ventusky is a free iPhone weather app built around a world map with more than 80 weather layers, forecasts from several weather models, live radar and over 40,000 webcams. It has 4.8 stars from 35,278 App Store ratings, and the listing says it is “completely free of ads or tracking scripts.”
Quick verdict
Ventusky suits you if you like reading the weather yourself: wind at different altitudes, model comparisons, fronts, waves and air quality. Many reviewers call it accurate and many praise how much data it shows, and several use it to plan work at sea, in the air or on farms. The complaints fall into three groups. Several reviewers found the forecast wrong at times, several complain about what the Premium subscription costs or locks away, and several paid for Premium and say the app didn’t recognize it. If you want a simple five-day forecast in large type, a few reviewers say recent changes made it cluttered or complicated.
Ventusky at a glance
| Developer | Ventusky s.r.o. |
|---|---|
| Store listing | Ventusky on the App Store |
| Price | Free; some layers need Premium (prices not in our data) |
| Ads | None, the listing says |
| App Store rating | 4.8 stars from 35,278 ratings |
| Downloads | Not in our data |
| Version / last updated | 57 / October 14, 2026 |
| Requires | iOS 16.0 or later |
| First released | September 12, 2017 |
| Data checked | October 27, 2026 |
What is Ventusky?
Ventusky is built around a weather map. The listing describes it as “a fusion of 20+ of the world’s best models, live radar, satellite and 40,000+ webcams.” You pick a layer, such as temperature, wind gusts or air quality, and watch it move over a 3D globe. The app chooses a forecast model for your location, and you can switch models to compare them.
Key features
- Forecast: a 14-day forecast with “up to hourly resolution,” the listing says.
- Weather maps: 80+ layers, including temperature at 16 altitude levels, feels-like temperature, precipitation, radar and lightning, satellite, wind gusts, UV index and the probability of aurora.
- Forecast models: ECMWF, GFS and the German ICON model, plus local models, some updated every 10 minutes from radar and satellite readings.
- Webcams: more than 40,000 coastal, ski resort and city cameras worldwide.
- Widgets and Apple Watch: Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets with forecasts, webcams or radar, and watchOS integration.
- Notifications: customizable alerts for wind, waves, freezing rain, pressure, lightning strikes within a set distance, an umbrella reminder, or a morning or evening summary.
- Storm tracking: hurricane and storm tracks from several models you can compare.
- Air quality: PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3, CO, dust and AQI, from the SILAM model.
- Professional tools: isolines, weather fronts, and wind animations at two altitudes.
Free and Premium layers
The listing splits its layers into free and Premium. Two reviewers complain about layers on the Premium side.
| Free layers (from the listing) | Premium layers (from the listing) |
|---|---|
| Temperature (16 altitude levels) | Cloud coverage (high, mid, low, base, total, fog) |
| Feels like temperature | Wind speed (16 altitude levels) |
| Precipitation (1 hour, 3 hours, cumulated, monthly anomaly, freezing rain, rain, snow) | Air pressure |
| Radar and lightning | Thunderstorms (CAPE, CAPE*SHEAR, wind shear, CIN, lifted index, helicity) |
| Satellite | Sea (waves, currents, tidal currents, tide, surge) |
| Wind gusts | Humidity (4 altitude levels) |
| Air quality (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3, CO, dust, AQI) | Dew point |
| UV index | Snow cover (total, new) |
| Probability of aurora | Freezing level and visibility |
One reviewer who works for a government agency wants wind speed and humidity in the free version, since their employer won’t pay for Premium. The listing says the app picks the most precise model for your location, but one reviewer in California says changing the model had no effect where they live. Don’t rely on a single app for severe weather warnings; check official alerts too.
Ventusky vs. what a weather app should have
“Listed” means the App Store listing names the feature, “Partial” means it covers part of it, and “Reviews only” means reviewers describe it but the listing doesn’t. “Not listed” means neither the listing nor the reviews in our sample show it.
