The 7 Best Weather Apps in 2026

The short answer

CARROT Weather Best overall

The best weather app for most iPhone owners is CARROT Weather. It lets you build your own forecast layout, choose the data source and add radar and rain alerts, with a personality that makes checking it fun. On Android or the web, pick Windy for free pro-grade maps. For the most private forecast, choose Mercury Weather.

Which one is for you?

1 Best overallCARROT WeatheriPhone owners who want full control of their forecast, plus jokes 2 Best free weather mapsWindy.comHikers, sailors, pilots and anyone who wants to read the weather themselves 3 Most privateMercury WeatherApple users who want a fast, pretty forecast that keeps nothing about them 4 Best for storm chasersRadarScopeStorm spotters, chasers and weather nerds who read raw radar 5 Best for rain timingAcme WeatherDark Sky fans who plan their day around exactly when the rain arrives 6 Best satellite viewZoom EarthAnyone in hurricane country, or who likes watching weather from above 7 Fastest radarMyRadarCommuters and cyclists who check radar before every trip out

• CARROT Weather wins: the most customizable iPhone forecast, though most extras need Premium Club.
• Windy is the best free pick on Android and the web, with forecast models and dozens of map layers.
• Mercury collects no data, RadarScope reads raw radar, and Acme Weather times the rain to the minute.

1. 1
   

   Best overall

   1. CARROT Weather

   0

   A forecast you can rebuild to your exact taste, delivered by a robot with opinions.

   • Free + paid plans
   • iPhone

   It's seven in the morning and you want two answers: will it rain on the school run, and what mood is the robot in? CARROT Weather handles both. Pick its personality, from a straight-faced Professional mode to properly profane, then arrange the screen so what you care about comes first.

   More about CARROT Weather

   Choose your data source, such as AccuWeather, Apple Weather or Foreca, and add Super Res Radar, lightning and rain alerts. Widgets, Apple Watch complications and CarPlay are excellent, and its privacy label shows nothing linked to you. The catch: most of the good stuff needs Premium Club, there are many tiers, and the Android version is years behind.

   Great for

   iPhone owners who want full control of their forecast, plus jokes

   The catch

   Most of the good stuff needs Premium Club, and Android is years behind

   Full review Get it Save
2. 2
   

   Best free weather maps

   2. Windy.com

   0

   The tools meteorologists use, squeezed into a free app for your phone and browser.

   • Free + paid plans
   • iPhone · Android · Web

   Planning a sail, a flight or a summit push? Windy lets you see the weather instead of trusting one number. Flip between ECMWF, GFS, ICON and meteoblue, then watch wind, rain, waves or snow animate across the map. When the models disagree, you know to pack a plan B.

   More about Windy.com

   Pilots get airport data, sailors get tides, and everyone gets radar, satellite, lightning, webcams and a hurricane tracker. Each day's forecast now shows a feels-like temperature and a predictability score, and the privacy label shows nothing linked to you. The trade-off: the screen is busy, and hourly detail with faster updates needs Premium.

   Great for

   Hikers, sailors, pilots and anyone who wants to read the weather themselves

   The catch

   A busy screen that can overwhelm you if you just want today's high

   Full review Get it Save
3. 3
   

   Most private

   3. Mercury Weather

   0

   Read the whole day in two seconds, from an app whose label says it collects nothing.

   • Free + paid plans
   • iPhone · Mac
   • No ads

   You're heading out the door and just need the shape of the day. Mercury Weather draws it as smooth charts, so you see when it warms up and when the rain starts in a single glance. Planning a road trip? Trip Forecast shows the weather wherever you'll be on each day.

   More about Mercury Weather

   Widgets and the Apple Watch app are lovely, tide widgets cover the US and Canada, and you can compare monthly averages for two places. Its App Store label reads Data Not Collected. The catch: it's Apple devices only, with fewer map layers than the radar apps.

   Great for

   Apple users who want a fast, pretty forecast that keeps nothing about them

   The catch

   Apple only, and light on maps if you like watching storms move

   Full review Get it Save
4. 4
   

   Best for storm chasers

   4. RadarScope

   0

   Raw radar for people who know what a hook echo looks like and want to spot one first.

   • Paid
   • iPhone · Android · Mac
   • No ads

   The sky turns a funny shade of green and the sirens start up. RadarScope shows what the radar actually sees, including velocity, with NWS warnings and storm tracks layered on top. Instead of a smoothed rain map, you get the raw products spotters use to find hook echoes and debris signatures.

