The best tide and current apps for iPhone
Every one of these apps will tell you the next high tide. They differ on the harder questions: does it work with no signal, does it predict the current in a pass, does it cover Canada, and what does it cost after the first week.
We make one of them. The comparison is still straight, because the people reading this own boats and kayaks and will check.
What to look for
- Currents, not just heights. A tide app that shows current speed as one number is not a currents app. You want the slack time, how long it lasts, and max flood and ebb with a direction.
- Offline predictions, not an offline cache. Tides are astronomy. An app that computes them on the phone works in the anchorage; an app that caches yesterday's fetch works until it doesn't.
- Named data. NOAA or the Canadian Hydrographic Service, by name, per station. "Trusted providers worldwide" is not a name.
- Both sides of the border, if you are anywhere near it.
- What is actually paid. Several free tiers end at a date range, an ad, or a three-hour window.
Slackwater features checked October 9, 2026. Competitor dates are listed below.
At a glance
| App | Currents | Offline | Canada | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slackwater | Slack, max, set, curve | Bundled predictions offline; Canadian setup, some passes online-only | Yes (CHS) | Free core; optional Premium | See App Store |
| AyeTides | Station predictions | Yes | Sparse | $7.99 once | 4.8 (4.9K) |
| Tide Alert | Estimated slack on tide chart | Favourites | Yes | Free trial, then $19.99/yr | 4.8 (45K) |
| Tide Guide | Current conditions | Check feature availability | Yes; availability varies | Free download; Pro subscription or lifetime | See listing |
| Tides Near Me | Next slack, speed, curve | No claim | Yes | Free + ads | 4.8 (163K) |
| Actual Currents | Animated flow, stations | No | Yes | $39.99/yr | 4.7 (21) |
| OceanConnect | 48-hour flow forecast, stations | No | BC | Free | 5.0 (5) |
| Tides and Currents-USA | Station predictions | Yes | No | $19.99/yr or $49.99 once | 4.2 (28) |
Prices, ratings and features are from the US App Store, checked October 14, 2026, except Tide Guide's feature and purchase information, checked October 9, 2026, and OceanConnect's, checked October 17, 2026. See each comparison's sources and limits.
Slackwater
Free, no ads, no account. Tides worldwide, currents across the US and Canada. Bundled stations compute predictions on the phone without a connection. Canadian stations need an initial download; some passes remain online-only and are labeled in the app. A current station shows the next slack and how long it lasts, the speed and set at max flood and max ebb, and a curve you can scrub through the week. Charts for bundled and downloaded models draw offline too.
Deception Pass at slack: 0.0 knots, ebb in 8 minutes, with the next 7.2 knot maximum ebb at 6:30 PM. The green parts of the curve show the slack windows. Screenshot captured October 12, 2026.
The standalone Apple Watch app and home screen widgets are free. Optional Premium adds alerts, station calendars, lock-screen widgets and Watch complications, with annual and lifetime purchase options. Marine weather is not included. It is available on the App Store and needs iOS 26.
Best for: boaters and paddlers who need the slack answer with no bars, on either side of the border.
AyeTides
The one boaters keep. $7.99 once, since 2008, no subscription, predictions offline, and it has real current stations, 13,400 locations worldwide. BC pilots use it. It has a Watch app, widgets, notifications and calendar events. The current answer is a table you read rather than a window you are shown. Paddlers report BC current stations are thin and a few sit on land. AyeTides XL is the separate iPad edition.
Best for: current stations outside North America, in one purchase; anyone who trusts the XTide tables.
Tide Alert (NOAA)
The alerts app. Tell it a tide level or a time and it notifies you, on the phone or the Watch. Now covers Canada, Mexico and Latin America, and favourite stations work offline. Currents are shown as speed over the tide chart with estimated slack windows, which is useful but is not a current station prediction. It also charts wind, swell and water temperature. After a free trial it needs a subscription: $19.99 a year, or $99.99 for Tide Alert Gold.
Best for: anyone who wants the phone to say "the tide is at 2 ft now" without opening it.
Tide Guide
The best-looking tide app on the platform, with an Apple Design Award to prove it. Full Watch app, Live Activities, a dozen marine weather conditions beside the tide, 15 languages. Its help center describes current conditions alongside tide and weather charts and names providers including NOAA and the UK Hydrographic Office. Widgets, complications, detailed charts and future table data require Pro. It is a free download with subscription and lifetime purchase options; offers vary by storefront and account.
Compare Slackwater as a free Tide Guide alternative.
Best for: beach and surf conditions at a glance, on a Watch.
Tides Near Me
Open it and it shows the nearest station, rising or falling. That single interaction earned 163K ratings. It is free with ads and has no offline claim. Version 4.0, in October, added marine weather and a current view with the last and next current, the next slack and the day's curve. Premium removes ads; Go Mode, a separate subscription, adds nautical charts in US waters.
Best for: "is it coming in or going out" on a beach with signal.
Actual Currents
Currents-first, and the best picture of flow you can get on a phone: animated particles over a nautical chart, with a time scrubber, route analysis and departure timing. Canadian stations arrived in June. Its model data loads over a connection, and the free tier is a three-hour window around now. Tides come from a virtual tide gauge and NOAA tide stations. No widgets, no Watch. Launched April 2026.
Best for: seeing how a strait moves at a chosen hour, from the dock.
OceanConnect
A free forecast map of the BC coast, from Southern Alaska to Northern California, run by the Hakai Institute. Currents come from Environment and Climate Change Canada's ocean models and run 48 hours ahead, with wind, waves and water temperature on the same map. It also shows DFO and NOAA current stations, buoys and webcams. No account, on the web and Android as well as iPhone, and no offline mode. Its developer says currents in small channels "will often be wrong" and to use the current stations nearby.
Best for: the night before, to see tomorrow's wind and how the water moves along the route.
Tides and Currents-USA
Offline harmonic tides and currents for the US, with 849 harmonic current stations. Pro unlocks any date, month tables and the widget for $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $49.99 once. Reviews complain about the station picker. US only.
Best for: US-only offline currents on a budget, if you can live with the interface.
Which one
Each app above has its own page with the full table: AyeTides · Tide Alert · Tide Guide · Tides Near Me · Actual Currents · OceanConnect.
- Free tide charts and home screen widgets: Slackwater.
- Transiting passes in BC or Washington: Slackwater. Download Canadian stations first and check for online-only passes. Second choice AyeTides.
- Alerts on your wrist: Tide Alert.
- Weather and a Watch face: Tide Guide.
- A picture of the whole strait moving: Actual Currents, with signal.
- Tomorrow's wind and currents on the BC coast, free: OceanConnect, with signal.
- Just rising or falling, free: Tides Near Me, with ads.
Predictions are not observations. Weather, river flow and local conditions change the water. None of these apps, including ours, is for navigation.
Download Slackwater on the App Store · Free, no account. Requires iOS 26 or later.