Must have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Current conditions and feels-like | Listed | Feels-like temperature layer; one reviewer says current temperatures can be up to an hour old |
| Hourly forecast | Listed | “Up to hourly resolution”; one reviewer sees steps of three hours |
| Daily forecast of 7+ days | Listed | 14 days; several reviewers say they now see fewer days |
| Chance of precipitation | Partial | Precipitation amounts and radar; a probability isn’t listed |
| Wind, humidity, UV | Listed | Wind gusts and UV are free; wind speed and humidity are Premium |
| Severe weather alerts | Partial | Notifications for wind, freezing rain and lightning, plus storm tracks; one reviewer says it shows there are alerts but won’t open them |
| Radar map | Listed | |
| Home Screen widgets | Listed | One Premium user calls the widget “super buggy” |
| Current location and search | Reviews only | Reviewers pin locations or tap the map; a few had trouble with location |
| Unit options | Reviews only | One reviewer likes switching metric and US units; two couldn’t find how |
Should have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notification or Lock Screen weather | Listed | Lock Screen widgets and push notifications |
| Air quality | Listed | |
| Multiple saved locations | Reviews only | One reviewer pins locations and swipes through them |
| Choice of data source | Listed | Automatic model choice, or compare models yourself |
| Layout customization | Reviews only | Reviewers mention customization options |
| Light and dark themes | Not listed | |
| Sunrise, sunset, moon phase | Not listed | |
| Multiple languages | Not listed |
Nice to have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Animated wind or global map | Listed | Wind animations at two altitudes on a 3D globe |
| Side-by-side provider comparison | Listed | Compare forecast models and hurricane tracks |
| Photography times | Not listed | |
| Weather photos | Partial | 40,000+ live webcams |
| Pollen | Not listed | |
| Lightning information | Listed | Lightning detection and strike alerts |
| Custom temperature alerts | Partial | Alerts for wind, waves, freezing rain, pressure and lightning; temperature isn’t named |
| Rain-incoming notifications | Partial | Umbrella reminder |
| Written forecast summary | Partial | Morning or evening summary notification |
Common problems reviewers report
The data we collected doesn’t include developer replies, so this table shows each problem and when it was reported, not an official fix. Older reports may describe earlier versions, and version 57 may behave differently.
| Problem | What reviewers report | When |
|---|---|---|
| Premium not recognized | Several reviewers paid for Premium and still see the upgrade screen or basic features; one paid on Android and can’t use it on iPhone | October 2024 to July 2026 |
| Fewer forecast days | Several reviewers can’t find the longer forecast; one now sees about 32 hours instead of ten days, and one says it’s fixed at 4 days after upgrading | September 2024 to October 2026 |
| Units and settings | Two reviewers can’t find how to switch Celsius to Fahrenheit or km/h to mph, and one found the speed settings hard to change | September 2024 to September 2026 |
| Location | A few reviewers report a crash when the app reads location, a default spot in the Pacific Ocean, or no way to center their city | September 2024 to September 2026 |
| Hard to reach support | Several reviewers couldn’t find a way to contact the developer; the listing points to my.ventusky.com for questions | September 2024 to July 2026 |
Pros (from user reviews)
- Accuracy: many reviewers call Ventusky accurate. One on the Texas Gulf Coast says hurricane forecasts are “very accurate within 3-4 days of landfall,” and one sailor says the wind is “as accurate as your masthead vane.”
- Depth of data: many reviewers praise how many layers and details it has. One retired oceanographer likes “having all the models, satellites & maps in my pocket.”
- Wind maps: several reviewers rely on the wind layers, for sailing, beach walks, shrimping or fire season, and two like the wind animation.
- Storm tracking: several reviewers follow hurricanes with it, and one says it predicted Beryl’s course a week before landfall.
- Planning work and trips: several reviewers use it for boating, flying, offshore work, farming, construction or hiking.