   More about RadarScope

   The base app now includes US and Canada watches, CarPlay and research radars, and Pro Tier subscriptions add lightning, archives and models. Its privacy label says Data Not Collected. The catch: you pay upfront, the learning curve is steep, and there's no everyday forecast view at all.

   Great for

   Storm spotters, chasers and weather nerds who read raw radar

   The catch

   Paid upfront, steep to learn, and no plain daily forecast

   Full review Get it Save
5. 5
   

   Best for rain timing

   5. Acme Weather

   0

   Tells you when the rain starts and how sure it is about that. Refreshingly honest.

   • Subscription
   • iPhone
   • No ads

   You're deciding whether to sprint to the car now or wait it out. Acme Weather gives down-to-the-minute rain timing, and its clever twist is honesty: extra forecast lines show how sure the prediction is and what else might happen. Your picnic finally gets a backup plan.

   More about Acme Weather

   Maps cover radar, lightning, snow totals and hurricane tracks, other users file condition reports, and the privacy label shows nothing linked to you. It now works in Europe too. The catch: it's iPhone only, and once the free trial ends there's no free tier, just a yearly subscription.

   Great for

   Dark Sky fans who plan their day around exactly when the rain arrives

   The catch

   iPhone only, and a yearly subscription once the trial ends

   Full review Get it Save
6. 6
   

   Best satellite view

   6. Zoom Earth

   0

   Watch storms spin up from space in near real time. Strangely hard to put down.

   • Free + paid plans
   • iPhone · Android · Web

   A hurricane is churning offshore and you want to see it, not read about it. Zoom Earth shows satellite images that refresh every ten minutes, so you watch the storm spin in near real time, then switch to radar, wind, rain or heat maps. Its hurricane tracking is clear enough for anyone.

   More about Zoom Earth

   Wildfire hot spots come from NASA data, the radar map now shows NHC watches and warnings, and it works in a browser as well as on phones. The trade-offs: the free version has ads and shares some data for advertising, and longer forecast maps need Pro.

   Great for

   Anyone in hurricane country, or who likes watching weather from above

   The catch

   Ads in the free version, and some data shared for advertising

   Full review Get it Save
7. 7
   

   Fastest radar

   7. MyRadar

   0

   Opens straight to radar around you, which is all you want before a bike ride.

   • Free + paid plans
   • iPhone · Android

   Helmet on, bike out, one last look at the sky. MyRadar opens straight to animated radar around you, no taps needed, and rain alerts can warn you up to an hour before it starts. National Weather Service alerts, including tornado warnings, come through too.

   More about MyRadar

   Free layers add winds, fronts, wildfires, earthquakes and aviation data, and recent updates brought hail alerts and Live Activities for rain. Premium unlocks the full hurricane tracker. The catch is privacy: its label says location and identifiers may be used to track you.

   Great for

   Commuters and cyclists who check radar before every trip out

   The catch

   Location data is shared for advertising in the free app

   Full review Get it Save

Side by side

#	App	Best for	Price	Works on
1	CARROT Weather	Best overall	Free + paid plans	iOS
2	Windy.com	Best free weather maps	Free + paid plans	iOS, Android, Web
3	Mercury Weather	Most private	Free + paid plans	iOS, Mac
4	RadarScope	Best for storm chasers	Paid	iOS, Android, Mac
5	Acme Weather	Best for rain timing	Subscription	iOS
6	Zoom Earth	Best satellite view	Free + paid plans	iOS, Android, Web
7	MyRadar	Fastest radar	Free + paid plans	iOS, Android

How to choose

What makes the best weather app for you?

Start with what you actually check. If it's umbrella or no umbrella, you want clear rain timing and a good widget, which is where Mercury and Acme shine. If you plan trips outdoors, you want maps and forecast models, and that's Windy's whole job.

Then read the privacy label. Weather apps need your location, and some share it for advertising. Mercury and RadarScope say they collect no data, while MyRadar and Zoom Earth share some for ads.

Do you need a separate radar app?

Only if storms are part of your life. CARROT, Acme and Mercury cover everyday rain well. If you live where severe weather hits, RadarScope shows raw radar products and MyRadar opens straight to radar with alerts. Zoom Earth is the friendliest way to follow a hurricane.

Bottom line

Get CARROT Weather if you're on iPhone and want a forecast built your way, with a side of sarcasm. If you're on Android or love maps, Windy gives you the meteorologist's toolkit for free.

See why CARROT Weather is #1

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