Comparison
RunWeather vs Windy for runners
Windy is the best free tool for seeing the weather itself: dozens of animated maps, more than 15 forecast models side by side, and wind detail no running app comes close to. It does not tell you whether, or when, to run. RunWeather does that one job: it scores every hour 0-100 for running, names the best time, and says how much heat, dew point and wind will cost your pace. Weather enthusiasts keep Windy; runners who want the call made add RunWeather.
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Side by side
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | RunWeather | Windy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (optional Pro, $39.99/yr or $6.99/mo) | Free, no ads; Premium €25.99/yr on the web (local price in the app) |
| Forecast step | Every hour, 3 days free, 7 with Pro | 3-hourly free (about 5 days); hourly and 15 days with Premium |
| Forecast models | Professional models, read for you | 15+ models you can compare side by side |
| Weather maps | No; scores and times instead | 50+ animated layers, radar, satellite |
| 0-100 running condition score | Yes (Run Score) | No |
| Best time to run | Yes, best time each day | No |
| Dew point | Core scoring input | Map layer |
| WBGT heat strain | Yes, with safety caps | Wet-bulb map layer; no running guidance |
| Pace adjustment for conditions | Yes, weather-adjusted pace (Pro) | No |
| Weather on your completed runs | Yes, from Strava, Apple Health or Health Connect | No |
| Alerts | Daily run forecast notifications | Custom alerts for wind, rain, snow, sun, air quality |
| Platforms | iOS and Android | iOS, Android, web, Apple Watch, Wear OS |
Windy (windy.com) gives away a lot for free: global models such as ECMWF, GFS, ICON and its new default, meteoblue AI, plus local high-resolution models; more than 50 map layers including wind, gusts, rain, dew point, humidity, wet-bulb temperature, air quality and radar; and no ads. Premium adds a 1-hour forecast step instead of 3-hour, a 15-day outlook and more frequent updates.
What Windy leaves to you is the reading. A 3-hourly forecast table and a dew point map are great data, and still not an answer to "is 6am or 7pm better for my tempo run?". RunWeather reads the forecast hour by hour with a published running model, built around dew point and WBGT heat strain with hard safety caps, and gives you one score, the best window and the pace cost.
Want the detail behind the scoring? How the Run Score works publishes every threshold the model uses.
When Windy is the better pick
If you want to watch a front come in, see where ECMWF and GFS disagree, or check the wind on a long exposed route, Windy is the better tool, and it is free. Trail and mountain runners planning around wind and storms will get more from its maps than from any score.
When RunWeather earns its place
If you run on a schedule you can shift by a few hours, the useful question is which hour, and how hard it will feel. RunWeather answers that at a glance and says why: dew point, heat strain, wind and rain each show up in the score. After the run, it reads your runs from Strava, Apple Health or Health Connect and shows what the weather added: your latest run free, every run with Pro.
Keep going
Common questions
3 questionsDoes Windy have a running mode?
No. Windy's store listings and Premium feature list do not include a running score, best time to run or pace adjustment (checked 28 October 2026). It shows the raw forecast in great detail; turning that into a running decision is up to you.
Which is more accurate, Windy or RunWeather?
Neither app makes the weather. Windy lets you pick and compare models yourself; RunWeather uses professional forecast models and spends its effort on what the numbers mean for a run. If two models disagree about tomorrow, Windy is the place to see it.
Can Windy show dew point?
Yes. Windy has a dew point map layer, along with humidity and wet-bulb layers. RunWeather uses dew point as a core input to the Run Score, because it decides how well sweat can cool you.
Get this on every run, automatically
RunWeather syncs with Strava, plans your week, and learns your heat tolerance, so the right time to run finds you. Free on iPhone and Android.
On a computer? Scan with your phone camera to get the app.
