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BEST SURF FORECAST APP
The best surfingforecast app?
Surfline, Surf-Forecast, Windy are all good at what they do. Here's a fair look at where each wins for surfing — and where a per-ability, physics-grounded score fits.
For surfing, Surfline leads on live cams and Surf-Forecast on raw spot tables — but both hand you swell, wind and tide numbers to read yourself. 4Shor models how each swell actually breaks on that specific seabed and turns it into a 0–100 surf score for your ability, so a clean beginner day and a powerless expert day read differently. The decision, not just the data.
Best surfing forecast apps compared
 | Surfline | Surf-Forecast | Windy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Surfers who want a per-ability decision | Surfers who want live cams | Surfers wanting spot tables | Reading the weather models |
| Per-ability surfing score | Yes — 0–100, beginner → expert | No | No | No |
| Nearshore wave physics | Yes — modelled per spot | LOLA swell model + live cams | Global swell model, 7,000+ breaks | Multi-model (ECMWF/GFS/ICON) maps |
| Coverage | Europe — 2,500+ spots | Global | Global | Global |
| Free tier | Today free on web; 3-day forecast free in the app | Limited free; paid Premium | Free, ad-supported | Generous free; paid Premium |
Competitor features change — check each app for its current offering. Comparison reflects our reading as of 2026.
Reading the table
Every tool here is genuinely useful — they're built for different jobs. Surfline is surfers who want live cams; Surf-Forecast is surfers wanting spot tables; Windy is reading the weather models.
What only 4Shor does for surfing: model how conditions actually behave at each spot on its own high-resolution European seabed map, then score that per sport and per ability. The 0–100 score is the output of real nearshore physics, which is why it can be read as a decision rather than a rating. See the full method, the surfing forecast across Europe, or the full app comparison.
FAQ
Surfing forecast app — common questions
What's the best surfing forecast app?
For surfing, Surfline leads on live cams and Surf-Forecast on raw spot tables — but both hand you swell, wind and tide numbers to read yourself. 4Shor models how each swell actually breaks on that specific seabed and turns it into a 0–100 surf score for your ability, so a clean beginner day and a powerless expert day read differently. The decision, not just the data.
Is 4Shor a good alternative to Surfline for surfing?
Surfline is strong for surfers who want live cams. 4Shor's edge for surfing is the per-ability 0–100 score built from nearshore wave physics: Ideal surf pairs clean, long-period groundswell with light offshore wind and the right tide for the bank — enough energy to stand the wave up without closing it out. Many riders use both — one to read the raw conditions, 4Shor to decide where to go.
Does 4Shor score surfing by ability?
Yes. Every spot is scored 0–100 for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert, so the same conditions read differently for a learner and an expert — updated hourly across 2,500+ European surfing spots.