- Easy to use: it’s easy or intuitive, several reviewers say, though a few say recent changes made it cluttered or complicated.
- No ads or tracking: several reviewers like that it shows no ads or doesn’t track them.
- Premium: several reviewers say Premium is worth paying for, and a few say the free version alone is useful.
- Support: one reviewer got a reply within an hour that fixed their problem, one praises the developer’s substantive replies, and one says a crash when switching to radar was fixed.
Cons (from user reviews)
- Paywall changes: several reviewers complain about Premium’s price or what it covers, and two say layers or longer forecasts that used to be free now need it. One says it went from “a 5$ app” to “15 a year,” and one wrote “400% increase?” about the price.
- Premium purchase problems: several reviewers paid and say the app still didn’t unlock Premium, and one asked Apple for a refund.
- Shorter forecasts: several reviewers can’t find the multi-day forecast they used to see.
- Accuracy disputes: several reviewers found it wrong, and several say it used to be more accurate. A few say it missed rain that was falling, and a few say its wind readings ran high or low.
- Harder to read: a few reviewers say recent changes made it cluttered or complicated, and two say the text is too small.
- Bugs: a few reviewers report crashes, and one says the widget defaults to London at random.
- Support: several reviewers couldn’t find a way to contact the developer.
- Missing pieces: two reviewers want CarPlay, one wants an Apple Watch temperature complication, and one wants rain, mixed precipitation and snow in different radar colors.
Most reviews in our sample are 5 stars. The data we collected doesn’t include a star breakdown of all 35,278 ratings, so we can’t say how common these complaints are across all of them.
Pricing
Ventusky is free to download, and the free version includes radar, satellite, air quality, and the temperature and precipitation layers. Premium adds cloud cover, wind speed, pressure, thunderstorm indexes, sea, humidity, dew point, snow cover, freezing level and visibility. The listing doesn’t give Premium prices and our data has none. Reviewers mention an annual fee and a monthly fee, and one says Premium widgets, notifications and the extended forecast come with it.
Privacy and permissions
The listing says Ventusky is “completely free of ads or tracking scripts.” We couldn’t read the App Store privacy label or a permissions list, so we make no claim about what data it collects. A few reviewers like that it doesn’t track them. One complains that notifications need full access to location, and one couldn’t find how to turn location off.
Who it’s for
Ventusky fits you if you want to look at the weather in detail: wind at altitude, waves, fronts, model comparisons and storm tracks, on a map you can zoom around the world. It’s also an easy pick if you don’t want ads. It’s a weaker fit if you want a plain daily forecast in large type, or if you don’t want to pay for wind speed, humidity and the Premium layers. Before you buy Premium, note that several reviewers had trouble getting it to unlock.
FAQ
Is Ventusky free?
Yes, Ventusky is free to download, and the listing says it has no ads. Some layers, including wind speed, humidity, cloud cover and sea conditions, need Premium. Our data doesn’t include Premium prices.
Which weather models does Ventusky use?
The listing names ECMWF, GFS and the German ICON model, plus local models, some updated every 10 minutes from radar and satellite readings. The app picks a model for your location, and you can switch to compare them. One reviewer in California says changing the model didn’t change their forecast.
Does Ventusky have widgets?
Yes. The listing says it has Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets with forecasts, webcams or radar, and it works with Apple Watch. One Premium user says the widget is buggy and defaults to London at random.
Why can’t I see the long forecast in Ventusky?
The listing promises a 14-day forecast, but several reviewers say they now see fewer days, and some of them have Premium. One reviewer in October 2026 sees about 32 hours instead of ten days.
How this review was put together
We haven’t tested Ventusky. This review is based on public information from official sources: the app’s Google Play or App Store listing and rating breakdown, the developer’s website when there is one, and recent user reviews on the store with the developer’s replies. Features and claims are the developer’s own descriptions; what users like and dislike comes from the store reviews. Everything was checked on October 27, 2026. Apps change with every update, so check the store listing before you install.
