Froth vs Surfline: Which Surf App Should You Use?
Froth and Surfline are not really competitors in the way the comparison implies: Surfline forecasts and shows you cameras, and Froth carries reports written by surfers who are at the beach. Surfline answers what a spot should do; Froth answers what someone says it is doing. A lot of surfers use both, and use them at different points in the morning.
Froth publishes this page. The useful disclosure is what Froth does not have: no forecast model, no multi-day outlook, and no surf cameras. If those are what you are choosing on, Surfline is the stronger product and this page is not going to argue otherwise.
| What you are comparing | Surfline | Froth |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Surfline is free to download and sells a Premium subscription, which its listing says covers 1000+ ad-free cams and cam rewind. Current prices are not reproduced here — check Surfline. | Froth is free to download, and posting and reading reports is free with no paid tier for the core app. |
| Report type and accuracy | Surfline gives model forecasts and live cams, citing proprietary forecast models and an in-house forecast team. A forecast is a prediction, so its accuracy falls as the lead time grows, and it cannot see the wind that came up twenty minutes ago. | Froth gives first-hand reports from surfers at the break, timestamped. They are accurate for the moment they were written and go stale quickly, and Froth has no forecast model at all. |
| Social | Surfline's App Store listing describes session tracking rather than a feed of user-posted reports. | Froth has a public community feed any user can post a report to, plus buying, selling and trading of surf gear between users. |
| Crew chat | Private group chat is not described in Surfline's App Store listing. | Froth includes private groups with built-in chat, so a report reaches only the crew you choose. |
| Coach | Technique coaching is not described in Surfline's App Store listing. | Froth Coach analyses an uploaded clip and returns technique feedback in minutes: 2 free analyses, one more per report posted (max 4 per 24 hours), then credit packs. In beta. |
| Local business support | Local business listings are not described in Surfline's App Store listing. | Froth lists local surf shops, schools and cafes in the app for the surfers already checking that break. |
Surfline facts are taken from the Surfline: Wave & Surf Reports listing on the Apple App Store (publisher Surfline/Wavetrak), checked 20 September 2026. "Not described in its App Store listing" means the listing does not mention it, which is not the same as the feature not existing. Surfline subscription prices are not reproduced here because they change and could not be verified at source.
What is Surfline best at?
Surfline is best at forecasting and at cameras, and it has been doing the former since 1985 according to its own store listing. If your question is which day of the week to book off work, or you want to watch a spot before driving to it, that is the tool. Its cam network is the thing no report app can replicate, because cameras are physical infrastructure.
What is Froth best at?
Froth is best at the last twenty minutes before you decide to paddle out. Reports are written by surfers at the break and timestamped, so you can tell the difference between a report from ten minutes ago and one from before the tide turned. The second thing it is built for is keeping that information small: a private group shares conditions with your crew instead of the whole coast.
Is Froth free?
Yes. Froth is free to download on iOS and Android, and posting and reading surf reports is free, with no paid tier for the core app. The one paid part is Froth Coach: each video analysis costs a credit, new accounts get 2 free credits, you earn one more each time you post a report (up to 4 per rolling 24 hours), and after that credits sell in packs of 2 for $19.99, 10 for $39.99, or 30 for $59.99.
Can you share surf reports privately with just your friends?
Yes, and on Froth that is a core feature rather than a workaround. You create a private group for your crew and share reports, conditions and session updates only inside it, with chat built in for coordinating a dawn patrol. Surfers use it for the obvious reason: a spot that is firing stays good for longer if the whole region does not hear about it.
Do you need both apps?
Most surfers who use Froth also use a forecast app, and that is the intended combination rather than a concession. Check a forecast to decide which morning is worth setting an alarm for, then check reports to decide whether to actually get out of bed. The gap between those two things is exactly where wasted drives come from.
The short version
Surfline is a forecast and camera service with an in-house forecast team and a global cam network. Froth is a free report app where surfers post live conditions and can share them privately with a crew, plus Froth Coach for technique analysis. Froth has no forecast and no cameras, so the honest answer for most people is a forecast app for planning and Froth for the final call.